The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is joining Illinois State Police (ISP) and local law enforcement agencies to remind motorists to buckle up and drive sober during one of the heaviest travel periods of the year. With one of the biggest party nights of the year on Wednesday and more people on the roads through Sunday, police throughout the state are stepping up their enforcement of seat belt law violators and impaired drivers during the long holiday weekend. During last year’s Thanksgiving holiday travel period (6 p.m. the Wednesday before Thanksgiving until 11:59 pm the following Sunday), 15 people died in traffic crashes on Illinois roads and 840 were injured. Of the 15 individuals killed, five died in crashes where at least one driver had been drinking. The goal for this Thanksgiving is simple: Reducing those numbers by encouraging every motorist to buckle up and drive sober. Hundreds of seat belt enforcement zones and thousands of additional police hours looking for seat belt law violators will take place alongside roadside safety checks and saturation patrols looking for alcohol and drug-impaired drivers. Follow @IDOTSafety for IDOT safe driving updates on Twitter. For more information about Illinois traffic safety programs, visit www.idot.illinois.gov.