When a State Trooper is parked on the side of the road, most drivers hit the brakes. But a State Trooper on a motorcycle is harder to see.
"People aren't used to seeing motorcycles out on the highways and the roadways," said Illinois State Sgt. Jason Dickey. Illinois State Police in our area have the use of a new tool to target distracted driving -- a motorcycle. "It's harder for them to detect the motorcycle when they see it." District 7 State PolicE now have the use of one motorcycle --
"We're going to utilize the motorcycle as much as we can," Dickey said. The new motorcycle is going to help troopers enforce a number of things that are hard to enforce in a car -- drunk driving, seat belt violations and speeding.
"It's a great enforcement tool," Dickey said. "It gives us a different vantage point for seeing different violations." But the motorcycle also allows State Police to better combat distracted driving, which is something that's become an important safety issue in recent years.
"You sit up just a little bit higher and it gives you a little different angle to see inside of a vehicle."
Illinois State Police want to be able to see drivers who are texting while behind the wheel. "It contributes not only to crashes but specifically fatal crashes every year," said Dickey.
District 7 ISP may only have one motorcycle at its disposal ...
"It's a tool that we're using to hopefully drive fatalities down."
... but troopers plan to use it as much as possible.
