Starting today, Illinois State Police will be conducting 24-hour enforcement patrol especially aimed at commercial vehicles.
This is the fourth year in a row that “Operation Sauter” will be performed in memory of fallen ISP trooper James Sauter, who was killed when a truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and hitting his patrol car. Sauter was a 5-year veteran of the ISP.
The truck driver was convicted of lying on his log book and driving fatigued when he struck Officer Sauter 4 years ago.
“He was on patrol on I-294 in the Chicago area. He was struck from behind by a commercial motor vehicle,” said Trooper Sean Ramsey.
ISP says they want to prevent these types of accidents from happening again. Troopers will be checking driver’s logbooks, especially looking for any violations of the 70 hours driving limitation.
In addition, they’ll be watching for the “Fatal Four” violations; speeding, not wearing seat belts, distracted driving, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.