CHICAGO — Drivers who try to cut through traffic by riding on the shoulder on local expressways are now getting ticketed through a new program.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Office ticketed 72 drivers for illegally riding on expressway shoulders as part of enhanced patrols launched late last month. The sheriff’s office has issued over 900 citations for the offense since late June, a spokesperson said in a statement.
The emphasis on enhanced expressway patrols is meant to address “ongoing concerns about unsafe driving,” according to a video posted on the Cook County Sheriff’s Office’s X account.
The video stressed the danger of using the shoulder to bypass other vehicles, as doing so could catch other drivers by surprise and lead to collisions. Convictions related to driving on the shoulder could lead to fines of up to $1,000, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office has previously enforced the law but recently stepped up patrols, including with the use of a new police helicopter.
On Sep. 26, the sheriff’s office pulled over and ticketed more than 100 drivers “in just a few hours,” according to a post on the office’s X account. Of those drivers, 49 were captured on video riding the shoulder by a new sheriff’s office police helicopter. The office has also said that officers will be looking for speeding, driving under the influence, texting while driving and other traffic violations.
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