Huntley Police Surprise Route 47 Drivers

The man had his cell phone to his ear as Officer stopped him in Route 47 traffic on Wednesday afternoon.

Kallantzes caught the man red-handed, talking on a cell phone in a construction zone.

caught dozens of people violating traffic laws during a traffic sting Wednesday on Route 47. Police will release the total number of tickets written later this week.

Deputy Chief said the traffic unit has been noticing more violations throughout the Route 47 road construction project in recent weeks, so the department decided to conduct a special enforcement.

Wednesday, an officer in an unmarked car sat along Route 47, watching traffic and spotting people on cell phones or texting. The officer then used a police radio to give a description of the vehicles to Kallantzes and two other officers stationed further down the route.

Kallantzes watched for the drivers, then directed them to a side street where the tickets issued. Police were writing so many tickets that drivers had to wait in a line to receive them.

Illinois enacted a law making it illegal to talk on a cell phone in a construction or school zone in January 2010. The cost of a ticket is $120, Fulton said.

Officer Marques Griffith found 40 percent to 50 percent of the people being stopped said they didn’t know about the law.

“That’s what they are saying,” Griffith said as he walked onto Route 47 to direct the next person to stop.

Kallantzes said it is a driver’s responsibility to know the traffic laws and any changes made.

The laws are posted on the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office’s website, he said.

Fulton said the law banning cell phone use in a construction zone was highly publicized.

Huntley officers were getting all kinds of reasons from drivers why they were talking on their cell phones or texting. Kallantzes also had some people throw their phones down as soon as they saw him.

“They just toss it on the floor. I guess they figure the further away it is from them the less guilty they are,” Kallantzes said.

What Huntley officers also noticed is a lot of other traffic offenses from seat belt violations to improper lane use.

“One driver decided to drive the wrong way on Route 47 to get around traffic,” he said, pointing to a driver in a white van.

“There’s a lot of bad drivers out here,” Kallantzes said. “We are trying to keep it safe for the guys working out here. We are enforcing a lot of” traffic laws.

Texting is harder to catch, but Kallantzes was able to nab one woman whose phone gave her away. The woman claimed she had not been texting, but her phone showed otherwise.

One driver who was stopped, who didn’t give his name, said he knew about the cell phone law.

“But I get work phone calls and I have to answer it no matter where I’m at,” he said, as he drove off.

Huntley police may consider doing more traffic enforcements in the future because they want to catch motorists’ attention and make the road safer for construction workers, Fulton said.

He talked to some who have had near misses at numerous sites and have noticed lots of drivers on Route 47 violating the law.

Fulton said it is also illegal to speed in a construction zone and the fine is a minimum of $375. If you are cited with speeding, you also face suspension of your license, he said.