Statewide Seat Belt Enforcement Leads to over 1,600 Citations Issued to Drivers

The Colorado Department of Transportation and a multitude of law enforcement agencies cited a total of 1,695 drivers for not wearing seat belts from Sunday, July 12 through Sunday, July 19 as part of a statewide Click It or Ticket enforcement.

The week-long enforcement came as a partnership between 59 law enforcement agencies and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). 70 of the 1,695 drivers cited for not wearing a seatbelt had improperly restrained children under the age of 15 in their vehicles at the time.

“It’s an easy choice to protect yourself and those in your vehicle,” said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew.

The state’s seat belt use rate is currently right below the national average of 90% at 88%. Additionally, a total of 196 unbuckled drivers and passengers died in crashes statewide last year.

Colorado’s Seat Belt Laws for adults, teens and children are as follows:

• Colorado has a secondary enforcement law for adult drivers and front-seat passengers. Drivers can be ticketed for violating the seat belt law if they are stopped for another traffic violation.
• Colorado’s Graduated Drivers Licensing (GDL) law requires all drivers under 18 and their passengers, regardless of their age, to wear seat belts. This is a primary enforcement, meaning teens can be pulled over simply for not wearing a seat belt or having passengers without seat belts.
• Colorado’s Child Passenger Safety law is a primary enforcement, meaning the driver can be stopped and ticketed if an officer sees an unrestrained or improperly restrained child under age 16 in the vehicle.

“Statistics show there’s a 1 in 33 chance you’ll be in a car crash in a given year and wearing a seat belt is the best way to prevent injury or death,” said Shoshana.

For more information regarding Click It or Ticket enforcement and Colorado’s seat belt laws, visit: codot.gov/safety/seatbelts