Click It or Ticket It Nighttime Campaign Costs 1,815 Colorado Drivers

August 4, 2011 - Traffic Safety - DENVER – The Colorado State Patrol and law enforcement agencies in 11 counties issued 1,815 seat belt citations to drivers during the Click It or Ticket nighttime campaign, July 21– 27.

Law enforcement agencies ramped up efforts to enforce seatbelt use at night because nighttime passenger vehicle occupants are most likely to be unrestrained and killed in crashes.

During the weeklong enforcement period, five drivers and passengers died in crashes in the state, and two of them were not wearing seat belts.

Of the 1,815 citations given, 1,684 of them were for unrestrained drivers and passengers ages 16 and up. The other 131 were for unrestrained children. The minimum fine for not wearing a seat belt in Colorado is $65 for adults and $82 for unrestrained children.

“The goal of Click it or Ticket is to save lives, not write a bunch of tickets,” said Col. James Wolfinbarger, Chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “Seat belts are the easiest and best defense to protect yourself in the event of a crash. Not doing so can cost you more in the long run than the price of a citation.”

Click It or Ticket started in 2002, and since then seat belt use in Colorado has increased from 72% to 82.9%. There has also been a 56% decline in unrestrained deaths—from 380 in 2002 to 166 in 2010.

Increased enforcement took place in the following counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Mesa, Pueblo and Weld. The agencies reporting the highest number of seat belt citations were:

Aurora PD (170)
Commerce City PD (166)
Colorado Springs PD (120)
Lakewood PD (112)
Arapahoe County SO (111)
Colorado State Patrol Troop 4-A, Fruita (104)

To view a full list of results for the enforcement period listed by agency, visit www.SeatBeltsColorado.com and click on Seat Belt Enforcement Reporting on the Quick Links.