Click It Or Ticket Campaign to Buckle Down on Nighttime Offenders

July 20, 2015 - Traffic Safety - Nighttime Enforcement Begins Tonight.

STATEWIDE — Starting tonight, the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) Click It or Ticket campaign is taking its initiative after hours with a statewide nighttime seat belt crackdown. Following the successful Click It or Ticket May Mobilization enforcement, CDOT is again teaming up with the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) and local law enforcement agencies to cite unbuckled motorists, hoping to raise Colorado’s seat belt use rate and decrease avoidable unbuckled fatalities. The nighttime enforcement begins on Monday, July 20 and runs through Sunday, July 26.

 “Buckling your seat belt only takes a couple seconds and could potentially save your life,” said Darrell Lingk, Director of the CDOT’s Office of Transportation Safety. “Colorado has a seat belt use rate of 82 percent, which is below the national average of 87 percent. In our ongoing efforts to move Colorado toward zero deaths, increasing seat belt use will be critical in getting us there." 

“Unfortunately we often see people not using their seat belt at night, which is extremely dangerous given the reduced visibility and the presence of more impaired drivers," said Col. Scott Hernandez, Chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “Even if you consider yourself a great driver, seat belts are the easiest and best defense to protect yourself in the event of an unexpected crash.”

In 2014, there were a total of 1,495 citations issued during the six-day nighttime enforcement period. 281 officers from 42 agencies participated in the statewide effort, with the Aurora Police Department (159), Adams County CSP Troop 1-D (124), Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office (111) and Colorado Springs Police Department (109) issuing the most citations.

In 2014, 156 people killed in passenger vehicles were not wearing their seat belts, according to preliminary data. This represents more than half of the total passenger vehicle fatalities for that year. 

Colorado’s Seat Belt Laws

  • Adults — 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. Click It or Ticket enforcement focuses on speeding and aggressive drivers. Drivers who are stopped for a traffic violation and are not using a seat belt will be ticketed. The minimum fine is $65.
  • Teens — Colorado’s Graduated Drivers Licensing (GDL) law requires all drivers under 18 and their passengers, no matter what 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. To learn more visit COTeenDriver.com.
  • Children — Colorado's child passenger safety law is 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. To learn more visit CarSeatsColorado.com.                                                  

In 2013, seat belts saved an estimated 12,584 lives nationwide. An additional 2,800 lives could have been saved if all unrestrained passenger vehicle occupants five and older involved in fatal crashes had been properly restrained. For more information about seat belt safety and enforcement citation numbers, visit SeatBeltsColorado.com.