Statewide Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement cites 2,123 drivers
News Release
STATEWIDE — As summer travel picks up again, the Colorado Department of Transportation and 63 law enforcement agencies throughout Colorado partnered for the largest statewide Click It or Ticket enforcement period of the year. The period ran from Monday, May 24, until Sunday, June 6. A total of 2,123 drivers were cited during the enforcement, including 58 drivers who had an improperly restrained child under the age of 15 in their vehicle.
The law enforcement agencies that issued the most citations were: the Jefferson County Sheriff’s department with 364 citations, the Colorado Springs Police Department with 285 citations, and the Castle Rock Police Department with 190 citations. In addition, Colorado State Patrol cited 289 drivers.
Fines for not buckling up start at $65, and parents or caregivers caught with an improperly restrained child can receive a minimum fine of $82.
“Buckling up is an easy decision, and it may be one that saves your life.” said Chief Matthew C. Packard, Colorado State Patrol. “The 2,123 citations issued this enforcement period serve as a reminder to buckle up every ride, because your life matters.”
In 2020, 203 unbuckled drivers and passengers were killed in crashes in the state, accounting for more than half of Colorado’s 365 total passenger vehicle deaths.
“We are expecting increased travel this summer with warmer weather and vaccination rates rising,” said Darrell Lingk, Director of the Highway Safety Office at CDOT. “We hope this recent seat belt enforcement period serves as a reminder to all Coloradoans that buckling up is a matter of life or death on our roadways.”
Statewide, Colorado’s seatbelt use is 86%, which is 4% lower than the national average of 90%. Seat belts reduce the risk of injury or death in a crash by 50%, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Without a seatbelt fastened, people can be ejected from a vehicle and killed.
This is the first Click It or Ticket enforcement period of 2021. The next enforcement period is from July 31 to August 6. During the November 2020 Click It or Ticket enforcement period, 1,352 drivers received citations for not buckling up - or having unrestrained passengers in the vehicle.
To keep visitors safe this summer, CDOT has partnered with officials in Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming to remind travelers to always wear seat belts. The “State2State Buckle Up” campaign wants both drivers and passengers to stay buckled no matter what state they are in or how far they are traveling. The summer-long seat belt awareness campaign launched alongside CDOT’s Click It or Ticket campaign, Colorado’s statewide seat belt enforcement periods and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) greater efforts nation-wide to promote seat belt safety and usage.
Learn more about Click It or Ticket enforcement and Colorado’s seat belt laws at codot.gov/safety/seatbelts. For Spanish campaign information, visit https://www.codot.gov/safety/
Colorado's Seat Belt Laws
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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.
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Teens — All drivers under 18 years old and their passengers, regardless of their age, must 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.
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Children — 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.
From 2013 to 2017, 30 children under age 8 were killed in passenger vehicle crashes in Colorado. Among these, more than half were in an improperly used or installed car seat — or no car seat at all. Parents and caregivers can learn more about Colorado child passenger safety laws, recommendations and recalls at CarSeatsColorado.com.
About Click It or Ticket
Click It or Ticket is a nationwide campaign from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Since Click It or Ticket was introduced in Colorado in 2002, statewide seat belt use has increased from 72% to 86%. For more information about seat belt safety and enforcement citation numbers, visit SeatBeltsColorado.com.
About CDOT
CDOT has approximately 3,000 employees located at its Denver headquarters and in regional offices throughout Colorado, and manages more than 23,000 lane miles of highway and 3,429 bridges. CDOT also manages grant partnerships with a range of other agencies, including metropolitan planning organizations, local governments and airports. It also administers Bustang, the state-owned and operated interregional express service. Governor Polis has charged CDOT to further build on the state’s intermodal mobility options.
