Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement cites 932 drivers
News Release
Colorado - With the weather warming up, Coloradans are itching to begin their travel adventures. However, 905 drivers met a costly wake-up call during the recent Click It or Ticket enforcement period — a reminder it’s important to buckle up no matter where you’re going.
From April 4-20, the Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State Patrol and 60 law enforcement agencies partnered for the year’s first statewide Click It or Ticket enforcement period. A total of 932 drivers were cited during the enforcement, including 10 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 Castle Rock Police Department (149 citations), the Loveland Police Department (116 citations), and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (105 citations).
This is the first Click It or Ticket enforcement period of 2022. The next enforcement period runs over Memorial Day, from May 16 to June 5. Historically, more fatal crashes happen on Colorado roads during the three months between Memorial Day and Labor Day than any other time of year.
“Great drivers wear their seat belts because they are the best defense against impaired, distracted and aggressive drivers,” said Chief Matthew C. Packard, Colorado State Patrol. “Each of the 932 citations issued serves as a reminder — we want you to survive a crash! The choice to buckle up may be the one that saves your life.”
In 2021, 232 unbuckled vehicle occupants were killed on Colorado roadways.
“Seat belts reduce your risk of injury or death in a crash by 50%,” said Darrell Lingk, Director of the Highway Safety Office at CDOT. “Although most people make the right choice to buckle up, far too many don’t and that costs lives. Seat belts are an important safety measure that can save lives, so we want everyone to buckle up every trip, every time.”
Statewide, Colorado’s seatbelt use is 86%, which is 4% lower than the national average of 90%. Without a seatbelt fastened, people can be ejected from a vehicle and killed.
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 2016 to 2020, 35 children under age 14 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
