Click It for Coffee: CDOT and Scooter’s Coffee partner to reward customers for wearing seat belts
News Release
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Statewide— Buckle up, get half off your next cup of coffee. The Colorado Department of Transportation has teamed up with Scooter’s Coffee at locations in Greeley and Colorado Springs for Click It for Coffee. Yesterday’s give-away in Greeley resulted in over 100 customers - all wearing seat belts - receiving 50% coupons for their next beverage. Today’s give away in Colorado Springs has, as of noon, resulted in over 130 belted customers getting free beverage coupons. Today is the last day of the promotion.
Drive-thru customers wearing their seat belts are rewarded with half off their next cup of coffee or beverage of choice. The goal of the promotion is to help improve seat belt use in Weld and El Paso counties, which historically have some of the lowest seat belt use rates in the state.
Colorado’s seat belt use rate reached a record-breaking 88.6% in 2023, according to the Colorado Statewide Seat Belt Survey, but still sits below the national average of 91.9%. Weld County’s seat belt use rate is 85.9% and El Paso County’s is 79.3% - both below the state and national averages.
“A crash can happen anytime, anywhere — even on a quick coffee run,” said CDOT’s Office of Transportation Safety Director Darrell Lingk. “Buckling up is the easiest and most effective way to protect yourself in a crash. It can reduce your chance of injury or death by up to 65%. Make it a habit to always wear your seat belt and encourage your passengers to do the same.”
Most fatal crashes in the US happen within 25 miles from home and at speeds of less than 40 mph, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Since 2019, there have been 286 motor vehicle occupant fatalities in Weld County, 124 of those being unbuckled deaths — the highest of any county in Colorado. Last year 78 people were killed on roadways in El Paso County.
Click It for Coffee reaches drivers and passengers during drive-thru hours on Monday, July 29 and Tuesday, July 30 at the following Scooter’s Coffee locations:
- Greeley: 2530 11th Ave., Greeley, CO (Monday, July 29 only)
- Colorado Springs: 1049 Space Center Dr., Colorado Springs, CO (Tuesday, July 30 only)
“As first responders with over 45 years combined experience as a paramedic and firefighter, we have seen the devastating results of those who chose not to wear their seat belts,” said Todd Heasty, Scooter's Coffee Greeley owner. “It's not just you that is affected by your choices; it's your family, your friends, and the first responders who have to deal with the aftermath of these choices. It matters.”
Colorado’s Seat Belt Laws
Colorado law requires the driver and every front seat passenger of a motor vehicle and the driver and every passenger in an autocycle equipped with a safety belt system to wear a seat belt whenever the vehicle is in operation on a street or highway.
- 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 — Colorado’s Graduated Drivers Licensing (GDL) law requires all drivers under 18 and their passengers, regardless of their ages, 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.
- 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.
Fines for not buckling up in Colorado start at $65, and parents or caregivers caught with an improperly restrained child can receive a minimum fine of $82.
CDOT stresses the importance of wearing your seat belt correctly. The shoulder belt is designed to fit across your chest and should be kept away from your neck; the lap belt should rest across your hips. Never place the shoulder belt behind you, under your arm or off your shoulder. Proper seat belt use helps keep you secure and is the best defense against injury and death in a crash.
Crash Not Accident
Note to reporters: Crashes are no accident — they are preventable. We would appreciate you saying 'crash' instead of 'accident' when reporting.
Click It or Ticket
Click It or Ticket is a nationwide campaign from NHTSA. Since Click It or Ticket was introduced in Colorado in 2002, statewide seat belt use has increased from 72% to 88.6%. For more information about seat belt safety and enforcement citation numbers, visit SeatBeltsColorado.com.
