April Click It or Ticket enforcement period toolkit

The first Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement period of 2025 is right around the corner, beginning April 7. Please join CDOT in raising awareness, promoting safety and reducing unbuckled fatalities on our roadways. You are invited to distribute the information and materials below through your own channels or share posts directly from CDOT’s feeds.

Thank you for your commitment to keeping Coloradans safe!

Latest Colorado Seat Belt Data

• In 2024, there were 192 unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant fatalities, a decrease of 13% from 2023.
• In 2024, Colorado’s statewide seat belt use rate was 88.1%, which is below the national average of 91.9%.
• In 2024, the following counties had the highest seat belt use rates:
  • Eagle County - 97.12%
  • Douglas County - 96.9%
  • Grand County - 96.51%
• In 2024, two counties in Colorado had seat belt use rates below 80%:
  • Pueblo County – 79.23%
  • Jefferson County – 77%
• Colorado seat belt use rates among types of vehicles in 2024:
  • SUVs – 91.16%
  • Vans – 89.35%
  • Cars – 87.53%
  • Commercial vehicles – 83.59%
  • Trucks – 82.92%

Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

• Seat belts dramatically improve chances of survival in a crash. NHTSA estimates that wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of severe injury or death by up to 65%.
• In 2022, 50% of passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes nationwide were unrestrained despite representing only 8.1% of the driving population.
• Unbuckled deaths are more likely to happen at night. In 2022, 57% of nighttime fatalities were unrestrained.

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 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.
• 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 18 in the vehicle.

Learn more about Click It or Ticket enforcement and Colorado’s seat belt laws at codot.gov/safety/seatbelts.

Updates to Colorado's child passenger safety law took effect Jan. 1, 2025, raising the age requirement for seat belt use from 16 to 18. Anyone under the age of 18 must be properly restrained in a seat belt or child restraint system. Violating this law is a primary offense, meaning enforcement officers can pull over drivers if they observe an unrestrained child in the vehicle. Parents and caregivers are responsible for ensuring proper restraint and will be ticketed if they fail to do so. More information about the law updates can be found on the Colorado Child Passenger Safety Law webpage.

The Click It or Ticket April Wave seat belt enforcement period takes place April 7 to 13, marking the first seat belt enforcement period of 2025. This effort is part of the national high-visibility enforcement campaign centered on the consequences of not wearing a seat belt. During the two-week period, law enforcement will be increasing patrols and focusing on issuing citations to drivers not wearing seat belts, including those with unrestrained children in violation of the updated law.

During last year’s seat belt enforcement periods, law enforcement agencies recorded 159 violations for teenagers who failed to buckle up while driving or in passenger seats. Additionally, 96 adults received violations for failing to secure children with seat belts or car seats in their vehicles.

According to CDOT’s annual Seat Belt Survey, the seat belt usage of Coloradans in 2024 was 88.19%, the third-highest usage rate ever recorded in the state. However, it is still below the national average of 91.9% as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) in 2023.

Warmer weather during the spring and summer might make hiking and outdoor adventures safer, but it doesn’t mean seat belt safety can take a back seat. Follow CDOT’s advice to drivers and take a second to buckle up. Always confirm that you and your passengers are wearing safety restraints before hitting the road. It could save your life and theirs.