COLORADO SPRINGS — Starting Monday, May 24, the largest statewide seat belt enforcement period will take place.
The Click It or Ticket campaign will run through Sunday, June 6. The campaign comes in advance of the “100 deadly days of summer,” which historically marks an increase in traffic fatalities between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Statewide, Colorado’s seat belt use is 86%, which is 4% lower than the national average of 90%. To date in 2021, there have been 193 deaths on Colorado roadways, a 12% increase compared to this time last year.
"In 2020, traffic fatalities were up three percent despite far fewer people on the road,” said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew. “More than half of those lost on our roads were not wearing their seat belts. We know that seat belts save lives and we implore Coloradans to make the safe choice and buckle up.”
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 unrestrained drivers and passengers were issued citations across Colorado.
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 — 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 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.
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