Information courtesy of the Colorado Department of Transportation
There’s one simple way to reduce your risk of death or injury in a crash by 50%. Buckle up.
The Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State Patrol and local law enforcement are in the midst of the first Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement period of 2023, which will run through April 19.
According to the recent Colorado Statewide Seat Belt Survey, Colorado’s seat belt use rate is 87%, below the national average of 92%.
To ensure everyone’s safety and avoid being pulled over, make sure you know 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 the age of 16 in the vehicle.
Throughout all Click It or Ticket enforcement periods in 2022, 2,755 unrestrained vehicle occupants were issued citations across Colorado. 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.
Since Click It or Ticket was introduced in Colorado in 2002, statewide seat belt use has increased from 72% to 87%. For more information about seat belt safety and enforcement citation numbers, visit SeatBeltsColorado.com.