Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement period results in 2,428 citations

Statewide — From May 12 to June 1, the Colorado Department of Transportation supported the Colorado State Patrol and 60 local law enforcement agencies for the largest seat belt enforcement period of 2025. During the three-week period, law enforcement increased patrols and focused on issuing citations to unbuckled drivers, with an emphasis on Colorado’s new seat belt and car seat laws.

According to preliminary data, 2,428 citations were written during the enforcement period, which is part of the national Click It or Ticket campaign led by the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA). The Colorado agencies with the highest number of seat belt citations during the enforcement were Thornton Police Department (99 citations), Laramier County (259 citations) and Loveland (367 citations). In addition, Colorado State Patrol issued 1,023 citations.

The 2,428 total citations given marked a 36% increase from the same Click It or Ticket enforcement period last year. Additionally, 206 drivers received a citation for having an improperly restrained child in their vehicle under the age of 18, a 178% increase from the 74 citations given in 2024.

“Fatalities in Colorado are down in nearly every traffic category compared to this time in 2024, including unbuckled fatalities,” said Col. Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “It’s great news, but we as a state need to keep buckling up until there are no traffic fatalities caused by a lack of seat belts.”

Updates to Colorado's child passenger safety law took effect Jan. 1, 2025, raising the age requirement for seat belt use from under 16 years of age to under 18 years of age. The updated law also now requires children to use a car seat or booster seat until their 9th birthday when riding in a passenger vehicle, and children under the age of 2 and below 40 pounds are required to sit in a rear-facing car seat. Parents and caregivers are responsible for ensuring proper restraint and will be ticketed if they fail to do so. More information about these laws can be found on the Colorado Child Passenger Safety Law webpage.

“Historically, traffic fatalities rise during the summer months as weather improves and the days get longer. That’s why it’s important to wear your seat belt during all car trips,” said CDOT’s Office of Transportation Safety Director Darrell Lingk. “Seat belts can protect your life during any type of crash.”

The next Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement period, the ‘July Wave,’ will occur from July 21 to Aug. 1. Learn more about CDOT’s latest seat belt PSAs, highlighting the most unforgiving laws of all — physics.

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 seatbelt 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 18 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. Caregivers can face additional charges if the law is not followed, and the child is injured.

Vehicle collisions are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13. Last year in Colorado, 78% of car seats inspected by child passenger safety technicians were not being used correctly or were not installed properly. 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 NHTSA. Since Click It or Ticket was introduced in Colorado in 2002, statewide seatbelt use has increased from 72% to 88%. For more information about seat belt safety and enforcement citation numbers, visit SeatBeltsColorado.com.

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