Colorado’s seat belt usage rate remains above 90%

Statewide — The Colorado Department of Transportation’s 2026 Safety Survey recently released shows that Colorado’s seat belt usage rate is 90.8%. This marks the second consecutive year Colorado’s seat belt use rate has exceeded 90%. The survey was completed over the summer and indicates steady seat belt usage among Colorado drivers compared with the 2025 seat belt usage rate of 90.69%.

“These findings are encouraging. Coloradans are continuing to take vital steps to protect themselves in the event of a crash,” said Col. Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “Buckling up is one of the most important actions every driver and passenger can take to prevent an injury or death.”

As of 2025, the national seat belt usage rate sits at 91.3%, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, up from 91.2% in 2024 but below the all-time high of 91.9% in 2023. While Colorado remains below the national average, the gap has narrowed in recent years. Since 2015, Colorado’s seat belt use rate has increased 5.6 percentage points from 85.2%, bringing the difference between the state and national rates to just 0.5 percentage points.

“Unbuckled fatalities make up nearly one third of traffic deaths in the state,” said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew. “Buckling up can reduce the risk of fatal injury by 65%. No matter the length or destination, please buckle up every time.”

The survey found that SUV and van drivers have the highest seat belt use rates, both at 93.3%, while commercial vehicle drivers have the lowest rate at 85.5%. These findings are consistent with the 2025 survey, which also identified SUV and van drivers as among the most frequent seat belt users.

Regionally, Grand (98.81%), Douglas (98.28%), La Plata (98.09%), Montezuma (97.62%) and Fremont (97.06%) counties have the highest seat belt use rates. All five counties saw increases from 2025, with La Plata County recording a notable jump of more than 11 percentage points from 86.77% in 2025. Pueblo, Jefferson, Otero, Costilla and Las Animas Counties had the lowest seat belt use rates, although each also saw an increase over the past year.

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 drivers and front-seat passengers to wear a seat belt whenever the vehicle is in operation.

• 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 may face additional charges if the law is not followed and the child is injured.

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 seat belt use has increased from 72% to nearly 91%. For more information about seat belt safety and enforcement citation numbers, visit SeatBeltsColorado.com.

Crash Not Accident

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