July Rural Enforcement Reminds Coloradans to Click It or Ticket

As part of the Click It or Ticket July Rural enforcement period, Colorado law enforcement focused on rural counties which historically have the lowest seat belt use rates in the state.  Law agencies issued 1,468 citations during the enforcement period.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (183 citations), El Paso County Sheriff's Office (143 citations) and Dacono Police Department (70 citations) issued the most citations. In addition, CSP issued 717 citations. A report of all participating agencies can be found at codot.gov/safety/traffic-safety-reporting-portal. 

In 2018, 220 passenger vehicle deaths involved unbuckled drivers and passengers, accounting for more than half of the 416 total passenger vehicle deaths. Colorado ranks in the bottom third for seat belt use in the United States. Colorado’s seat belt use rate is 86 percent, well below the national average of 90 percent.

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 Driver 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.