Colorado Lacks a Primary Seat Belt Law

The numbers don’t lie — Colorado ranks 40^th in national seat belt use. This is in part due to the fact there is no primary seat belt law in the state. Therefore, law enforcement can only cite drivers first for other offenses before citing the seat belt violation as a secondary offense.

“Colorado is only one of 16 states without a primary seat belt law,” said Sam Cole, Safety Communications Manager at CDOT. “A seat belt is your best defense against an impaired or distracted driver and enforcing seat belt usage will help save lives in vehicle crashes statewide.”