The Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State Patrol and local law enforcement agencies conducted a “Click It or Ticket” seat-belt enforcement campaign July 17-23.
Rural areas in Colorado were targeted because they tend to have lower seat-belt-use rates and higher numbers of unbuckled fatalities.
The 56 law enforcement agencies that participated issued 1,175 citations statewide for drivers and passengers who were unbuckled, which is an increase from the 1,116 citations handed out during last year’s enforcement period.
Citations included 65 drivers who had unbuckled children in the vehicle, of which about a third were younger than 4.
“Buckling up is the easiest way to save a life in a crash,” said Darrell Lingk, director of CDOT’s Office of Transportation Safety, in a news release. “Don’t hesitate to tell others in the car to buckle up – our chances of survival dramatically increase if you are buckled.”
Fines for failing to use a seat belt start at $65, and parents or caregivers caught with an improperly restrained child can receive a minimum fine of $82.
Last year, 180 unbuckled drivers and passengers were killed in Colorado, which accounted for about half of all passenger-vehicle traffic fatalities.
Adults are subject to a secondary-enforcement law for drivers and front-seat passengers and can be ticketed if stopped for another traffic violation.Teens are subject to Colorado’s Graduated Drivers Licensing Law, a primary-enforcement law that requires all drivers 18 and younger and passengers, regardless of age, to wear seat belts. Teens can be pulled over if drivers or passengers are seen not wearing seat belts.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 younger than 16 in the vehicle.For more information, visit www.seatbeltscolorado.com.
