To encourage drivers and passengers to buckle up on the roads, the Colorado Department of Transportation announced the start of its Click It or Ticket enforcement, effective Monday, May 12.

From now until Saturday, June 1, CDOT will support Colorado State Patrol and 39 law enforcement agencies across the state “for the largest seat belt campaign of the year,” according to a news release.

Click It or Ticket is a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration campaign. It recognizes how “more than half of all vehicle fatalities have been unbuckled,’ the news release reads.

In fact, “186 people died in Colorado in 2024 while not wearing a seat belt,” said Col. Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol, in the news release.

Already this year, 49 people have died in collisions, unbuckled.

To curb these numbers, this 21-day window of heightened enforcement will “focus on issuing citations to unbuckled drivers,” the news release said.

In Montezuma County, 87.62% of people use seat belts, which is just above the state average, said Sam Cole, the safety communications manager at CDOT.

During the most recent seat belt enforcement in April, officers across Colorado issued a total of 1,108 citations. In Cortez, the police department issued two.

During the present Click It or Ticket effort, the Cortez Police Department said it will be increasing patrol for such violations. The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office, however, will not because “We don’t have funding for vehicles,” said Sheriff Steve Nowlin.

Remember, “Colorado law requires the driver and every front seat passenger of a motor vehicle … to wear a seat belt whenever the vehicle is in operation on a street or highway,” the news release said.

Fines start at $65 for violating the law, “and parents or caregivers caught with an improperly restrained child can receive a minimum fine of $82,” the news release said.

Since Click It or Ticket started in 2002, seat belt use across Colorado went from 72% to 88%.

“We see traffic deaths increase during the summer months on Colorado roads,” said CDOT’s Office of Transportation Safety Director Darrell Lingk. “Drivers need to buckle up at all times.”