Statewide — Starting April 1, the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) and 36 local law enforcement agencies throughout Colorado will begin the first seat belt enforcement period of 2024. The Click It or Ticket enforcement campaign will run through April 14.
Click It or Ticket is a national high-visibility enforcement campaign centered on the consequences of not wearing a seat belt. During the two-week period, law enforcement will be increasing patrols and focusing on issuing citations to drivers not wearing a seat belt.
“We can’t stress this enough: wearing a seat belt dramatically improves the chances that you will survive a car crash,” said Matthew C. Packard, chief of the CSP. “In 2023, 81% of occupants who survived fatal crashes in Colorado were wearing a seat belt. By comparison, only 19% of the unbuckled occupants survived.” 
A woman buckling her seat belt. Text on image reads: Two seconds to save your life.
Colorado’s seat belt use rate has improved in recent years — up nearly 2% from 2022. As of 2023, 88% of Coloradans buckle up — the highest use rate observed in the past 10 years, according to the Colorado Statewide Seat Belt Survey. Colorado also saw improvements last year in unbuckled fatalities. In 2023, there were 223 unbuckled vehicle occupant fatalities, an 8% decrease from 2022.
Arapahoe County had the highest seat belt use rate in 2023, with 98% of drivers buckling up. The lowest seat belt use rate was in Jefferson County at 73.5%. Statewide, Colorado’s seat belt use rate still sits several points below the national average of 92% — something CDOT and law enforcement are working to change through programs like Click It or Ticket and calling on individuals and communities to take responsibility for their own safety.
“It’s encouraging to see these positive trends across our state,” said CDOT’s Office of Transportation Safety Director Darrell Lingk. “Wearing a seat belt is truly one of the easiest things you can do to protect yourself. You can’t always control what happens on the road, but you can control your odds of being seriously injured or killed in a crash by wearing a seat belt.”
Wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of severe injury or death by up to 65%, according to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Click here to view CDOT’s newest seat belt PSAs, highlighting the most unforgiving laws of all — physics.Colorado’s seat belt laws
Colorado law requires the driver and every front seat passenger of a motor vehicle and the driver and every passenger in an autocycle equipped with a safety belt system to wear a seat belt whenever the vehicle is in operation on a street or highway.
- 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 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.
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.
Vehicle collisions are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13. Last year, out of more than 5,000 car seat checks performed in Colorado, there was a 66% misuse rate. Parents and caregivers can learn more about Colorado child passenger safety laws, recommendations and recalls at CarSeatsColorado.com.
Crash Not Accident
Note to reporters: Crashes are no accident — they are preventable. We would appreciate you saying ‘crash’ instead of ‘accident’ when reporting.
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 88%. For more information about seat belt safety and enforcement citation numbers, visit SeatBeltsColorado.com.
About CDOT
The Colorado Department of Transportation’s mission is to provide the best multi-modal transportation system that most effectively and safely moves people, goods and information. CDOT maintains more than 23,000 lane miles of highway, more than 3,400 bridges and 35 mountain passes. Our team of employees works tirelessly to reduce the rate and severity of crashes and improve the safety of all modes of transportation. CDOT leverages partnerships with a range of private and public organizations and operates Bustang, an interregional express bus service. Find more details at codot.gov.
