COLORADO – A total of 5051 drivers were cited for seat belt violations, including 244 drivers who had improperly restrained children under 15 years old, from May 20 until June 2 during CDOT’s annual Click It or Ticket Campaign.
Last year, 5,678 tickets were issued during the same period, including 234 involving unrestrained children.
The Loveland Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Greely Police Department had the highest number of citations.
Fines for not using your seatbelt start at $65. Drivers who are caught improperly restraining their child can receive a minimum fine of $82.
In 2018, 220 vehicle deaths in our state involved unbuckled drivers and passengers. Nationally, Colorado ranks in the bottom third of states in seat belt use.
The Click It or Ticket It campaign will be back July 15 through July 21. During that period last year, 938 unrestrained drivers and passengers were ticketed.
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 Drivers 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.
