Starting Monday, the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) and 33 local law enforcement agencies throughout the state will begin the first seat belt enforcement period of 2022. The Click It or Ticket heightened enforcement campaign will run through April 20. 

"These enforcement periods help save lives, and if you and your passengers aren’t taking your safety seriously, a ticket is our way of saying that we do,” said Col. Matthew Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “A citation serves as an important reminder that wearing your seat belt may one day save your life. We want everyone to stop the cycle of driving without this standard protection - buckle up every trip for the people you love.”

According to the 2020 National Occupant Protection Use Survey, seat belt use in the front seats was lower for males (88.4 percent) than females (92.8 percent). Also of the 14,590 seat belt citations issued by the Colorado State Patrol in 2021, 3,780 citations were for female drivers and 10,810 were for male drivers. 

With fewer men buckling up, more men are being killed on Colorado roads. Of unbuckled deaths in 2021, 72 percent were male while 28 percent were female. 

Last year, 232 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants were killed on Colorado roadways. This is a 12 percent increase over 2020. According to the recent State of Colorado Statewide Seat Belt Survey, Colorado’s seat belt use rate is 86 percent, far below the national average of 90 percent.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seat belts reduce the risk of injury or death in a crash by 50 percent. Without a seat belt fastened, people can be ejected from a vehicle and killed. The Click It or Ticket campaign encourages people to buckle up to avoid a citation but, more importantly, get home safely to their loved ones.

"We cannot tolerate another deadly year like 2021. With so many lives senselessly lost on Colorado roads, we have to do more to encourage people to buckle up,” said CDOT’s Office of Transportation Safety Director Darrell Lingk. “While most Coloradans do buckle up, many do not.  The goal of this enforcement period is to get everyone to buckle up.”

This is the first Click It or Ticket enforcement period of 2022, and the next enforcement period begins on May 16. During the three Click It or Ticket enforcement periods in 2021, 2,994 unrestrained drivers were issued citations across Colorado. 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, and according to NHTSA, 46 percent of car seats are being used incorrectly. Parents and caregivers can learn more about Colorado child passenger safety laws, recommendations and recalls at CarSeatsColorado.com.

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.