Be safe and buckle up. The mid-summer seat belt enforcement period starts today with Colorado State Patrol, Colorado Department of Transportation and participating law enforcement agencies across Colorado. It runs through Aug. 4. Seat belt citations are up 52% this year.
Press release from Colorado Department of Transportation; July 21, 2023.
Mid-summer seat belt enforcement period begins Monday, July 24
Seat belt citations in Colorado are up 52% this year
STATEWIDE — Stay buckled this summer or you could get a citation. Starting Monday, July 24, through Friday, Aug. 4, the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) and 51 participating law enforcement agencies throughout Colorado will begin the July seat belt enforcement period. During the same enforcement period last year, 788 citations were issued to drivers for not wearing a seat belt or having unbuckled passengers in their vehicle. That included 68 drivers who had an improperly restrained child in their vehicle.
Recent data shows that 479 drivers and passengers were killed in vehicle crashes in Colorado in 2022. Most of those lives lost (236) were not wearing a seat belt. Thirteen Colorado counties, including Gilpin County, Gunnison County and Logan County, reported that 100% of their roadway fatalities in 2022 were unrestrained vehicle occupants.
“Refusing to wear a seatbelt can’t be uncoupled with a possible consequence of death. So, while you may have the right not to protect yourself, I can’t accept that unbuckled fatalities in Colorado are a far too common occurrence,” said Col Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “As we head into the last Click It or Ticket enforcement period of the summer, remember, there can be consequences much worse than a citation.”
Last year, 1,963 drivers were issued citations in Colorado during the April and May Click It or Ticket enforcement periods. This year, 2,992 drivers were cited during the same two enforcement periods. This is a nearly 52% increase from last year.