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More than 8,000 Cited for Not Buckling Up During Recent Crackdown

During a two week seat belt and child passenger safety crackdown in Colorado – more than 8,000 people were ticketed for non-compliance.

You can’t be pulled over in Colorado solely for not wearing a seat belt, but can be cited if you’re found not to be wearing one while pulled over for another offense.  During the Click It or Ticket campaign that ran may 23 to June 5, law enforcement officers cited 8,105 people for not wearing seat belts, 519 of which were for unrestrained children.  During that time period 11 drivers and passengers died in crashes in the state, 9 of them were not wearing seat belts.  According to Colorado Department of Transportation Spokeswoman Heather Halpape, seat belts are the number one life-saver in crashes.

“It really doubles your chances of surviving a crash and you know, there are a lot of crashes out there that are survivable.  Law enforcement responds to those crashes and it’s really sad when you know that they could have survived if they’d remained in their vehicle with a seat belt,” she said.

In addition to seat belt violations, 41 fugitive arrests, 42 drug arrests and 139 DUI arrests were made during the crackdown.  Since the Click It or Ticket seat belt campaign started in 2002, seat belt use in Colorado has jumped from 72% to nearly 83%.  Along with that has come a decline in unrestrained deaths – from 380 in 2002 to 166 in 2010. 

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