The Journal
The Cortez Police Department will participate in a statewide Click It Or Ticket enforcement period beginning Sunday, alongside the Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State Patrol and other law enforcement agencies. The high-visibility seat belt enforcement runs through July 19 and aims to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on Colorado’s roadways.
Locally, Montezuma County has an average seat belt use of 84%, below the statewide and national averages. Wearing a seat belt is a source of protection from serious injury or death in a crash. Fines for not wearing a seat belt start at $65, and parents and caregivers found with an improperly restrained or unrestrained child can receive a minimum fine of $82.
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 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.
For more information, visit www.codot.gov/safety/carseats or www.codot.gov/safety/seatbelts.
