Colorado motorists using seat belts more often

Colorado drivers and passengers are using seat belts more often.

A Colorado Department of Transportation survey shows 88% of Coloradoans report using seat belts, up from 86% in 2018 and 60% in 1997.

The Cortez Journal reports the national rate for seat belt use is 90%.

People in sport-utility vehicles have Colorado’s highest rate of seat-belt use, 92%. About 83% of people in pickup trucks and 76% of those in commercial vehicles use seat belts.

Unbuckled motorists accounted for 220 of the 416 deaths on Colorado roads in 2018.

AP Only 2019