Click it or Ticket: seat belt enforcement period in place until Sunday

Local police are teaming up with Colorado State Patrol to step up seat belt enforcement this week.

“My message is simple, please take the time to make sure you and everyone else in your car are using your seatbelt and restraint systems,” said Undersheriff Pete Carey with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

However, when it comes to driving with a seatbelt Colorado ranks below the national average.

Carey said, “Recent studies in El Paso County suggest that we are 85 percent compliant with seatbelt laws. That still means 15 out of every 100 drivers are taking unnecessary risks for themselves and their children.”

Statewide in 2017, an estimated 70 lives could have been saved in Colorado if those involved were buckled up. In 2018, 200-plus unbuckled drivers and passengers were killed in crashes, accounting for more than half of the 416 total passenger vehicle deaths.

“El Paso County had the unfortunate distinction of having the highest level of traffic fatalities in the state, with over 80 people who lost their lives. As you just heard, not wearing seatbelt had a significant impact in those tragedies,” said Carey.

One family we spoke with is lucky to be alive after rolling their vehicle. They were all able to walk away thanks to their seatbelts.

Lauren Engebrecht said, “It’s important because you don’t ever think it’s going to happen to you. You could be the best driver, but you don’t know about the people on the road with you, it saved our lives.”

And this initiative will come with major enforcement on rural drivers. In some rural counties in southern Colorado, the rate of unbuckled drivers soars to 30 percent below the national average.

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.