Authorities around the state wrote more than 12,000 tickets — a new record — over a two-week period to people who were not buckled up while motoring.
The majority of the tickets — 10,905 — were issued to adults who were not wearing seat belts; officials also recorded 514 violations of children under the age of 4 who were not properly restrained in a child-safety seat, according to a media release from the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Drivers of the vehicle in which a violation occurs are fined $72.
“Not wearing seat belts is a serious public-health issue that has a simple solution — buckle up every trip, every time,” said Col. James Wolfinbarger, chief of the Colorado State Patrol.
During last year’s two-week campaign, 9,809 seat-belt violations were cited. The previous record was 11,448 seat-belt tickets in 2007, CDOT said.
Authorities hope the program results in more drivers and passengers buckling up as a way to help reduce the number of fatal traffic accidents around the state.
Studies show current seat-belt use in the state at about 81 percent, according to CDOT. Last year, 178 people who were not buckled-in died in traffic accidents in Colorado.
The Colorado State Patrol and 90 law-enforcement agencies wrote a total of 12,685 tickets during the two-week Click It or Ticket campaign that ended May 31.
According to CDOT: 698 tickets were written for unbuckled young people ages 16 t0 20; 398 were written for unbuckled children between the ages of 6 and 15; and 170 tickets for children ages 4 and 5 who were not in booster seats.
Troopers with the State Patrol wrote more than 4,865 tickets, and the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office handed out 1,011 tickets, according to CDOT.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
