Seat belt safety enforcement begins in April

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - April 3 kicks off a new seat belt safety enforcement period.

The Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State Patrol, and other local law enforcement agencies will begin the first seatbelt safety enforcement of the year on that day.

According to a recent Colorado Statewide Seat Belt Safety Survey, Colorado’s seat belt use rate is 87 percent below the national average of 95 percent.

The survey found pickup truck drivers are the least likely to wear their seat belt, sitting at a use rate of 79 percent.

There was a 10 percent decrease in seat belt wearing pickup drivers from 2021 were there was a usage rate of 88 percent

Overall, 13 percent of drivers nationwide don’t wear a seatbelt.

Last year alone there were 2,755 people who were issued citations for not wearing a seat belt. The enforcement period runs until April 19 and a second one will begin in May.

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