There is good news as Coloradans take to the roadways this Thanksgiving. A new study on seat belt usage conducted for the Colorado Department of Transportation reveals that 85.2 percent of roadway users are buckling up. Although an improvement from last year’s survey, which found an 82.4 percent use rate, Colorado is still below the national average of 87 percent.
Denver County recorded one of the lowest use rates at 73.7 percent. This is almost 10 percent lower than last year’s rate of 83.1 percent.
“The 3 percent improvement over last year is significant and shows that CDOT’s seat belt education and enforcement programs are working,” said Carol Gould, highway safety manager for CDOT. “That said, our usage rate is still below average, so outreach will continue until 100 percent of Coloradoans are buckling up.”
CDOT works with law enforcement agencies on three Click It or Ticket enforcement periods each year. Since CIOT started in Colorado in 2002, seat belt use in Colorado has increased from 72 percent to 85.2 percent in 2015.
Vans and SUV’s had the highest usage rates at 89.2 percent and 89.9 percent respectively. Pickup trucks and commercial vehicles had the lowest usage rate at 77.6 percent and 73.9 percent respectively. Urban counties in the Front Range generally have higher usage rates. Rural counties on the Western Slope and Eastern Plains generally have lower usage rates. These rural counties also have a higher proportion of pickup trucks, which tend to have lower seat belt use rates.
