A record number of seat belt tickets were written by Colorado law enforcement during the two-week Click It or Ticket campaign, which ended June 4th. The Colorado State Patrol and 95 law enforcement agencies that received grants for overtime enforcement wrote 11,403 seat belt tickets during the two week mobilization period which began May 21st. More than 100 other Colorado law enforcement agencies participated in the seat belt enforcement campaign, but were not required to report on the number of seat belt tickets issued.

“Seat belt enforcement remains a top priority for Colorado law enforcement all year-round,” said Colonel Mark Trostel, Chief of the Colorado State Patrol. "The Click It or Ticket campaign is making a difference, but we're still not at 100 percent use by drivers and passengers. If you don't follow Colorado's seat belt laws, you will get a ticket. Colorado's law enforcement officers would rather write you a ticket than inform a loved one that you've been seriously injured or killed in a crash because you weren't buckled up."

The majority of tickets were issued for adult seat belt violations, with 10,521 citations. Law enforcement issued 882 tickets to drivers who violated the state’s laws for requiring child safety seats, booster seats and seat belts for children under age 16.

According the Colorado State Patrol, a 5-year-old child was killed in a crash in Mesa County on Wednesday, who was sitting on a passenger’s lap. Both the passenger and the child were unrestrained and died. Colorado’s child passenger safety law requires children ages 4-5 be properly restrained in a booster seat.

“This week’s accident is a tragedy that may have been avoided. There is absolutely no excuse for not buckling up children,” said Pamela Hutton, CDOT Governor’s Representative for Highway Safety. “You owe it to these young people to give them a better chance of surviving a crash and having a future. Set a good example and buckle up yourself and your child passengers. It’s the law.”

The Colorado State Patrol issued the most seat belt citations, with 4,518. Other agencies with the most seat belt tickets included: Lakewood Police Department (937), Arapahoe County S.O. (721), Denver P.D. (495), Loveland P.D. (375), Aurora P.D. (249), Fort Collins P.D. (243), Boulder P.D. (221), Golden P.D. (213), Westminster P.D. (211). To see campaign results for individual enforcement agencies, visit www.dot.state.co.us/trafficsafety/ and choose Seat Belt Enforcement. You can choose seat belt tickets, other violations or local surveys for each agency. After you click the agency name, click View Report.

In addition to seat belt tickets, speeding topped the list of other violations issued during the campaign as agencies wrote 13,493 such tickets. Arrests for DUI, outstanding warrants, drugs, stolen vehicles and weapons were also made by Click It or Ticket campaign agencies. Here is breakdown of enforcement other than seat belts:

• Speeding – 13,493
• No insurance – 2,108
• Lane use violations – 1,143
• Suspended or no license – 1,718
• Traffic control devices – 1,088
• DUI – 568
• Careless driving – 551
• Fugitives – 486
• Drugs -- 224
• Reckless driving – 106
• Stolen vehicles -- 36
• Weapons – 8
• Other violations – 1,061
• Other hazardous violations -- 443
• Other arrests -- 270

Since Click It or Ticket began in 2002, more than 55,759 seat belts tickets have been issued in Colorado during the yearly enforcement campaign. According to preliminary data, 381 drivers and passengers died on Colorado highways in 2006, and 231 (61%) were not buckled up.