Buckle Up Or Get Busted

Colorado State Patrol is cracking down on seat belt violators.

Records are meant to be broken. Last year Colorado broke a record we'd rather have not. In 2017 there were over 600 traffic fatalities on Colorado highways. Believe it or not, a third was not wearing a seatbelt.

It seems like second nature to buckle up these days. I have a constant reminder. The scar across my left eye and the nagging pain in my right hip are reminders of a brutal head-on crash I was in. I was a passenger in one of two cars that impacted on both the passenger sides. They hit so hard they bounced off each other and landed in the middle of the road. It's surprising I survived. We had only traveled a couple miles from my place and I hadn't taken a couple seconds to buckle up.

Colorado State Patrol will be on the lookout for unbuckled drivers. If you're pulled over for any reason as don't have your seatbelt on, you're going to get a ticket. It's the law and CSP are out to enforce it. Keeping the roadways safe is the fundamental reason for their existence and they'll be watching.

Even though not wearing your seatbelt isn't a primary offense, research shows it's one of the most effective ways to protect yourself in an accident. "No matter how great of a driver you might be or think you are, there might be somebody else on the roadway that's not as good of a driver," says Dan Chermok with the Colorado State Patrol.

According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, you're 40% more likely to be killed or injured in a crash if you or somebody in the vehicles is unbuckled. So buckle up! It could save you some money or it could save your life.

Credit: Westernslopenow.com