The Colorado Counties with the Best and Worst Seat Belt Use

Apparently, there are some counties in Colorado that believe they are above using a seatbelt.

The Colorado Department of Transportation recently released the results of the 2022 Colorado Statewide Seat-Belt Study and now we know exactly which counties have the best and worst seat belt use rates.

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Seatbelts Save Lives

Despite this popular phrase being plastered across highway signs and driving education classrooms, there is still a large number of Coloradans that do not use their seatbelts.

Traveling Colorado roads and highways is always a risk, so why not take the most basic step to protect yourself in case of an accident?

You wouldn't ride a rollercoaster without buckling up and driving a vehicle AKA heavy machinery, is basically the same concept.

Numbers Don't Lie

In the nation, an average of 90% of people use their seatbelts. However, Colorado's numbers are in fact lower than the national average at 87%. In 2021, that number was slightly lower at 86.6%. Despite our very small increase in seatbelt usage, there are still not enough Coloradans buckling up.

“The majority of Coloradans are doing the right thing, and seeing any increase in seat belt use is encouraging,” said Chief Matthew C. Packard, Colorado State Patrol.

But 87% means there are still Coloradans who are failing to buckle up for their safety. I want those folks to know that seatbelts significantly increase your chances of surviving a collision. Crashes aren't planned, buckle up!

This year alone, CDOT reports 146 unbuckled fatalities on Colorado roads.

Best and Worst Seatbelt Use by County in Colorado

These are the Colorado counties with the top 10 seatbelt use rates:

Grand 96.3%
Garfield 96%
Arapahoe 93.8%
Denver 93.6%
Eagle 93.6%
Boulder 92.9%
Morgan 92.9%
Mesa 92.1%
Logan 91.1%
Costilla 90.9%

These are the Colorado counties with the worst seatbelt use rates:

La Plata 87.7%
Delta 87.6%
Douglas 87.2%
El Paso 86.7%
Montezuma 86.1%
Jefferson 80.8%
Weld 80.1%
Fremont 78.1%
Chaffee 69.2%
Pueblo 67.6%

15 Laughable Reasons Not To Wear A Seatbelt In Colorado

While there are at least two good reasons for wearing a seatbelt, some people can come up with a myriad of reasons not to buckle up when they are behind the wheel. Here is a look at 15 semi-laughable reasons not to wear a seatbelt in Colorado.

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.