Preliminary data from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) show that the state’s seat belt usage rate has reached 90.7% in 2025, marking a record high for Colorado. The new figure reflects a 2.5 percentage point increase from the previous year’s rate of 88.2%. CDOT observed over 106,000 vehicles at 744 locations across the state during a two-week survey period in June.
“This is extremely encouraging news,” said CDOT’s Executive Director Shoshana Lew. “We know that seat belts play vital and life-saving roles during crashes. When more than 90% of Coloradans choose to buckle up, they are choosing to keep themselves, their loved ones and their community safe. Let’s get that number to 100.”
The national seat belt usage rate stood at 91.2% as of 2024, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Over the past five years, Colorado has made notable progress toward reaching this national average; since 2015, statewide seat belt use has risen by more than five percentage points.
CDOT data indicate that SUV drivers had the highest seat belt use at 93.4%, followed by van drivers at 92.9%. Pick-up truck drivers had the lowest rate at 85.7%. Seat belt use also tended to be higher on roads with greater speed limits.
Seat belt usage varied by region within Colorado: Grand County reported a rate of 97.1%, Douglas County reached 95.7%, and Garfield County was at 94.3%. In contrast, Pueblo County saw only a 71.6% usage rate and also experienced a decrease of nearly eight percentage points compared to last year.
“Seat belt usage rates remain lower among Colorado’s rural counties and truck drivers year over year,” said Col. Matthew C. Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “In the year to come, we will continue to educate and remind these drivers about the importance of buckling up.”
NHTSA research shows that wearing a seat belt can reduce fatal injury risk by nearly half for front-seat occupants in passenger vehicles and by even more in light trucks.
Colorado law requires all drivers and front-seat passengers in motor vehicles—and all occupants in autocycles equipped with safety belts—to wear them whenever traveling on public roads.
