For Immediate Release | May 18, 2016
Contact: Greg Daly, Deputy Chief of Police
970-748-4040 | gdaly@avon.org
 

Avon Police Department is participating in the National Click it or Ticket Campaign, May 23 – June 5, 2016

Avon, CO—Time to buckle up Avon. Beginning May 23^rd, the Avon Police Department will be participating in a two-week seat belt compliance campaign in an effort to increase seat belt use and save lives. This is a zero tolerance campaign and officers will have no discretion when enforcing seatbelt violations. The Town of Avon has a primary seat belt ordinance for adult drivers and front-seat passengers. Drivers will be cited for violating the seat belt law. Seat belt fines are $75 per violation.
 
Wearing a seatbelt can decrease your chances of being ejected from a vehicle, and surviving a crash.  If involved in a collision, an air bag can only protect you if you remain in a vehicle.  Colorado law requires all drivers and front seat occupants to wear seat belts. The driver is also responsible for properly restraining young passengers in the front and back seats. The minimum fine for violating the state's child-passenger safety law is $82.

“It only takes two seconds to buckle up and that two seconds can change the lives of the ones you love forever. Seat belt use has an impact on everyone in your life – as a mother, I urge you to start the habit of buckling up with your children to keep them safe throughout their lives,” says Amy Nichols, a mother of an unrestrained victim killed in a car crash.

Click it or Ticket is a nationwide campaign from the Nation Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Since the campaign started in Colorado in 2002, seat belt use has increased from 72 percent to 80.9 percent, and unrestrained deaths have declined by 56 percent. Funding for the Click it or Ticket Campaign is provided through a federal grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).
 
For more information, please visit www.seatbeltscolorado.com or www.carseatscolorado.com.

Please buckle-up, drive safe, and if you choose to drink, don’t drive!