Key Message
As members of the Pueblo community, we care about our neighbors and want everyone to get home safely. Let’s set the example and lead the way to buckle up.
We are coming together to save lives by raising awareness of buckling up.
Pueblo County seat belt usage and youth traffic safety
In Pueblo County, 7 in 10 people buckle up when they get in a vehicle. That’s good but we can do better.
For the last decade, Pueblo has consistently had the lowest, or near lowest, seat belt usage rate in Colorado.
We know Pueblo can increase seat belt usage because we’ve seen it: Pueblo’s usage rose from 66.2% in 2021 to 79.2% in 2024. In 2025, usage dropped back to 71.6%.
Since 2020, traffic crashes have been the leading cause of death for children under 18 in Pueblo County.
In that same time frame, two-thirds (66%) of teen motor vehicle deaths involved people not wearing seat belts.
Colorado and national seat belt usage
Colorado’s seat belt usage rate is 90.7% (CDOT 2025)
Nationally, seat belt usage is 91.2% (NHTSA 2024)
Why wear a seat belt?
Research shows that wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of injury or death in a crash by half. This is why buckling up is the single most effective thing you can do to prevent harm from happening to you.
A crash can happen to anyone. There’s a 1 in 40 chance that you will be involved in a crash this year. Most passengers who died in crashes weren’t buckled up.
When you don't buckle up, you endanger more than your own life. Drivers and passengers often fail to consider how unbuckled occupants continue moving, sometimes at high speed, during a crash. When that happens, they become projectiles capable of seriously hurting or killing other people.
About Every Click Counts
Every Click Counts is a coalition of Pueblo community leaders, local businesses, schools, law enforcement, health and safety leaders and others, created to raise awareness about seat belt usage, help make it a value within the community, and encourage drivers and passengers to buckle up -- every trip, every time. This is a community driven coalition: For Pueblo, by Pueblo.
The first media event announcing the coalition was held in September 2025. It included Pueblo Police Department, City of Pueblo, Pueblo Department of Public Health & Environment, Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce, Pueblo Latino Chamber of Commerce, UCHealth Parkview, Southern Colorado Youth Go, Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment.
As of April 2026, Every Click Counts consists of nearly 40 partners and continues to welcome new ones.
The coalition has placed high-impact art displays around town since September 2025 (“No Excuses” seat belt displays) and will have a presence at various events starting Summer 2026.
The coalition is supported by Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
For questions or more information
Contact Darena Herschler at darena.herschler@state.co.us