Aggressive and reckless driving — Colorado Permit Test

Aggressive driving is any behind the wheel behavior that places others or property in danger through willful action without regard to safety.

The test is whether the act was deliberate and dangerous, not whether anyone was hurt. That is what separates it from a mistake.

behavior that places others and/or property in danger through willful action without regard to safety

Reckless driving is operating a vehicle in a way that puts either people or property in danger, whether intentional or not.

Reckless does not require intent, which is what makes it wider than aggressive driving. Not meaning it is no defense.

Reckless driving is operating a vehicle in such a way that puts either people or property in danger

If an officer notes your actions as endangering another person or property you can be charged under the Colorado reckless driving statute, and on conviction up to eight points can be assessed against your driving record.

Eight points from a single conviction is most of the way to losing a license. It is the handbook’s only worked example of what points cost.

up to eight points can be assessed against your driving record

Tailgating another driver, passing on the shoulder or running a red light can be seen as aggressive if an officer believes the action is willful and places others in danger.

Any one of them can be carelessness or a choice. Which it was is a judgment an officer makes from how the whole drive looked.

Acts such as tailgating another driver, passing on the shoulder or running a red light could be seen by a law enforcement officer as aggressive if the officer believes the action is willful and places others in danger.

A combination of acts such as speeding, cutting off other vehicles, swerving toward another motorist, honking, flashing headlights, yelling and using inappropriate hand gestures can be considered aggressive driving.

None of these is much on its own, which is how a driver talks themselves into all of them. Together they form the pattern.

A combination of acts, such as speeding, cutting off other vehicles, swerving toward another motorist, honking, flashing headlights, yelling and using inappropriate hand gestures can also be considered aggressive driving.

Acts such as displaying a weapon at another motorist, bumping or ramming another vehicle, or high speed pursuit of a vehicle can result in criminal charges beyond a reckless driving charge.

At that point it has stopped being a driving matter. The consequences are the ones attached to the act, not to the car.

Some acts, such as displaying a weapon at another motorist, bumping or ramming another vehicle or high speed pursuit of a vehicle can result in criminal charges beyond a reckless driving charge

To protect yourself from an aggressive driver, do not engage with them, avoid eye contact, do not attempt to match an aggressive act, and let them go past.

An aggressive driver is looking for a response. Refusing to give one is the only move that ends it quickly and safely.

To protect yourself from an aggressive driver, don’t engage with that driver

Dial star CSP, which is star 277, to report aggressive drivers to the Colorado State Patrol, and there is no charge for the call.

The call reaches the nearest trooper rather than a general line, so it can reach the driver while they are still on that road.

Dial *CSP (*277) to report aggressive drivers

To avoid becoming an aggressive driver, leave early for any trip, expect others to make mistakes, keep calm, and do not transfer anger from other situations into your driving.

Most aggression at the wheel arrives with the driver rather than starting on the road. Leaving early removes the commonest reason.

Leave early for any trip

Let people merge even if they have done something uncourteous, and do not make their problem your problem.

Refusing to let somebody in costs you nothing and gains you nothing, and it is how an ordinary drive turns into a confrontation.

Let people merge, even if they’ve done something uncourteous

What makes driving behavior aggressive?

Willful action that endangers others or property. The test is whether the act was deliberate and dangerous, not whether anyone was hurt. That is what separates it from a mistake. Colorado Driver Handbook, p.24: “behavior that places others and/or property in danger through willful action without regard to safety”