Colorado driving law, answered
Every answer here comes from Colorado Driver Handbook and, where the manual is silent, the Colorado Revised Statutes: Title 42, Article 1, Part 1: Definitions and Citation, Title 42, Article 2, Parts 1, 2 and 5: Driver's Licenses, Habitual Offenders, Road and Community Safety Act, Title 42, Article 3, Parts 1 and 2: Registration and License Plates, Title 42, Article 4: Regulation of Vehicles and Traffic, Title 42, Article 6, Part 1: Certificates of Title, Title 42, Article 7: Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law, Title 10, Sections 10-4-619 and 10-4-620: Compulsory Coverage, Title 18, Sections 18-3-106 and 18-3-205: Vehicular Homicide and Vehicular Assault, with the page or the section it is in.
Statutes fetched on 7 October 2026; manuals fetched on 14 September 2026. How the answers are made
How far from a fire hydrant must you park?
You may not park within 15 feet of a fire hydrant. A fire crew has to get a hose onto the hydrant in seconds. A car on top of it costs them the time a building does not have.
Within 30 feet of a traffic signal, stop sign, railroad crossing or within 15 feet of a fire hydrant
As of 14 Sep 2026
How far from a crosswalk at an intersection must you park?
(c) Within twenty feet of a crosswalk at an intersection;
Colorado law, C.R.S. § 42-4-1204(2)(c)
As of 7 Oct 2026
May you park in or near an intersection?
You may not park within an intersection, tunnel, runaway truck ramp, on-ramp or off-ramp, or block a driveway, and you may not park in a bike lane. Every one of those is a place traffic has to keep moving through. A runaway truck ramp is the extreme case: it exists for a truck with no brakes.
Within an intersection, tunnel, runaway truck ramp
As of 14 Sep 2026
How far from a stop sign or traffic signal must you park?
You may not park within 30 feet of a traffic signal, stop sign or railroad crossing. A car parked that close hides the sign or the signal from everybody approaching. Thirty feet is what keeps the view open.
Within 30 feet of a traffic signal, stop sign, railroad crossing or within 15 feet of a fire hydrant ● Within an intersection, tunnel, runaway truck ramp, on/ off ramp or blocking a driveway ● In a bike lane Parallel parking:
As of 14 Sep 2026
How far from a fire station driveway must you park?
(e) Within twenty feet of the driveway entrance to any fire station or, on the side of a street opposite the entrance to any fire station, within seventy-five feet of said entrance when properly signposted;
Colorado law, C.R.S. § 42-4-1204(2)(e)
As of 7 Oct 2026
How close to the curb must you park?
Where parallel parking is permitted your vehicle must be within 12 inches of the curb, or as close as possible to the outside edge of the shoulder, so traffic is not blocked or slowed. A foot is about the width of a hand span twice over. Further out and your car is sticking into the lane people are driving in.
Where parallel parking is permitted, your vehicle must be within 12 inches of the curb or as close as possible to the outside edge of the shoulder, so traffic will not be blocked or slowed
As of 14 Sep 2026
When must you stop for a school bus with flashing red lights?
You must stop at least 20 feet before reaching a school bus stopped with its red lights flashing, and remain stopped until the lights stop flashing. Children cross in front of and behind the bus where the driver cannot see them. Twenty feet is the space that keeps you out of that crossing.
You must stop your vehicle at least 20 feet before reaching a school bus that is stopped with its red lights flashing, and you must stop until the lights stop flashing.
As of 14 Sep 2026
What must you do when passing a stopped emergency vehicle with flashing lights?
Approaching a stopped emergency vehicle, slow to 25 mph if the posted speed limit is 45 mph or less. Somebody is working within a few feet of moving traffic. At 25 you can stop for someone stepping out; above it you cannot.
25 MPH if the posted speed limit is 45 MPH or less
As of 14 Sep 2026
How far behind a fire truck answering an alarm may you follow?
The driver of any vehicle other than one on official business shall not follow any fire apparatus traveling in response to a fire alarm closer than five hundred feet or drive into or park such vehicle within the block where fire apparatus has stopped in answer to a fire alarm. Any person who violates any provision of this section commits a class A traffic infraction.
Colorado law, C.R.S. § 42-4-1403
As of 7 Oct 2026
When must you turn on your headlights?
Colorado law requires you to drive with your headlights on from sunset to sunrise, or whenever visibility is less than 1,000 feet. Headlights are as much about being seen as about seeing. The visibility figure covers fog and snow in the middle of the day.
Colorado law requires you to drive with your headlights on from sunset to sunrise or when visibility is less than 1,000 feet.
As of 14 Sep 2026
How far from an oncoming vehicle must you dim your high beams?
If you are driving with high beam lights on, you must dim them before coming within 500 feet of any oncoming vehicle. High beams reach further than the other driver can tolerate. At 500 feet they stop being a help to you and start being a wall of light to them.
If you are driving with your high beam lights on or your low beam lights with fog lights on, you must dim them before coming within 500 feet of any oncoming vehicle so the oncoming driver is not blinded by the glare.
As of 14 Sep 2026
Who must wear a seat belt?
Colorado law requires a fastened seat belt to be worn in all motor vehicles with a factory-equipped seat belt system while in operation on public roadways, by the driver, front seat passengers and children under 16. A belt is what keeps you behind the wheel instead of through the windshield. The people it names are the ones a crash reaches first.
Colorado law requires a fastened seat belt to be worn in all motor vehicles with a factory-equipped seat belt system while in operation on public roadways by: ● The driver ● Front seat passengers ● Children under 16
As of 14 Sep 2026
When must a child ride in a car seat?
A child less than 2 years old and weighing less than 40 pounds must be secured in the rear seat in a rear-facing child restraint system. A baby’s neck cannot hold its head in a crash. Facing the rear spreads the force across the whole back instead of snapping the head forward.
must be properly secured in the rear seat of the vehicle in a rear-facing child restraint system.
As of 14 Sep 2026
What is the legal blood alcohol limit for adult drivers?
A driver may be convicted of DUI per se if their blood alcohol concentration is greater than 0.08%. Above that figure the state does not have to argue about how you were driving. The number by itself is the offense.
A driver may also be convicted of DUI per se if the driver’s BAC is greater than 0.08%
As of 14 Sep 2026
What is the blood alcohol limit for drivers under 21?
A license may be revoked on a blood alcohol concentration over .02 if the driver is under 21. Under 21 it is illegal to be drinking at all, so the driving limit is set near zero. One drink is enough to cross it.
based on a BAC over .08 or over .02 if the driver is under 21, or over .04 for a CDL driver
As of 14 Sep 2026
What happens if you refuse a breath or blood alcohol test?
Refusing to be tested for alcohol or drug content is a way to lose your driving privilege. The test is the evidence, so refusing it would otherwise be the safe play for a driver who has been drinking. Colorado makes refusing cost more.
Refuse to be tested for alcohol or drug content
As of 14 Sep 2026
May you use a handheld phone while driving?
Colorado law prohibits drivers from using a mobile device while driving unless it is to contact law enforcement or the fire department, it is an emergency, or they are using a hands-free accessory. Holding a phone takes a hand off the wheel and most of your attention off the road. The exceptions are the calls that cannot wait.
drivers from using a mobile device while driving, unless it is to contact law enforcement, the fire department, if it is an emergency or they are doing so with the use of a hands-free accessory
As of 14 Sep 2026
May you text while driving?
Colorado law prohibits the use of mobile devices for text messaging while driving unless it is to contact law enforcement or the fire department, or it is an emergency. Texting takes your eyes off the road for several seconds at a time. At highway speed that is the length of a football field driven blind.
Colorado law also prohibits the use of mobile devices for text messaging while driving unless it is to contact law enforcement, the fire department or it is an emergency
As of 14 Sep 2026
How far before a turn must you signal?
In urban areas you must signal continuously for 100 feet before making a turn or lane change. A hundred feet is about six car lengths, which is enough for the driver behind to read it and act. Signaling as you turn is too late to help anyone.
In urban areas, you must signal continuously for 100 feet before making a turn or lane change
As of 14 Sep 2026
May you turn right on a red light?
After stopping and yielding to pedestrians and other traffic, and if not prohibited by a traffic sign, you may turn right while the light is red. The stop comes first and is not optional. Rolling round the corner takes away the look that the rule exists to make you take.
After stopping and yielding to pedestrians and other traffic, and if not prohibited by a traffic sign, you may turn right while the light is red
As of 14 Sep 2026
May you turn left on a red light onto a one-way street?
(B) Such vehicular traffic, when proceeding on a one-way street and after coming to a stop, may make a left turn onto a one-way street upon which traffic is moving to the left of the driver. Such turn shall be made only after yielding the right-of-way to pedestrians and other traffic proceeding as directed. No turn shall be made pursuant to this sub-subparagraph (B) if local authorities have by ordinance prohibited any such left turn and erected a sign giving notice of any such prohibition at each intersection where such left turn is prohibited. (C) To promote uniformity in traffic regulation throughout the state and to protect the public peace, health, and safety, the general assembly declares that no local authority shall have any discretion other than is expressly provided in this subparagraph (I).
Colorado law, C.R.S. § 42-4-604(1)(c)
As of 7 Oct 2026
Where are U-turns not allowed?
A U-turn is forbidden unless it can be made without endangering other motorists and their passengers, and is not allowed where marked by a No U-turn sign. A U-turn crosses every lane and takes longer than any other maneuver. The test is whether anybody else is put at risk by it.
U-turns are forbidden unless they can be made without endangering other motorists and their passengers, and are not allowed in locations marked by No U-turn signs
As of 14 Sep 2026
What is the speed limit on a residential street when no sign is posted?
Unless otherwise posted, the Colorado speed limit in any residence district is 30 mph. Children, driveways and parked cars are all there and all unpredictable. The limit is a little higher than downtown because the crossings are fewer.
30 mph in any residence district
As of 14 Sep 2026
What is the speed limit on a highway outside town when no sign is posted?
Unless otherwise posted, the Colorado speed limit on designated rural interstate and highways is 65 to 75 mph. These are the roads with the fewest crossings and the longest sightlines, so the ceiling is the highest Colorado sets anywhere.
65-75 mph on designated rural interstate and highways
As of 14 Sep 2026
When may you pass another vehicle on the right?
Typically you should pass on the left, and you are only allowed to pass on the right on one way streets and on roadways with two or more lanes of travel in each direction. Drivers look left for a passing car and rarely right. Passing on the right is allowed only where a lane is already there for it.
You are only allowed to pass on the right on one way streets and on roadways with two or more lanes of travel in each direction
As of 14 Sep 2026
May you wear headphones while driving?
You may not operate a motor vehicle while wearing earphones, meaning any device or headset covering all or a portion of both ears. Sirens, horns and a tire going flat all reach you through your ears first. Covering both of them takes away a warning you cannot get any other way.
Note — You may not operate a motor vehicle while wearing earphones
As of 14 Sep 2026
May you have an open container of alcohol in the car?
It is unlawful to possess an open container of alcohol or an open container of marijuana in the passenger area of a motor vehicle on a public road. An open container within reach is a drink halfway to being drunk. The law puts the line at the container rather than at proving who drank from it.
It is unlawful for someone to either possess an open container of alcohol or possess an open container of marijuana while in the passenger area of a motor vehicle that is on a public road
As of 14 Sep 2026
How long must you hold a learner's permit before a license?
Colorado law requires a minor to hold an instruction permit for 12 months before applying for a driver license. A year covers every season, so a new driver meets snow, glare and dark before driving alone. Practice packed into a month misses all of it.
Colorado law requires minors to have an instruction permit for 12 months before applying for a driver license and to submit a completed and signed driving log showing 50 hours of driving experience (10 of which must have been at night).
As of 14 Sep 2026
Who must ride with you when you drive on a learner's permit?
While driving with an instruction permit you must have a person who is 21 years or older and holds a valid Colorado license in the front passenger seat. A beginner misses things, and someone beside you can say so before it matters. The seat is named because help from the back of the car arrives too late.
When you are driving with an instruction permit, you must have a person who is 21 years or older who has a valid Colorado license in the front passenger seat
As of 14 Sep 2026
What hours may a provisional driver not drive?
For the first year as a licensed driver, driving between midnight and 5 a.m. is not allowed unless an instructor, parent or legal guardian is along. Those hours hold the tired drivers and the drinking drivers, and a new driver is least able to read either. A year of daylight comes first.
For your first year as a licensed driver, driving between midnight and 5 a.m. is not allowed unless you are accompanied by an instructor, parent or legal guardian
As of 14 Sep 2026
How many passengers may a new provisional driver carry?
For the first six months after a driver under 18 is licensed, they may carry no passengers under 21 unless a parent or another licensed adult driver is in the vehicle. Friends in the car are the biggest single risk to a new teenage driver. The first six months are when the driver is least able to handle them.
For the first six months after your license is issued, you cannot have any passengers under 21, unless a parent or another licensed adult driver is in the vehicle
As of 14 Sep 2026
When must you install an ignition interlock after a drunk-driving conviction?
(a) The following persons shall hold an interlock-restricted license pursuant to this section for at least one year following reinstatement prior to being eligible to obtain any other driver's license issued under this article: (I) A person whose license has been revoked for excess BAC pursuant to the provisions of section 42-2-126 when the person's BAC was 0.15 or more at the time of driving or within two hours after driving or whose driving record otherwise indicates a designation of persistent drunk driver as defined in section 42-1-102 (68.5); (II) A person whose privilege to drive was revoked as an habitual offender under section 42-2-203 in which the revocation was due in part to a DUI, DUI per se, or DWAI conviction; or (III) A person whose privilege to drive was revoked for interlock circumvention pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (7) of this section.
Colorado law, C.R.S. § 42-2-132.5(1)(a)
As of 7 Oct 2026
How many points on your license lead to a suspension?
(1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (8)(b) of this section, the department has the authority to suspend the license of any driver who, in accordance with the schedule of points set forth in this section, has been convicted of traffic violations resulting in the accumulation of twelve points or more within any twelve consecutive months or eighteen points or more within any twenty-four consecutive months, or, in the case of a minor driver eighteen years of age or older, who has accumulated nine points or more within any twelve consecutive months, or twelve points or more within any twenty-four consecutive months, or fourteen points or more for violations occurring after reaching the age of eighteen years, or, in the case of a minor driver under the age of eighteen years, who has accumulated more than five points within any twelve consecutive months or more than six points for violations occurring prior to reaching the age of eighteen years; except that the accumulation of points causing the subjection to suspension of the license of a chauffeur who, in the course of employment, has as a principal duty the operation of a motor vehicle is sixteen points in one year, twenty-four points in two years, or twenty-eight points in four years, if all the points are accumulated while said chauffeur is in the course of employment. Any provision of this section to the contrary notwithstanding, the license of a chauffeur who is convicted of DUI, DUI per se, DWAI, UDD, or leaving the scene of a crash must be suspended in the same manner as if the offense occurred outside the course of employment. Whenever a minor driver under the age of eighteen years receives a summons for a traffic violation, the minor's parent or legal guardian or, if the minor is without parents or guardian, the person who signed the minor driver's application for a license must immediately be notified by the court from which the summons was issued.
Colorado law, C.R.S. § 42-2-127(1)
As of 7 Oct 2026
Who must wear a protective helmet while operating or riding a motorcycle?
(I) Each person under eighteen years of age is wearing a protective helmet of a type and design manufactured for use by operators of motorcycles;
Colorado law, C.R.S. § 42-4-1502(4.5)(a)
As of 7 Oct 2026
How much light must a tinted side or rear window let through?
(1) (a) (I) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph (a), no person shall operate a motor vehicle registered in Colorado on which any window, except the windshield, is composed of, covered by, or treated with any material or component that presents an opaque, nontransparent, or metallic or mirrored appearance in such a way that it allows less than twenty-seven percent light transmittance. The windshield shall allow at least seventy percent light transmittance.
Colorado law, C.R.S. § 42-4-227(1)
As of 7 Oct 2026
How much distance must you leave when passing a bicycle?
When passing bicyclists, including those in a bike lane, motorists must give a minimum of three feet from the outermost part of their vehicle or any attachments. Three feet is the room a rider needs to swerve round a grate or a pothole without meeting your mirror. Mirrors and trailers count as part of the car.
When passing bicyclists, including those in a bike lane, motorists are required to give a minimum of three feet from the outermost part of their vehicle or any attachments.
As of 14 Sep 2026
Must a vehicle driving slower than other traffic keep to the right lane?
Drive in the rightmost lane when you are driving slower than the normal speed on a freeway. Keeping slower traffic right means faster traffic never has to weave. A slow car in a fast lane creates the passing it was trying to avoid.
Drive in the rightmost lane when you are driving slower than the normal speed
As of 14 Sep 2026
What is the minimum liability insurance coverage for bodily injury or death of one person and property damage?
Subject to the limitations and exclusions authorized by this part 6, the basic coverage required for compliance with this part 6 is legal liability coverage for bodily injury or death arising out of the use of the motor vehicle to a limit, exclusive of interest and costs, of twenty-five thousand dollars to any one person in any one accident and fifty thousand dollars to all persons in any one accident and for property damage arising out of the use of the motor vehicle to a limit, exclusive of interest and costs, of fifteen thousand dollars in any one accident.
Colorado law, C.R.S. § 10-4-620
As of 7 Oct 2026
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