Traffic stops — Colorado Permit Test

When you see emergency lights behind you, activate your turn signal and pull off or to the right side of the roadway as soon as it is safe to do so.

The officer is about to walk beside moving traffic. Where you stop decides how much room they have while they do it.

Activate your turn signal and pull off or to the right side of the roadway as soon as it is safe to do so

During a traffic stop turn off the engine and any audio devices, and turn on your interior lights if you are pulled over at night.

A quiet car and a lit one let the officer see and hear what is happening inside. Both remove a reason for the stop to become tense.

Turn on your interior lights if you are pulled over at night to assist with visibility

Stay in your vehicle during a traffic stop unless directed by the officer to exit, and keep your hands on the steering wheel or in a visible location.

Getting out or reaching for something changes what the officer is dealing with. Hands where they can be seen keeps the stop routine.

Keep your hands on the steering wheel or in a visible location so they are easily observable

Let the officer know at first contact if you have a weapon in the vehicle, but do not reach for it or attempt to hand it to them.

Saying so removes the surprise. Reaching for it creates exactly the situation the sentence exists to prevent.

Let the officer know if you have a weapon in the vehicle upon first contact, but do not reach for it or attempt to hand it to the officer.

Wait for the officer’s instructions before reaching for your driver license or vehicle documents, and if they are out of reach tell the officer where they are and wait for acknowledgement.

Reaching under a seat is the movement that looks worst from outside the car. Saying what you are about to do removes the ambiguity.

If the documents are out of your reach, tell the officer where they are and wait for the officer’s acknowledgement before reaching to retrieve the documents

Signing a traffic ticket is not an admission of guilt, but refusing to sign a traffic ticket may result in your arrest.

The signature is a promise to deal with it, not an agreement that you did it. Refusing turns a ticket into something much worse.

Your acceptance and signature on a traffic ticket is not an admission of guilt

If you disagree with an officer’s decision, do not prolong the contact by arguing, and instead seek to contest the decision in court through established legal channels.

The roadside is the one place the decision cannot be changed. The court is where the argument actually counts for something.

Rather, you may seek to contest the decision in court through established legal channels

An officer not in uniform will typically show their law enforcement credentials, and if they do not, you may ask to see them.

Anybody can buy a flashing light. Asking to see credentials is the check that costs nothing and is your right to make.

Show their law enforcement credentials if they are not in uniform

What should you do first when an officer signals you to pull over?

Signal and pull to the right when it is safe. The officer is about to walk beside moving traffic. Where you stop decides how much room they have while they do it. Colorado Driver Handbook, p.19: “Activate your turn signal and pull off or to the right side of the roadway as soon as it is safe to do so”