Vehicle condition — Colorado Permit Test

Motorists are responsible for making sure the vehicles they drive are safe to operate.

Nobody inspects your car before you pull out of the driveway. Whatever is wrong with it becomes your problem at the worst possible moment.

Motorists are responsible to ensure the vehicles they drive are safe to operate

A windshield should be replaced if the glass is damaged, because damaged glass can break easily or obstruct vision.

A crack spreads across the part of the glass you look through, and damaged glass breaks apart in a crash instead of holding together.

Get your windshield replaced if the glass is damaged because damaged glass can break easily or obstruct vision

Worn or bald tires increase stopping distance, make turning more difficult, can cause hydroplaning on a wet road and raise the chance of a flat tire.

Tread is what pushes water out from under the tire. Worn smooth, the tire floats instead of gripping, and the steering goes light.

Worn or bald tires can increase your stopping distance, make turning more difficult, can cause hydroplaning when the road is wet, and increase the chance of having a flat tire

Unbalanced wheels and low tire pressure increase tire wear, reduce fuel economy and make the vehicle harder to steer and stop.

Soft tires change shape under load, so the car answers the wheel late. It is the cheapest fault on this list to fix.

Unbalanced wheels and low tire pressure increase tire wear, reduce fuel economy and make the vehicle harder to steer and stop

Fumes from a leaky exhaust system can cause death in a very short time, so you must never run the motor in a garage or sit in the car with the motor running without opening a window.

Exhaust fumes have no smell worth noticing and put you to sleep rather than making you cough. People die in parked cars this way.

Fumes from a leaky exhaust system can cause death in a very short time

There must be no objects on the rear shelf or back seat that could injure someone during a sudden stop or crash, and none on the floor that could roll under the brake pedal or accelerator.

Anything loose keeps traveling when the car stops. A bottle under the brake pedal is the version of this that takes the brakes away.

Ensure there are no objects on the floor that could roll under the brake pedal or accelerator and interfere with your safe driving

Head restraints should be adjusted so the restraint touches the back of your head.

Set too low, a head restraint is a hinge for your neck in a rear-end crash instead of a backstop for your skull.

They should be adjusted so the head restraint touches the back of your head

To set the driver’s side mirror, place your head against the left side window and set the mirror so you can barely see the side of the car.

A mirror showing your own car is a mirror wasted on metal. Set out further it covers the space where another car hides.

To adjust the driver’s side mirror place your head against the left side window and set the mirror so you can barely see the side of the car in the left side of the mirror

If the vehicle bounces, the steering wheel shakes or the vehicle pulls to one side, have a mechanic check the tires.

Those three are the car telling you something is wrong underneath it. Ignored, they end with a blowout at speed.

If the vehicle bounces, the steering wheel shakes, or the vehicle pulls to one side, have a mechanic check your tires

Who is responsible for a vehicle being safe to drive?

The person driving it. Nobody inspects your car before you pull out of the driveway. Whatever is wrong with it becomes your problem at the worst possible moment. Colorado Driver Handbook, p.6: “Motorists are responsible to ensure the vehicles they drive are safe to operate”