Picking up a speeding ticket in Colorado can be frustrating and costly. Beyond the immediate fines, a conviction can lead to points on your driver’s license, a suspension of your driving privileges, increased insurance premiums, and – in more serious cases – even jail.
While it might seem easier just to pay the fine and move on, I know from experience that it is often well worth fighting speeding allegations. Getting a speeding ticket reduced or dismissed can save you significant time, money, and stress in the long term.
Best Defenses
Here at Colorado Legal Defense Group, I have represented literally thousands of people pulled over for exceeding the speed limit. The following seven defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors and judges at getting these allegations lessened or dropped altogether.
- Facial errors. Police make mistakes, and perhaps your citation shows an incorrect name, address, VIN, or even time and date of the alleged violation. Even minor errors can call the validity of the ticket into question.
- Inaccurate Radar or LiDAR. I check whether these devices have been calibrated and maintained according to the law and manufacturer specifications. I also check whether environmental factors such as traffic density, weather, or objects near the road potentially interfered with the device readings. A reasonable doubt as to the accuracy of the Radar or LiDAR could cause your case to be dropped.
- Lack of officer certification/training. I also do a full check to see if the officers involved were up on their credentialing and education. If they let their certifications lapse, that could be enough to get a speeding ticket thrown out.
- Pacing problems. If the officer determined your speed by pacing your vehicle, I would question the distance over which the pacing occurred, the officer’s ability to maintain a constant speed, their line of sight, their distance from your vehicle, and any obstructions or traffic that might have affected the accuracy of the pace. This may reveal the officer’s reading was wholly inaccurate.
- Necessity or emergency. Exceeding the speed limit may have been necessary due to an emergency. For instance, if you were rushing someone to the hospital because there was no ambulance available, I can credibly argue that you were left with no reasonable alternative but to speed.
- The speed was reasonable. One scenario I routinely see is inexperienced officers ticketing motorists for allegedly driving too fast for the conditions (such as rough weather, bad roads, or heavy traffic) even though they are below the speed limit. Here, I would argue that your speed was reasonable and prudent given the circumstances, and the officers were simply overreacting.
- Clerical errors. Police stations and courts are big bureaucracies that may make mistakes regarding the filing of the ticket, notification requirements, or adherence to court rules. Any of these could be enough to get your case dropped.
In speeding cases, typical evidence I rely on includes police dash cam video, mounted traffic surveillance footage, your GPS records, eyewitness testimony, and any records re. the Radar/LiDAR’s service and maintenance history.
Traffic police monitor speed with Radar and/or LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging.
Plea Bargains
In many cases, the above-mentioned defenses succeed in getting Colorado speeding charges dismissed. The next best-case scenario is to plea bargain the charge reduced to a lesser offense, such as a lower-level speeding ticket or even a non-moving violation.
A common plea bargain is for a speeding ticket to be knocked down to a parking ticket. As a non-moving violation, parking tickets are only class B traffic infractions, which carry no DMV points at all.1
In some jurisdictions, completing a defensive driving or traffic school course might be an option to reduce DMV points or prevent a conviction from appearing on your driving record. This is often offered as part of a plea agreement.
Arrests are rare following a speeding violation. Police typically issue citations.
Possible Penalties
The sentence for speeding in Colorado turns on how fast the alleged speeding was, as the following table shows.
| Colorado Speeding Violation | Punishment |
| 1 to 4 mph over the limit | Class A traffic infraction: $30 plus $6 surcharge |
| 5 to 9 mph over the limit | Class A traffic infraction: $70 plus $10 surcharge and 1 DMV point |
| 10 to 19 mph over the limit | Class A traffic infraction: $135 plus $16 surcharge and 4 DMV points |
| 20 to 24 mph over the limit | Class A traffic infraction: $200 plus $32 surcharge and 6 DMV points |
| Driving too fast given the road conditions | Class A traffic infraction: $100 plus $10 surcharge and 3 DMV points |
| Exceeding a prudent speed on a bridge | Class A traffic infraction: $30 plus $6 surcharge and 3 DMV points |
| 25 or more mph over the limit | Class 2 traffic misdemeanor: $150 to $300 and/or 10 to 90 days in jail DMV points: 6 if less than 40 mph over the limit or 12 if 40 mph or more over the limit |
| 25 or more mph over the limit in a construction zone | Class 1 traffic misdemeanor: $300 to $1,000 and/or 10 days to 1 year in jail DMV points: 6 if less than 40 mph over the limit or 12 if 40 mph or more over the limit |
Note that speeding less than 25 miles per hour over the limit is a civil traffic infraction and therefore carries no possibility of jail. Meanwhile, speeding 25 miles per hour or more over the limit is a criminal traffic misdemeanor and therefore carries the possibility of jail.
Also note that penalties are doubled if the location of the alleged speeding was a maintenance, repair, or construction zone.2
License Suspension
In Colorado, racking up too many DMV points can cause the Department of Motor Vehicles to suspend your driver’s license for six-to-12 months. For instance, adult drivers 21 and older lose their driving privileges if they amass at least 12 DMV points in 12 consecutive months.
As mentioned above, you may be able to eliminate some points from your driving record by doing traffic school.
If the DMV notifies you that they intend to suspend your license due to excessive points, you can request a DMV point hearing to contest the suspension. You can hire an attorney to represent you (which I recommend) or appear yourself, either by phone or in person.
DMV point hearings can be won, but they are harder to win than criminal trials. This is because in criminal trials, prosecutors have to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. With DMV point hearings, the state has a much lower burden of proof.3
Insurance Premiums
In Colorado speeding tickets typically trigger a spike in your insurance premiums. That is another reason why we fight so hard to get your charge reduced to a dismissal or non-moving violation, which typically has no insurance consequences.
Speeding carries criminal, civil, DMV, and/or insurance penalties.
Additional Resources
For more information, refer to these Colorado DMV websites:
- Make an appointment – Save time by making an appointment online.
- DMV office locations – A list of all the DMVs in Colorado.
- Application for reinstatement – This is necessary to regain your driving privileges.
- Online portal (MyDMV) – You can often avoid going to the DMV by using the portal.
- Pay tickets online – The easiest way to pay your civil penalties and close your case.
Legal References
- Colorado Revised Statute 42-4-1701. Point Suspensions, Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles.
- Same. CRS 42-4-1101. CRS 42-2-127. Shafron v. Cooke (Colo.App. 2008) 190 P.3d 812; United States v. Boyer (D. Colo. 1996) 935 F. Supp. 1138.
- Same.
