Distracted, reckless and aggressive driving

Key points

1. Mental activities that take your mind off driving are just as dangerous as taking your eyes or hands away.

   Source: Handbook p. 24

   “Mental activities that take your mind away from driving are just as dangerous.”
   Colorado Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 24

2. Drivers may not use any mobile electronic device unless hands free or in an emergency.

   Source: Handbook p. 24

   “Drivers are not allowed to use any mobile electronic device while driving unless it is with a hands-free device or in an emergency situation.”
   Colorado Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 24

3. Pull off the road if you need to use your phone.

   Source: Handbook p. 24

   “Pull off the road if you need to use your cell phone or other mobile electronic device.”
   Colorado Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 24

4. A reckless driving conviction can put up to eight points on your record.

   Source: Handbook p. 25

   “if convicted, up to eight points can be assessed against your driving record.”
   Colorado Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 25

5. Tailgating, passing on the shoulder or running a red light can be treated as aggressive if willful.

   Source: Handbook p. 25

   “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”
   Colorado Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 25

6. If another driver is angry, back off, give way and let the aggressive driver go.

   Source: Handbook p. 25

   “If the other driver is angry, back off, give way to the other driver and let the aggressive driver go.”
   Colorado Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 25

7. Dial *277 (*CSP) to report aggressive drivers.

   Source: Handbook p. 25

   “Dial *CSP (*277) to report aggressive drivers.”
   Colorado Driver Handbook, Handbook p. 25

Numbers to know

3 questions from the Colorado practice test

1. 1. Under Colorado's hands-free law in effect since January 1, 2025, when may a driver hold a phone to text while driving?

   1. Whenever the driver keeps one hand on the wheel
   2. Whenever traffic is moving below 25 mph
   3. Whenever the car is stopped at a red light
   4. Only to contact a public safety entity or during an emergency
   Show answer

   Only to contact a public safety entity or during an emergency. Since January 1, 2025, Colorado law bars every driver from using a mobile electronic device while operating a motor vehicle, and use includes holding the phone for a call or writing, sending, or reading texts. The exceptions are contacting a public safety entity, an emergency, and certain on duty workers and first responders. Slow traffic and a red light do not count as being lawfully parked, and keeping one hand on the wheel does not make handheld texting legal. A hands-free accessory, or pulling off to park, is the lawful way to handle messages.

2. 2. An angry driver is following you aggressively. What response does the handbook recommend?

   1. Match the driver's speed to prevent being passed
   2. Back off, give way, and let that driver go
   3. Make eye contact and confront the driver at the next stop
   4. Brake hard whenever the driver gets close
   Show answer

   Back off, give way, and let that driver go. The safest response to an aggressive driver is disengagement. Create space, yield the interaction, and allow the angry driver to move away instead of competing for position. Matching speed keeps the conflict active, while eye contact and confrontation can escalate a situation that is already unsafe. Do not retaliate with braking, gestures, or pursuit. Keep attention on the roadway, use ordinary defensive driving, and contact authorities only when you can do so without creating another distraction or hazard.

3. 3. Why is following another vehicle too closely dangerous?

   1. It improves your ability to see around curves
   2. It guarantees the vehicle ahead will change lanes
   3. It limits your view and leaves less time to avoid a crash
   4. It makes braking distance identical at every speed
   Show answer

   It limits your view and leaves less time to avoid a crash. Tailgating creates two problems at once: the vehicle ahead blocks more of the roadway view, and the short gap leaves little time to recognize and respond to a hazard. The handbook connects that loss of sight and reaction time with a greater chance of a crash. Following closely does not make the lead vehicle change lanes, and it cannot improve vision around a curve. Choose a reference point and maintain enough space to react, increasing the gap when weather or traffic raises stopping demands.

Source: the Colorado Driver Handbook, Careless/Reckless Driving. This lesson is a plain English summary, not the law itself; where it differs, the manual and the statute govern. Last checked 2026-09-27.