Practice area
Traffic and vehicular defense
A points total can end a licence just as effectively as a conviction. Most people plead to the wrong thing without ever being told.
Traffic infraction up to a class 3 felony
What a traffic case actually involves
Colorado runs two parallel systems for driving: the criminal or infraction case in court, and a points system administered by the Division of Motor Vehicles. An adult driver reaches revocation at twelve points in twelve months or eighteen points in twenty four months, and the points attach to the offense you plead to, not to the one you were charged with.
That is why plea selection is technical work. A careless driving plea carries four points. A defective vehicle plea carries none. Two offenses can carry identical fines and completely different consequences for a commercial driver, a rideshare driver or someone on an employer's insurance policy.
At the top end, vehicular assault and vehicular homicide are serious felonies, and where alcohol or drugs are alleged they are strict liability offenses: the prosecution does not have to prove that the impairment caused the harm in the way you would expect.
The counts that get filed
| Count | Level | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Careless driving | Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense | Becomes more serious where injury or death results. |
| Reckless driving | Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense | Willful or wanton disregard. Eight points. |
| Driving under restraint | Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense | Carries mandatory consequences where the restraint was alcohol related. |
| Eluding a police officer | Class 1 misdemeanor or class 5 felony | Vehicular eluding with risk of injury is a felony. |
| Vehicular assault | Class 4 or 5 felony | Strict liability where drugs or alcohol are involved. |
| Vehicular homicide | Class 3 or 4 felony | A crime of violence when alcohol or drugs are alleged. |
| Leaving the scene | Class 2 misdemeanor to class 3 felony | Graded by whether there was property damage, injury or death. |
Where these cases break
Not every one applies to every file. The first job is working out which two or three do.
Points aware plea selection
Negotiating to an offense with the licence consequence you can live with, not just the fine you can afford.
Causation
In injury cases, whether the driving actually caused the outcome, including intervening causes and the other driver's conduct.
Accident reconstruction
Independent reconstruction regularly contradicts a first responder's on scene estimate of speed or position.
Identity of the driver
In leaving the scene and eluding cases, proving who was behind the wheel is frequently the weakest part of the state's case.
Commercial driver consequences
A CDL holder faces disqualification rules that apply even to a personal vehicle. Those have to be mapped before any plea.
Notice and restraint
Driving under restraint requires knowledge of the restraint. Defective notice is a genuine defense.
What happens, and when
Week one
Pull the full driving record and calculate the current points position before anything is agreed.
Weeks two to four
Dashcam, intersection camera and telematics preservation where available.
Month two
Independent reconstruction in any injury case.
Months two to five
Negotiation aimed at the points and the licence, then court.
The attorneys on these cases
The offer you get depends on what the other side thinks will happen if they have to try it.
Elena Vargas-Ortiz
Partner, DUI and DMV practice
Formerly: Deputy District Attorney, Eighteenth Judicial District
A breath number is a machine reading. Machines have maintenance records, and maintenance records have gaps.
What people ask us about this
If your question is not here, ask it on the call. There is no charge for the first conversation and it is with an attorney.
Start a case reviewPaying is pleading guilty. The points attach, they stay on the record, and in a case where an injury is alleged an early guilty plea to the traffic count can be used as an admission in the more serious case. Check the points before you pay anything.
For an adult driver, twelve points in twelve months or eighteen in twenty four. Drivers under 21 and commercial drivers have lower thresholds and separate rules. We calculate your exact position from the official record rather than estimating.
Causing serious bodily injury while driving recklessly, or while under the influence. The alcohol and drug version is strict liability, which means the prosecution does not have to prove the impairment caused the injury, only that both were present.
Substantially. Federal disqualification rules apply to serious traffic violations in any vehicle, and some convictions end a commercial career outright. No plea should be entered in a CDL case without that analysis on paper.
If any of this is happening to you, the first conversation is free and it is with an attorney.
Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.