The 4-way stop rules in Colorado come down to a simple sequence: stop completely at the sign, then yield to any vehicle already in the intersection or that got there before you. If you and another driver arrive at the same moment, the driver on the right goes first. Pedestrians in the crosswalk go before any car. Those three ideas resolve almost every situation you will encounter.
Who Goes First
Colorado runs four-way stops on a first-come, first-served basis. Under C.R.S. 42-4-703, once you stop you must yield to any vehicle already in the intersection or approaching closely enough to be an immediate hazard.1Justia Law. Colorado Code 42-4-703 – Vehicle Entering Stop Intersection Whichever car stopped first proceeds first. Where either driver intends to go does not change the order.
When two cars reach the line at the same instant, a separate statute settles it. C.R.S. 42-4-701 tells the driver on the left to yield to the driver on the right.2Justia Law. Colorado Code 42-4-701 – Vehicles Approaching or Entering Intersection If the other car is on your right, you wait. If you are on the right, you go.
Three or four cars arriving simultaneously is not addressed by any specific statute. No Colorado law creates a clockwise rotation or any formal cycle for that case. The safe move is to yield to the driver on your right, wait a beat, and watch for the small gestures drivers tend to use when the law runs out.
How to Stop
Every driver approaching a stop sign must come to a full stop before entering the intersection. C.R.S. 42-4-703 says you stop at the marked stop line, at the crosswalk if there is no line, or at the point nearest the intersecting road where you can see approaching traffic if neither is present.1Justia Law. Colorado Code 42-4-703 – Vehicle Entering Stop Intersection A rolling stop does not count. Your wheels have to be completely still before you move again.
Left Turns Against Oncoming Traffic
If you want to turn left and a car across the intersection arrived at the same time, that driver goes first. Under C.R.S. 42-4-702, a driver turning left must yield to any vehicle coming from the opposite direction that is already in the intersection or close enough to be a hazard.3Justia Law. Colorado Code 42-4-702 – Vehicle Turning Left Your turn crosses their path, so the law puts the wait on you.
Signal the turn at least 100 feet before you make it in urban areas.4FindLaw. Colorado Code 42-4-903 – Turning and Stop Signals At a four-way stop everyone is already moving slowly, so an early signal is mostly a courtesy that helps the opposing driver read what you plan to do.
Pedestrians Go Before Cars
Pedestrians take priority at four-way stops. C.R.S. 42-4-802 requires drivers to yield to any pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk when traffic signals are not operating, and that language covers every stop-sign intersection.5Justia Law. Colorado Code 42-4-802 – Pedestrians Right-of-Way in Crosswalks You yield even if you reached the stop line before the pedestrian stepped off the curb.
The duty to yield is tied to which half of the road the pedestrian is on. You must stop or slow when the pedestrian is on your half of the roadway or is approaching so closely from the other half as to be in danger. You are not required to wait until they have cleared the full roadway, but close calls get tickets written. Unmarked crosswalks count as crosswalks even without paint on the pavement, and you cannot pass another vehicle that has stopped at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross.5Justia Law. Colorado Code 42-4-802 – Pedestrians Right-of-Way in Crosswalks
Pedestrians have their own duty not to step suddenly off a curb into the path of a vehicle so close it creates an immediate hazard.5Justia Law. Colorado Code 42-4-802 – Pedestrians Right-of-Way in Crosswalks The practical burden still sits with the driver.
Cyclists Follow a Different Rule
Since 2022, cyclists in Colorado do not have to come to a full stop at a stop sign. C.R.S. 42-4-1412.5 lets people on bicycles, e-bikes, and electric scooters treat a stop sign as a yield sign.6Colorado State Patrol. Colorado Introduces Changes to Bike Laws This is called the Safety Stop.
Under the Safety Stop, a cyclist must slow down and, if safety requires it, stop. If no traffic or pedestrians are in or approaching the intersection, the rider can roll through at a reasonable speed, capped at 10 mph. A municipality or county can raise that cap to 20 mph at specific intersections with posted signs. The rider must be at least 15, or younger and with an adult.
The stop obligation shifts; the yielding obligation does not. A cyclist still has to yield to any vehicle or pedestrian already in or approaching the intersection. If cross traffic has the right-of-way, the cyclist waits like everyone else.
Dark or Broken Signals Become Four-Way Stops
When a traffic light goes dark or sits stuck on red or yellow through multiple cycles, C.R.S. 42-4-612 turns that intersection into a stop-sign intersection and makes the Section 42-4-703 rules apply in every direction.7Colorado Revised Statutes. Colorado Code 42-4-612 – When Signals Are Inoperative or Malfunctioning Stop completely, then yield in the usual sequence. Driving through a dark signal on the assumption that your direction had the green is the same violation as running a stop sign.
What a Violation Costs
A four-way stop violation is a Class A traffic infraction. The base fine runs $15 to $100, before court costs and surcharges.8FindLaw. Colorado Code 42-4-1701 – Traffic Offenses and Infractions Classified
The points matter more than the fine. Colorado assesses them by what you actually did:
- Running a stop sign (failure to observe a traffic sign): 4 points
- Failing to yield right-of-way to another vehicle: 3 points
- Failing to yield to a pedestrian: 4 points
- Failing to yield to a person with a disability: 6 points
Points stack with anything else on your record.9FindLaw. Colorado Code 42-2-127 – Authority to Suspend License For drivers 21 and older, the Department of Revenue can suspend your license if you accumulate 12 points in 12 months or 18 points in 24 months.10Colorado Department of Revenue. Point Suspensions Drivers under 18 can trigger a suspension at just 6 points. One four-way stop ticket will not suspend your license by itself, but paired with other infractions it can push you across the line.