Criminal Speeding in Colorado: Fines, Points, and Insurance

In Colorado, driving 25 or more miles per hour over the posted speed limit is a crime, not a ticket. The charge is a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense, and in a construction zone the same conduct becomes a Class 1 misdemeanor. Criminal speeding in Colorado means a mandatory court date, possible jail time, a fine, points against your license, and a conviction that sits on your criminal record.

The 25 MPH Line

Colorado’s speeding statute, C.R.S. 42-4-1101(12), treats 1 to 24 mph over the limit as a Class A traffic infraction — a civil violation handled with a fine. At 25 mph over, the same conduct becomes a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense.¹

The statute measures the overage two ways: 25 mph above the “reasonable and prudent speed” for conditions, or 25 mph above the 75 mph maximum lawful speed. So 100 mph on a 75 mph highway hits the criminal line on the maximum-speed measure. 70 mph in a 40 zone is 30 over the posted limit and qualifies as well.

The same 25-over conduct inside a construction zone is automatically charged one step higher, as a Class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense.¹ Nothing about your driving has to be worse. The location triggers the upgrade.

Fines and Jail Exposure

C.R.S. 42-4-1701 sets the sentencing ranges:

Those figures are the base fine. Court costs and mandatory surcharges, including a Victim Compensation Fund contribution, push the real bill higher.

Judges rarely impose jail on a first-time criminal speeding case where no one was hurt, but the 10-day statutory minimum exists in both classes and judges have wide discretion. Extreme speeds, repeat offenses, and conduct that endangered others all raise the odds of actual incarceration. Plea agreements that substitute probation, community service, or a defensive driving course are common for lower-risk cases.

Construction Zones

C.R.S. 42-4-614 subjects speeding in designated maintenance, repair, or construction zones to the increased penalties and surcharges in C.R.S. 42-4-1701(4)(c).³ The zone has to be properly posted. If it wasn’t designated or signed correctly, that is a defense worth raising.

Speed Contests

Street racing is a separate offense under C.R.S. 42-4-1105 and is charged as a Class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense.⁴ A second conviction lets the court immobilize your vehicle for up to 14 days; a third or later conviction extends that to up to 30 days. If you were also 25 or more over, expect both charges stacked.

Reckless Driving on Top

Reckless driving under C.R.S. 42-4-1401 is a separate offense defined as driving with willful or wanton disregard for safety.⁵ High speed by itself doesn’t automatically prove it, but weaving, running lights, or aggressive driving in a residential area combined with speed often draws the charge alongside criminal speeding.

Points and License Suspension

Criminal speeding adds a heavy load of points to your driving record, and point totals trigger automatic suspension. Under C.R.S. 42-2-127, an adult driver faces suspension at 12 or more points in any 12-month period, or 18 or more points in 24 months.⁶ A single criminal speeding conviction can put you over if you already have recent violations on your record.

Younger drivers lose their licenses faster. Drivers 18 to 20 face suspension at 9 points in 12 months or 12 points in 24 months. Drivers under 18 are suspended after more than 5 points in 12 months, or more than 6 total before turning 18.⁶ For a teenager, one criminal speeding conviction can be enough.

Commercial drivers face additional exposure under state and federal rules governing a Commercial Driver’s License. If you’re facing suspension, you can request a hearing through the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Division of Motor Vehicles to contest it or seek a probationary license.⁷

What It Does to Your Insurance

Insurers treat a misdemeanor traffic conviction as a high-risk marker. Premium increases of 20 to 50 percent or more are common, and some carriers cancel policies after serious moving violations. Depending on the circumstances, you may be required to carry SR-22 insurance, a certificate of financial responsibility proving you maintain minimum coverage. SR-22 obligations typically run for several years and lock you into higher-cost policies. A criminal speeding conviction stays on your driving record for years, so the financial hit is long-tailed.

How the Case Moves Through Court

You cannot pay a criminal speeding citation online and move on. The ticket includes a mandatory court date in Colorado county court. Miss it and the judge can issue a bench warrant.

At arraignment, you enter a plea. Guilty or no contest can lead straight to sentencing. Not guilty moves the case into pretrial, where negotiation with the prosecutor happens. Your driving history, the specific speed, and whether anyone was endangered shape the offers you’ll see.

If the case goes to trial, the prosecution has to prove the speed beyond a reasonable doubt, typically with the officer’s testimony and the speed-measurement evidence. Defense challenges often target the calibration of the radar or LIDAR device, the officer’s procedure, or conditions that could have skewed the reading.

Deferred Judgments and Charge Reduction

A deferred judgment is often the best realistic outcome. Under C.R.S. 18-1.3-102, you plead guilty or no contest, but the court delays entering the conviction and puts you on a probationary period, generally one to four years. Complete the conditions — which may include a defensive driving course, community service, or just staying violation-free — and the plea is withdrawn and the charges dismissed.

Deferred judgments require the prosecutor’s and court’s agreement, so they aren’t automatic. First-time offenders with clean records are the strongest candidates.

The other outcome worth pursuing is reduction of the charge to a non-criminal traffic infraction. That keeps the conviction off your criminal record entirely and cuts the fine, the points, and the insurance consequences.

Criminal Record and Sealing

Because this is a misdemeanor, a conviction appears on your criminal record. Standard employer background checks run by consumer reporting agencies in Colorado look back seven years. Fingerprint-based checks through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation or the FBI don’t have that time limit. Colorado’s ban-the-box law keeps employers from asking about criminal history on the initial application, but the conviction surfaces later in the process. How much it matters depends on the job; anything involving driving will care.

Colorado lets eligible people petition to seal criminal records, including misdemeanor traffic convictions. Sealing removes the record from public view rather than erasing it, and keeps it off most background checks. You generally have to wait a set period after completing your sentence before filing. The court weighs the severity of the offense and your conduct since.

The process involves filing a petition in the court of conviction, paying a filing fee (approximately $224 as of 2025, subject to change), and obtaining a criminal history report from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (around $13). You may also need to notify the district attorney. Fee waivers are available for indigent petitioners.

A successfully completed deferred judgment is far easier to seal than a straight conviction, because the charges were already dismissed. That is one of the strongest reasons to push for a deferred judgment at sentencing rather than accepting a standard guilty plea.