Exhibition of speed in Colorado is a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense under C.R.S. 42-4-1105, punishable by 10 to 90 days in jail, a fine of $150 to $300, or both, plus five points on your driving record and possible vehicle immobilization if you’ve been convicted before.1Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-1105 – Speed Contests – Speed Exhibitions – Aiding and Facilitating – Immobilization of Motor Vehicle – Definitions Courts routinely add community service on top, and the long tail of insurance and license consequences often costs more than the fine itself.
What the Law Actually Covers
The statute defines a speed exhibition as operating a vehicle to display its speed or power on a highway. It lists examples: squealing tires while stopped or moving, rapid acceleration, swerving or weaving through traffic, producing tire smoke, and leaving visible tire marks on the road.1Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-1105 – Speed Contests – Speed Exhibitions – Aiding and Facilitating – Immobilization of Motor Vehicle – Definitions The list is not exhaustive. Other conduct that puts a vehicle’s power on display can qualify, as long as you acted knowingly rather than by accident.
You do not have to be speeding. A burnout from a stoplight, a loud peel-out leaving a parking lot, or a strip of rubber laid on the pavement can meet the definition even if your speedometer never crossed the posted limit. The display is the offense, not the velocity.
Fines and Jail Time
Because exhibition of speed is a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense, Colorado’s sentencing statute, C.R.S. 42-4-1701, sets the range at 10 to 90 days in jail, a fine of $150 to $300, or both.2Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-1701 – Traffic Offenses and Penalties If your actions damaged property or injured anyone, the court must order restitution on top of the fine. Court costs and surcharges typically push the total out-of-pocket number well above the base fine.
Points and License Suspension
A conviction adds five points to your Colorado driving record.3FindLaw. Colorado Code 42-2-127 – Authority to Suspend License For a driver 21 or older, accumulating 12 points within 12 months or 18 points within 24 months triggers a license suspension.4Colorado Department of Revenue. Point Suspensions A single exhibition of speed puts you nearly halfway to that threshold, so two more routine tickets inside the year could cost you your license.
Younger drivers face lower point ceilings, which makes a five-point hit proportionally more dangerous. Colorado driving records keep ticket and conviction data for at least seven years, so the entry stays visible long after the case is closed.5Colorado Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle. Driver Records, License Suspensions, and Reinstatement Information
Vehicle Immobilization for Repeat Convictions
On a second conviction for exhibition of speed or a speed contest, the court may order your vehicle immobilized with a boot or similar device for up to 14 days. A third or subsequent conviction raises the period to between 14 and 30 days.1Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-1105 – Speed Contests – Speed Exhibitions – Aiding and Facilitating – Immobilization of Motor Vehicle – Definitions Immobilization time runs on top of any pre-sentencing impoundment, with no credit for the earlier period.
The vehicle owner is billed $35 per day for every day the order lasts, plus another $35 per day for up to 14 days if the fee isn’t paid on time.1Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-1105 – Speed Contests – Speed Exhibitions – Aiding and Facilitating – Immobilization of Motor Vehicle – Definitions A 30-day order can easily top $1,000 in fees alone, separate from the fine and court costs.
Community Service
Judges are authorized to add community service to any sentence for a Class 1 or Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense.2Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-1701 – Traffic Offenses and Penalties The Colorado State Patrol says a first-time offender faces 48 to 96 hours, and a second or subsequent offense carries 48 to 120 hours.6Colorado State Patrol. One Selfish Act Can Lead to Hours of Community Service At the top of that range you’re looking at three work weeks of unpaid labor. The statute treats community service as an add-on, not a substitute, so a judge can impose jail and community service in the same sentence.
Insurance and CDL Consequences
Insurers treat exhibition of speed as a high-risk marker. Premium increases vary by carrier and prior record, and some policies simply aren’t renewed, pushing the driver into the high-risk market where rates are considerably higher. Those effects can continue for as long as the conviction appears on the record.
Commercial drivers face a separate problem. Federal regulations classify reckless driving and excessive speeding as serious traffic violations for CDL holders.7eCFR. 49 CFR 383.51 – Disqualification of Drivers Depending on the facts behind the exhibition charge, it can overlap with those violations. Two serious violations within three years disqualify a CDL holder for 60 days; three within three years, 120 days. For a working driver, that is often a job loss.
When a Charge Becomes a Speed Contest Instead
Exhibition of speed is a solo act of showing off. A speed contest involves racing another vehicle or running a time trial on a public road, and the statute lists conduct like jockeying for position and lane changes to gain advantage over another participant.1Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-1105 – Speed Contests – Speed Exhibitions – Aiding and Facilitating – Immobilization of Motor Vehicle – Definitions A speed contest is a Class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense with a sentencing range of 10 days to one year in jail and a fine of $300 to $1,000.2Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-1701 – Traffic Offenses and Penalties
The classification call is made by the officer and prosecutor based on the circumstances. If another vehicle was involved and it looked like you were trying to beat them, expect them to push for the contest charge.
Helping or Organizing Counts Too
You don’t have to be driving. The statute makes it a crime to block a road, place barricades, or otherwise obstruct a highway to facilitate a speed exhibition or contest, and a person convicted of facilitating commits the same offense class as the underlying event.1Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-1105 – Speed Contests – Speed Exhibitions – Aiding and Facilitating – Immobilization of Motor Vehicle – Definitions Using your car to block an intersection so someone else can race carries the same exposure as racing.
Where the Law Reaches
The statute applies on highways, which in Colorado covers public roads, streets, and other areas open to vehicular traffic. Organized racing events held on authorized tracks, courses, or drag strips with accepted rules are specifically exempted.1Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-1105 – Speed Contests – Speed Exhibitions – Aiding and Facilitating – Immobilization of Motor Vehicle – Definitions Track days and sanctioned drag racing are not covered.
Purely private property with no public access generally falls outside the statute, but a shopping center lot or similar space that the public can freely drive into sits in a gray area. If the public can drive there, assume the law can reach you there.