Careless and Aggressive Driving, Avoiding Collisions, Vehicle Emergencies, Crashes and the Move Over Law: What Counts as Distraction, the Mobile Device Rule, Reckless Driving and Its 8 Points, Aggressive Acts and Criminal Ones, Protecting Yourself and Reporting With *CSP, the Self-Test, Stopping Quickly With and Without ABS, Turning and Speeding Up to Avoid a Crash, Animals at Dusk and Dawn, Brake, Tire, Power, Headlight and Gas Pedal Failures, Duties After a Crash, Accident Alert Status, Parked Cars, the Move It and Move Over Laws, Good Samaritan Care and Organ Donation

Written for aiforu2 as the source for a practice-test bank and the on-device tutor for the Colorado driving knowledge test. The facts follow the official manual; the wording is ours.

Source: Colorado Driver Handbook (Colorado DMV, DR 2337, December 2024 edition), "Careless/Reckless Driving", "Tips to Avoid Becoming an Aggressive Driver", "Emergencies", "Vehicle Emergencies", "Crash Tips" and the donor registry page (pages 24–28).

Distracted driving

Sharing the road safely is the law. A distraction is anything that pulls your attention from driving: eyes off the road, hands off the wheel or mind elsewhere, and mental distractions are as dangerous as physical ones. Even tuning the radio is risky in bad weather or heavy traffic; do not eat, drink, read, smoke, vape, apply makeup or fiddle with music while driving, and remember that alcohol and marijuana shrink a driver's ability to handle several tasks, so a minor distraction can become deadly for an impaired driver. You may not use any mobile electronic device while driving except hands-free or in an emergency; careless driving caused by texting or any manual use of a device can bring a fine or a misdemeanor charge, so pull off the road to use a phone. To prevent distraction: no mobile devices, no arguments or emotional conversations, no smoking, eating or drinking, restrain children and secure pets in a carrier or kennel, learn the vehicle's controls so you can adjust temperature or radio without looking, preset your stations and playlist, and plan your route before leaving.

Aggressive and reckless driving

Aggressive driving is any willful behavior behind the wheel that endangers people or property without regard for safety. Reckless driving is operating a vehicle in a way that endangers people or property, intentional or not; if an officer notes your actions as endangering someone, a reckless driving conviction can add up to 8 points to your record. Tailgating, passing on the shoulder or running a red light can be treated as aggressive when willful and dangerous, as can combinations such as speeding, cutting off, swerving toward another driver, honking, flashing headlights, yelling and rude gestures. Displaying a weapon, bumping or ramming a vehicle, or a high-speed pursuit can bring criminal charges beyond reckless driving. To protect yourself from an aggressive driver, do not engage: avoid eye contact, never match an aggressive act, back off and let the driver go. To report an aggressive or impaired driver, dial **\*CSP (\277)*, a free cellphone number that reaches the nearest State Patrol trooper or a local agency.

Anyone can become aggressive. Warning signs include mentally condemning other drivers, criticizing them to passengers, closing gaps to block merging, preventing passing, tailgating to hurry someone, angrily speeding past, running signs or lights out of frustration, honking or yelling in anger, obscene gestures, pursuing a vehicle, deliberately bumping one, getting out to confront a driver, or thinking about attacking one; yes to even a couple means you are at risk. To avoid it: leave early, expect others to make mistakes, keep calm, leave outside anger out of the car, let people merge even after discourtesy, and do not make their problem yours.

Avoiding collisions

When a crash looms many drivers freeze or act uselessly, yet there is almost always something to do. Your three options are to slow or stop, to turn, or to speed up. To stop quickly with ABS, apply hard, firm pressure and keep the pedal down even when it pushes back, since ABS only works with the pedal pressed. Without ABS, braking too hard causes a skid: brake as hard as you can without locking the wheels, and if they lock and the car starts to skid, ease up slightly, then press again, repeating until stopped. Turning is usually quicker than stopping; consider it when it will not cause another collision, grip the wheel with both hands and be ready to control the car afterward. With ABS you can brake and turn without skidding; without ABS, brake, then release before the evasive turn, without locking the front wheels or turning so sharply the car only plows ahead. Generally it is better to run off the road than to crash head-on. Speeding up can help when a vehicle is about to hit you from the side or behind and there is room ahead; slow again once safe.

Stay alert for animals, especially in rural and mountain areas and between dusk and dawn, when about 90 percent of deer and elk crashes happen; slow and look at a marked animal crossing. If an animal bolts in front of you, drastic swerving to avoid a large animal can cost control and cause a worse crash, so the safest choice for your passengers may be to hit the animal while concentrating on keeping control before, during and after the impact.

Vehicle emergencies

Following the maintenance schedule prevents most failures. If the brakes fail, lift off the accelerator and pump the pedal several times to build pressure; if that fails, apply the parking brake slowly (handle or pedal) so the rear wheels do not lock and skid, ready to release it if they do; then shift to lower gears and find a safe place to stop off the road, and never drive on without brakes. In a tire blowout, hold the wheel tightly, keep straight, slow gradually with your foot off the gas and light braking, avoid stopping on the road, and pull off somewhere safe once slowed. In a power failure, grip the wheel firmly, expect heavy steering that still works, and pull off; the brakes still work but may need very hard pressure. If the headlights fail, pull off as soon as possible, try the switch a few times, and if that fails use the flashers, turn signals or fog lights. If the gas pedal jams, keep your eyes on the road, shift quickly to neutral, pull off when safe and turn off the engine.

After a crash

You must show proof of insurance to law enforcement at the scene or at the station. A passenger whose driver is physically unable to report an injury crash must report it and, if directed, stay until officers arrive. Stop immediately and never leave; check for injuries and give reasonable help where practical; call law enforcement and emergency services; and exchange names, addresses, phone numbers, registration and insurance information. Under Accident Alert Status, declared when weather is so severe that officers cannot respond to the volume of crashes, if no alcohol or drugs are involved, no one is hurt and every vehicle can be driven, exchange information and file an accident report with law enforcement within 24 hours. If you hit a parked car and cannot find the owner, call law enforcement and leave a note where the owner will find it. Under the Move It law, after a minor crash on a divided highway you must move the vehicles off the highway when they are drivable, no drugs or alcohol are involved and no one is hurt, then notify law enforcement and exchange information; police and insurers will not penalize you for moving.

The Move Over law

When you come upon any stationary vehicle on a highway with its hazard lights flashing, move over one lane if you can do so safely; if that is not safe, or the road has one lane each way, slow to at least 20 mph below the posted limit. The law protects law enforcement, fire and other emergency personnel, maintenance crews, tow truck drivers and you.

First aid and Good Samaritans

Good Samaritan laws encourage helping in emergencies and require common sense and a reasonable level of skill within your training; acting as a reasonable and prudent person would generally gives you immunity from being sued for the victim's injuries. That means moving a victim only if their life is in danger, asking a conscious victim's permission before giving care, checking for life-threatening emergencies first, and summoning professional help while continuing care until better-trained people arrive.

Organ and tissue donation

When you apply for or renew a license, permit or ID you are asked whether you want to sign up as an organ, eye and tissue donor, which puts a heart with a "Y" on the front of your card and adds you to the Donate Life Colorado registry run by Donor Alliance, in effect until you change it, with nearly 1,500 Coloradans waiting for a transplant; and whether you want to give to the Emily Keyes-John W. Buckner Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Fund, which pays for public education about donation.

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