(1) No person shall drive a vehicle on a highway at a
speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions then existing.
(2) Except when a special hazard exists that requires a lower speed, the
following speeds shall be lawful:
(a) Twenty miles per hour on narrow, winding mountain highways or on blind
curves;
(b) Twenty-five miles per hour in any business district, as defined in section
42-1-102 (11);
(c) Thirty miles per hour in any residence district, as defined in section 42-1-102 (80);
(d) Forty miles per hour on open mountain highways;
(e) Forty-five miles per hour for all single rear axle vehicles in the business
of transporting trash that exceed twenty thousand pounds, where higher speeds
are posted, when said vehicle is loaded as an exempted vehicle pursuant to section
42-4-507 (3);
(f) Fifty-five miles per hour on other open highways which are not on the
interstate system, as defined in section 43-2-101 (2), C.R.S., and are not surfaced,
four-lane freeways or expressways;
(g) Sixty-five miles per hour on surfaced, four-lane highways which are on
the interstate system, as defined in section 43-2-101 (2), C.R.S., or are freeways or
expressways;
(h) Any speed not in excess of a speed limit designated by an official traffic
control device.
(3) No driver of a vehicle shall fail to decrease the speed of such vehicle
from an otherwise lawful speed to a reasonable and prudent speed when a special
hazard exists with respect to pedestrians or other traffic or by reason of weather or
highway conditions.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c) of subsection (8) of this
section, any speed in excess of the lawful speeds set forth in subsection (2) of this
section shall be prima facie evidence that such speed was not reasonable or
prudent under the conditions then existing. As used in this subsection (4), prima
facie evidence means evidence which is sufficient proof that the speed was not
reasonable or prudent under the conditions then existing, and which will remain
sufficient proof of such fact, unless contradicted and overcome by evidence
bearing upon the question of whether or not the speed was reasonable and prudent
under the conditions then existing.
(5) In every charge of violating subsection (1) of this section, the complaint,
summons and complaint, or penalty assessment notice shall specify the speed at
which the defendant is alleged to have driven and also the alleged reasonable and
prudent speed applicable at the specified time and location of the alleged violation.
(6) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to relieve the party
alleging negligence under this section in any civil action for damages from the
burden of proving that such negligence was the proximate cause of an accident.
(7) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of subsection (2) of this
section, any city or town may by ordinance adopt absolute speed limits as the
maximum lawful speed limits in its jurisdiction, and such speed limits shall not be
subject to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section.
(8) (a) (Deleted by amendment, L. 96, p. 578, � 2, effective May 25, 1996.)
(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, no person shall drive
a vehicle on a highway at a speed in excess of a maximum lawful speed limit of
seventy-five miles per hour.
(c) The speed limit set forth in paragraph (b) of this subsection (8) is the
maximum lawful speed limit and is not subject to the provisions of subsection (4) of
this section.
(d) State and local authorities within their respective jurisdictions shall not
authorize any speed limit which exceeds seventy-five miles per hour on any
highway.
(e) The provisions of this subsection (8) are declared to be matters of both
local and statewide concern requiring uniform compliance throughout the state.
(f) In every charge of a violation of paragraph (b) of this subsection (8), the
complaint, summons and complaint, or penalty assessment notice shall specify the
speed at which the defendant is alleged to have driven and also the maximum
lawful speed limit of seventy-five miles per hour.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, no person shall drive
a low-power scooter on a roadway at a speed in excess of forty miles per hour.
State and local authorities shall not authorize low-power scooters to exceed forty
miles per hour on a roadway.
(9) The conduct of a driver of a vehicle which would otherwise constitute a
violation of this section is justifiable and not unlawful when:
(a) It is necessary as an emergency measure to avoid an imminent public or
private injury which is about to occur by reason of a situation occasioned or
developed through no conduct of said driver and which is of sufficient gravity that,
according to ordinary standards of intelligence and morality, the desirability and
urgency of avoiding the injury clearly outweigh the desirability of avoiding the
consequences sought to be prevented by this section; or
(b) With respect to authorized emergency vehicles, the applicable conditions
for exemption, as set forth in section 42-4-108, exist.
(10) The minimum requirement for commission of a traffic infraction or
misdemeanor traffic offense under this section is the performance by a driver of
prohibited conduct, which includes a voluntary act or the omission to perform an act
which said driver is physically capable of performing.
(11) It shall not be a defense to prosecution for a violation of this section that:
(a) The defendant's conduct was not performed intentionally, knowingly,
recklessly, or with criminal negligence; or
(b) The defendant's conduct was performed under a mistaken belief of fact,
including, but not limited to, a mistaken belief of the defendant regarding the speed
of the defendant's vehicle; or
(c) The defendant's vehicle has a greater operating or fuel-conserving
efficiency at speeds greater than the reasonable and prudent speed under the
conditions then existing or at speeds greater than the maximum lawful speed limit.
(12) (a) A violation of driving one to twenty-four miles per hour in excess of
the reasonable and prudent speed or in excess of the maximum lawful speed limit
of seventy-five miles per hour is a class A traffic infraction.
(b) A violation of driving twenty-five or more miles per hour in excess of the
reasonable and prudent speed or in excess of the maximum lawful speed limit of
seventy-five miles per hour is a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense; except that
such violation within a maintenance, repair, or construction zone, designated
pursuant to section 42-4-614, is a class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense.
(c) A violation under subsection (3) of this section is a class A traffic
infraction.