Colorado § 42-4-206 Tail lamps and reflectors - penalty

Colorado Statutes

§ 42-4-206 — Tail lamps and reflectors - penalty

Colorado § 42-4-206

Title 42Vehicles and

Art.Regulation of Vehicles and Traffic

This text of Colorado § 42-4-206 (Tail lamps and reflectors - penalty) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-206 (2026).

Text

(1)To be operated on a road, every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, and pole trailer and any other vehicle that is being drawn at the end of a train of vehicles must be equipped with at least one tail lamp mounted on the rear, which, when lighted as required in section 42-4-204, emits a red light plainly visible from a distance of five hundred feet to the rear; except that, in the case of a train of vehicles, only the tail lamp on the rear-most vehicle need actually be seen from the distance specified, except as provided in section 42-12-204. Furthermore, every vehicle registered in this state and manufactured or assembled after January 1, 1958, must be equipped with at least two tail lamps mounted on the rear, on the same level and as widely spaced laterally as practicable,

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(1) To be operated on a road,
every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, and pole trailer and any other vehicle that is
being drawn at the end of a train of vehicles must be equipped with at least one tail
lamp mounted on the rear, which, when lighted as required in section 42-4-204,
emits a red light plainly visible from a distance of five hundred feet to the rear;
except that, in the case of a train of vehicles, only the tail lamp on the rear-most
vehicle need actually be seen from the distance specified, except as provided in
section 42-12-204. Furthermore, every vehicle registered in this state and
manufactured or assembled after January 1, 1958, must be equipped with at least
two tail lamps mounted on the rear, on the same level and as widely spaced
laterally as practicable, which, when lighted as required in section 42-4-204,
comply with this section.

(2) Every tail lamp upon every vehicle shall be located at a height of not
more than seventy-two inches nor less than twenty inches, to be measured as set
forth in section 42-4-204 (3).

(3) Either a tail lamp or a separate lamp shall be so constructed and placed
as to illuminate with a white light the rear registration plate and render it clearly
legible from a distance of fifty feet to the rear. Any tail lamp, together with any
separate lamp for illuminating the rear registration plate, shall be so wired as to be
lighted whenever the head lamps or auxiliary driving lamps are lighted.

(4) To be operated on a road, every motor vehicle must carry on the rear,
either as part of a tail lamp or separately, one red reflector meeting the
requirements of this section; except that vehicles of the type mentioned in section
42-4-207 must be equipped with reflectors as required by law unless otherwise
provided in section 42-12-204.

(5) Every new motor vehicle sold on and after January 1, 1958, and operated
upon a highway shall carry on the rear, whether as a part of the tail lamps or
separately, two red reflectors; except that every motorcycle or autocycle shall
carry at least one reflector meeting the requirements of this section, and vehicles
of the type mentioned in section 42-4-207 shall be equipped with reflectors as
required in this part 2.

(6) Every reflector shall be mounted on the vehicle at a height of not less
than twenty inches nor more than sixty inches, measured as set forth in section 42-4-204 (3) and shall be of such size and characteristics and so mounted as to be
visible at night from all distances within three hundred fifty feet to one hundred
feet from such vehicle when directly in front of lawful upper beams and head
lamps; except that visibility from a greater distance is required by law of reflectors
on certain types of vehicles.

(7) Any person who violates any provision of this section commits a class B
traffic infraction.

Legislative History

Source: L. 94: Entire title amended with relocations, p. 2243, � 1, effective January 1, 1995. L. 96: (1) and (4) amended, p. 440, � 3, effective April 22. L. 97: (3) amended, p. 393, � 3, effective August 6. L. 2009: (3) amended, (SB 09-075), ch. 418, p. 2323, � 8, effective August 5; (5) amended, (HB 09-1026), ch. 281, p. 1272, � 39, effective October 1. L. 2011: (1) and (4) amended, (SB 11-031), ch. 86, p. 243, � 5, effective August 10. L. 2022: (5) amended, (HB 22-1043), ch. 361, p. 2584, � 14, effective January 1, 2023.