On January 1, 2025, Colorado became a hands-free state. For years the law only banned texting and let adults hold a phone for calls. That changed when the legislature rewrote C.R.S. 42-4-239 through Senate Bill 24-065, which now makes it illegal for any driver to hold or manually use a phone or other mobile device behind the wheel.12 If a distracted driver hurt you, it helps to know exactly what the statute says and how Colorado handles the injury claim that comes after.
What the hands-free law actually bans
The rule is easy to state: keep the device out of your hand. C.R.S. 42-4-239 bars a driver from holding or manually using a mobile electronic device, whether that is a phone, a tablet, or a GPS unit.3 It covers voice calls, texting, scrolling, watching video, and typing an address into a map app. The ban applies even when you are stopped at a red light or stuck in traffic, because a car sitting in a travel lane still counts as being driven.14
Hands-free use stays legal. A Bluetooth headset, a dashboard or vent mount, CarPlay, Android Auto, and speakerphone are all allowed.1 Wedging the phone between your shoulder and ear is not.
The enforcement catch most drivers miss
Colorado's version carries a compromise that sets it apart from a flat handheld ban. An officer cannot ticket you for simply holding a phone. The official bill summary puts it plainly: "to cite an individual for a violation of the act, a law enforcement officer must see the individual use a mobile electronic device in a manner that caused the individual to drive in a careless and imprudent manner."2 The phone in the hand has to come with drifting across a lane line, a slow start at a green light, uneven speed, or similar bad driving before the citation holds up.2
That wrinkle cuts both ways in a crash. When the driver who hit you was on a phone and driving carelessly, the exact conduct that breaks C.R.S. 42-4-239 is also what proves fault in your claim.
Fines, points, and a first-offense escape hatch
Penalties rise with each offense inside a 24-month window:2
- First offense: a $75 fine and 2 points against your license.
- Second offense within 24 months: $150 and 3 points.
- Third or later offense within 24 months: $250 and 4 points.
There is a one-time way out. A first-time violator can have the charge dismissed by showing proof of purchase of a hands-free accessory and affirming, under penalty of perjury, that they have not claimed this dismissal before.2 You get it once.
Stricter rules for drivers under 18
Nothing about the 2025 change eased the rules for teenagers. A driver under 18 may not use a cellphone for any purpose while driving, hands-free or not, with an exception only for a real emergency.3 That predates the new law and remains in force.
When the law does not apply
The statute leaves a few narrow openings. You may use a device to report an emergency or reach public safety. Utility workers, code enforcement officers, and animal protection officers responding to emergencies are covered, along with first responders acting within their duties and anyone using a phone while lawfully parked.12 Outside those situations, the ban applies.
Why a phone violation matters to your injury claim
Colorado is an at-fault state, and has been since it left the no-fault system on July 1, 2003, so the at-fault driver and that driver's insurer owe your damages. Showing that the other driver was on a phone can decide the case. A citation under C.R.S. 42-4-239, backed by phone records, vehicle data, or a witness who saw the distraction, is direct proof that the driver failed to use reasonable care.
How much you collect depends on Colorado's modified comparative negligence rule. Under C.R.S. 13-21-111, you can recover only if you were less than 50% at fault, and your award drops by your own share of the blame; hit 50% and you get nothing.5 Distracted-driving cases often turn on that number, which is why the other driver's phone use is worth pinning down early.
For the most reckless conduct, Colorado allows exemplary (punitive) damages. C.R.S. 13-21-102 lets a jury add them for willful and wanton behavior, capped at the size of your compensatory award.6 A driver trading texts or streaming video through heavy traffic can reach that bar.
Insurance sets the floor on what you can collect. Colorado requires at least 25/50/15 in liability coverage, meaning $25,000 per person, $50,000 per crash, and $15,000 for property damage (C.R.S. 10-4-620).7 Every auto policy must also include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage unless you reject it in writing (C.R.S. 10-4-609), so if the distracted driver had no insurance or too little, your own UM/UIM may fill the gap.7
Your vehicle is a separate matter. If the wreck left your car worth less even after a clean repair, that lost value may be recoverable; the diminished value in Colorado guide covers how.
Deadlines and first steps
Colorado gives you three years to file, one year longer than the general two-year tort deadline, because motor-vehicle claims sit in their own subsection. C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)(I) sets a three-year limit, counted from the crash date, for both bodily injury and property damage arising from the use of a motor vehicle.8 Miss it and the claim is almost always dead, so mark the date now.
Two early moves pay off. Pull the crash report, where an officer's notes on distraction or a phone citation are recorded, and if you were seriously hurt or fault is contested, talk to a Colorado attorney.
The numbers behind the law
Colorado did not write this rule in a vacuum. In CDOT's 2023 Driver Behavior Survey, 76% of Colorado drivers admitted using a phone while driving, up from 67% the year before, and 45% said they had held a phone at the wheel in the previous week.9 From 2012 through 2022, 718 people died in distracted-driving crashes on Colorado roads.9
The first results are promising. Over the first five months of 2025, inattentive-driving crashes fell 19%, from 1,432 to 1,161 against the same period in 2024, while traffic deaths dropped 11%.10 Colorado State Patrol Chief Col. Matthew Packard framed the stakes bluntly: at 50 mph, a driver covers the length of a football field during a five-second glance.10
This article is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
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Colorado Department of Transportation, "The Hands-Free Law." https://www.codot.gov/safety/distracteddriving/colorado-hands-free-law
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Colorado General Assembly, Senate Bill 24-065, "Mobile Electronic Devices & Motor Vehicle Driving" (bill summary). https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-065
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Colorado Revised Statutes, C.R.S. 42-4-239 (Title 42, 2024). https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-42.pdf
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Colorado Department of Transportation, "Heads up, Colorado! New 2025 law bans holding phones while driving" (October 2024). https://www.codot.gov/news/2024/october/new-2025-law-bans-holding-phones-while-driving
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Colorado Revised Statutes, C.R.S. 13-21-111 (comparative negligence; Title 13, 2024). https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-13.pdf
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Colorado Revised Statutes, C.R.S. 13-21-102 (exemplary damages; Title 13, 2024). https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-13.pdf
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Colorado Revised Statutes, C.R.S. 10-4-609 and 10-4-620 (UM/UIM and minimum liability limits; Title 10, 2024). https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-10.pdf
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Colorado Revised Statutes, C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)(I) (statute of limitations; Title 13, 2024). https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-13.pdf
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Colorado Department of Transportation, "More than 75% of Colorado drivers say they use their phone while driving" (March 2024). https://www.codot.gov/news/2024/march/75-percent-of-colorado-drivers-say-they-use-their-phone-while-driving
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Colorado Department of Transportation, "Inattentive driving crashes down 19% in first five months of new law" (June 2025). https://www.codot.gov/news/2025/june/inattentive-driving-crashes-down-19-in-first-five-months-of-new-law