Six new Colorado laws aimed at reducing vehicular crashes and holding reckless drivers accountable went into effect Wednesday, Aug. 12, sparking hope among advocates who’ve pushed for safer roads. 

Skyler McKinley, a regional spokesperson for AAA, called the 2026 lawmaking term “the most consequential legislative session for traffic safety in decades,” noting that four more traffic laws — three of which were passed this year — will take effect over the next few months. 

McKinley on Wednesday joined road safety advocates whose family members were killed by drivers for a news conference at the Colorado Capitol to announce the new laws. Standing in front of a crowd of families, McKinley said the legislation will “make the difference so that nobody else has to summon the same courage as the folks behind me today.” 

One of those laws, Senate Bill 26-35, raises penalties for reckless drivers. The law doubles the points issued against a driver’s license from four to eight for passing on a solid yellow or double-solid yellow line, which is considered a no-passing line, and it requires drivers who have multiple speeding violations to appear in court to settle their fines.

The law also increases points for repeat speeding violations and imposes a four-point license penalty for drivers who are ticketed for going 100 mph or more, regardless of the speed limit. 

There have been several recent high-profile instances of head-on collisions caused by drivers who crossed no-passing lines. That includes a crash in Grand County on Highway 9 that killed a family of five in August 2025. 

Angel O’Dowd’s parents were both killed in September 2024 by a driver in a head-on collision on U.S. Highway 34 near Wiggins. O’Dowd was sitting in the back of the car when an 18-year-old driver attempted to pass two cars and collided with O’Dowd’s family at 95 mph. 

O’Dowd said she hopes SB 35 will help deter drivers from making dangerous passes and hold reckless drivers accountable. 

“Driving patiently and stricter laws against crossing the (no-pass) line could have saved my parents that night,” she said. 

Two laws are named after children who were struck and killed by drivers. 

House Bill 26-1318, dubbed the Liam Stewart School Zone Act, is named after a 13-year-old who was hit and killed by a driver while riding his bike to his middle school in Littleton in October 2023. Liam’s father, Josh Stewart, said he felt the city had not done enough to address changes to the school zone — boundaries around schools that carry tighter driving rules and lower speed limits — after Liam’s death.

HB 1318 makes all roadways within 1,000 feet of a school a designated school zone, except for state highways unless otherwise noted by state transit officials. The law requires local governments to hold a public hearing if they choose to reduce the scope of school zones to less than 1,000 feet. Local governments are prohibited from reducing school zones to less than 200 feet and are required to place signage indicating the school zones. 

“This law sets a standard in Colorado that every municipality, every county and every school can rely on as a bare minimum to hold those that make the school zones accountable — to make them safe for our children, to make them work,” Stewart said. 

Another law, Senate Bill 26-132, is named Magnus’ Law after Magnus White, a 17-year-old who was hit and killed by a driver while cycling in Boulder in July 2023. The driver admitted to drinking hours before the crash and getting little sleep the night before.

SB 132 requires law enforcement to offer a voluntary preliminary breath test for alcohol to a driver if they are reasonably suspected to be at fault in a crash that kills or seriously injures someone. 

The results are not admissible in court but can be used by law enforcement to request further, admissible testing that can be used to make an arrest. Drivers can refuse to take the test, and their refusal cannot be used in court and does not affect the status of their driver’s license. 

Mangus’ father, Michael White, noted the broad bipartisan support for the law — which only saw one “No” vote in the House — as well as the support for other traffic laws. 

“Safer roads are not a partisan issue,” White said. 

Other traffic laws that went into effect Aug. 12 are: 

• House Bill 26-1237, which makes it a Class B traffic infraction to stop, stand or park in a marked bike lane. The law also replaces “accident” with “crash” in dozens of existing laws, and it clarifies a bill from last year that intended to require all passenger vehicles to have snow or mud-and-snow tires with an adequate tread depth. This year’s bill clarifies that provision by removing references to four-wheel and all-wheel drive vehicles. 
• House Bill 26-1127, which requires county coroners to provide toxicology results for every vehicle-related death to the Colorado Department of Transportation every quarter instead of annually. It also requires law enforcement to file an amended crash report within five days when someone dies within 30 days of a crash.
• House Bill 26-1076, which clarifies several existing state transit laws. 

Traffic laws that will soon go into effect are: 

• Senate Bill 26-72, which creates a new factual basis for charging someone with a Class 5 felony for a death caused by criminally negligent driving. The law goes into effect Sept. 1. 
• Senate Bill 26-141, which adds a voluntary $5 fee to vehicle registrations to help fund wildlife crossing infrastructure. The law goes into effect Oct. 1. 
• House Bill 24-1021, which adds new driver education requirements for new drivers under 21. The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2027. 
• House Bill 26-1242, which requires drivers who are convicted of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol to install an interlock device in their car as a condition of having their full license reinstated. Interlock devices require a driver to pass a breathalyzer test to start their car. The law goes into effect June 1, 2027.