New Colorado Traffic Laws Double Points for Reckless Drivers

Aspen —Skyler McKinley stood in front of the Colorado Capitol on Wednesday, surrounded by families who had lost lovedones to reckless drivers. He wasn’t just talking about statistics. He was talking about courage.

“The legislation will make the difference so that nobody else has to summon the same courage as the folks behind me today,” McKinley told the crowd.

He’s the regional spokesperson for AAA, and he called the 2026 lawmaking term “the most consequential legislative session for traffic safety in decades.” Six new laws went into effect on August 12. Four more are coming in the next few months.

For locals, this isn’t just abstract policy. It’s about the roads you drive every day. It’s about whether that driver crossing the double yellow on Highway 9 is going to pull back or take you out.

Let’s look at the money and the miles. Senate Bill 26-35 raises the stakes for reckless driving. It doubles the points on a license for passing on a solid yellow line from four to eight. It forces repeat speeders to show up in court to settle fines. Drivers hitting 100 mph or more? That’s a four-point penalty, regardless of the speed limit.

The logic is simple. The data supports it. There have been high-profile head-on collisions caused by drivers crossing no-passing lines. One happened in Grand County on Highway 9 in August 2025. A family of five died.

Angel O’Dowd knows that pain. Her parents were killed in September 2024 on U.S. Highway 34 near Wiggins. An 18-year-old driver tried to pass two cars. He was going 95 mph. He hit O’Dowd’s family head-on. She was in the back seat. She survived.

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

She hopes Senate Bill 35 will deter dangerous passes. It’s a start. But it’s not the only change.

Two other laws are named after kids. House Bill 26-1318 is the Liam Stewart School Zone Act. Liam was 13. He was riding his bike to middle school in Littleton in October 2023. A driver hit him. He died.

His father, Josh Stewart, felt the city didn’t do enough to fix the school zone boundaries after the crash. So the state stepped in.

The new law makes all roadways within 1,000 feet of a school a designated school zone. State highways are the exception, unless transit officials say otherwise. Local governments can shrink that zone, but they have to hold a public hearing first. You can’t just quietly reduce the safety buffer.

Voluntary breathalyzer tests are also part of the mix. It’s about accountability. It’s about making sure the people behind the wheel are actually driving.

McKinley noted that three of the four additional traffic laws were passed this year. They’ll take effect soon. The goal is reducing crashes. It’s about holding reckless drivers accountable.

It’s not a silver bullet. It won’t stop every bad driver. But it changes the cost of doing business for those who speed, pass on the double yellow, or ignore school zones.

The cost to locals? Higher fines for some. More time in court for others. But potentially, fewer funerals.

O’Dowd’s story is concrete. It’s not a hypothetical. It’s a family on Highway 34. It’s a driver who thought he could pass. It’s a law that now carries more weight because of them.

The state is betting that stricter points and clearer zones will save lives. We’ll see if the data backs it up when the next crash happens.