Most people think this law is about texting. It’s not. SB 24-065 goes much further than that — and the details matter if you’ve been hit by a distracted driver in Greenwood Village.
Under the hands-free law, drivers can’t hold a phone for any reason while behind the wheel. Not to make a call. Not to check a notification. Not to scroll through a playlist. The phone has to be mounted or put away. If it’s in your hand, you’re breaking the law. Full stop.
Holding a phone at all is now a violation — even sitting at a red light on Arapahoe Road. The old law only targeted texting. This one covers any handheld use, period.
Watching or recording video while driving is against the law. Scrolling through a feed in traffic along the I-25 and Arapahoe interchange? Violation. Recording anything while moving through the DTC corridor? Same result.
Manually entering anything — typing an address into maps, entering a phone number, writing any message — is off the table unless you’re using voice commands or a mounted device with single-touch activation.
Social media and app use has no carve-out for “quick” checks. We’ve seen distracted driving cases where the other driver claimed they were “just checking one thing.” That excuse doesn’t hold up anymore.
There are narrow exceptions. You can use a phone to call 911 in an emergency, and single-touch or voice-activated features on a mounted device are allowed. The key word is mounted. If it’s in your lap or your hand, you’re in violation.
So why does this matter for your case? Because a violation of SB 24-065 is now evidence. Before this law, proving distracted driving meant getting phone records and hoping the timestamps lined up with the crash. That’s still useful — but now there’s an extra layer. If the other driver was holding their phone at the time of the collision, they broke a specific Colorado statute. That’s a fact a jury can weigh directly.
Insurance adjusters will try to minimize it. They’ll say it was “just a glance” or that holding a phone doesn’t prove the driver was actually distracted. But the law doesn’t require proof of actual distraction. It only requires proof the driver was holding the device.
The pattern near Greenwood Village is easy to predict. Heavy commuter traffic along I-25, packed surface streets around Fiddler’s Green and the Landmark entertainment district, drivers checking phones at every stoplight on Orchard Road. SB 24-065 gives injured people a stronger tool to hold those drivers responsible.
One thing most people don’t realize — the law applies to all drivers, including rideshare and delivery drivers. If a rideshare driver rear-ends you while checking the app on a handheld phone, that’s a violation of SB 24-065 on top of everything else.
A Phone Violation Can Become Direct Evidence of Fault in Your Case
This is where the hands-free law gets real. Before SB 24-065, proving the other driver was on their phone took serious work — cell phone records, witness statements, dashcam footage. Now a traffic citation for holding a phone can serve as direct evidence that the driver was negligent.
Here’s why that matters. Under Colorado’s modified comparative negligence system under C.R.S. § 13-21-111, fault gets split between the parties. If you’re found less than 50% at fault, you can still recover damages. But insurance companies fight hard to push blame onto you. They’ll argue you were speeding, not paying attention, or failed to brake in time. A hands-free law violation by the other driver changes that conversation fast.
What “Negligence Per Se” Means for You
When someone breaks a safety law and that violation causes an accident, Colorado courts can treat the violation as automatic proof of negligence. Lawyers call this “negligence per se.” You don’t have to prove the driver was being careless. The law violation speaks for itself.
So if the driver who hit you at the I-25 and Arapahoe Road interchange was holding their phone and got cited under SB 24-065, that citation becomes a powerful part of your case. Think about it from a jury’s perspective. A driver chose to hold their phone. Colorado law says that’s illegal. They crashed into you. The connection doesn’t need much explaining.
How We Use Phone Evidence in Distracted Driving Cases
A citation alone helps. But building the strongest case means layering evidence. We don’t stop at the ticket.
Cell phone records show exactly what the driver was doing and when — texts, calls, app usage, all time-stamped. If someone sent a text three seconds before impact on Orchard Road near the DTC, that record locks in your case.
The police report matters because officers now have a clear legal basis to document phone use during crash investigations. SB 24-065 gave them a sharper tool, and the better officers use it.
Witness testimony fills gaps. Other drivers or pedestrians who saw the at-fault driver looking down at their lap or holding a device can back up what the records show.
Event data recorders in newer vehicles capture braking patterns, speed, and steering inputs in the seconds before a crash. Zero braking before impact is hard for an adjuster to explain away.
Adjusters will still try to minimize the phone violation. They’ll say the driver “barely” touched their phone, or that you could have avoided the crash anyway. That’s exactly why layering the evidence matters.
Here’s something most people don’t realize until it’s too late — phone records can be deleted. App data can disappear. If you wait weeks to talk to a distracted driving accident lawyer, critical evidence may already be gone. A preservation letter sent early protects that data before anyone has a chance to erase it.
For a free legal consultation, call (303) 465-8733
Proving the Other Driver Was on Their Phone, Even Without a Citation
A police officer doesn’t have to write a distracted driving citation for you to prove the other driver was on their phone. Not even close.
We see this constantly in Greenwood Village distracted driving cases. The officer shows up after the crash, talks to both drivers, maybe notes “driver inattention” on the report, maybe doesn’t. But that report is just one piece of the puzzle. The real evidence lives in places most people never think to look.
Cell Phone Records Tell the Story
Your attorney can subpoena the other driver’s phone records. These records show texts sent, calls made, and data usage down to the second. So if the crash happened at 5:14 p.m. on I-25 near the Arapahoe Road interchange and the records show a text at 5:14 p.m., that’s powerful proof.
But you have to act fast. Carriers don’t keep detailed records forever — some delete data within months.
It goes deeper than call logs too. App usage data can show the driver was scrolling social media or watching a video. We’ve handled cases where the driver swore they weren’t on their phone, then the data told a completely different story.
Other Evidence That Builds Your Case
Phone records aren’t the only tool. A strong distracted driving case pulls from multiple sources.
Dashcam and surveillance footage from businesses along corridors like DTC Boulevard or Orchard Road can capture the other driver looking down in the seconds before impact. Many office buildings in the Denver Tech Center have exterior cameras that record adjacent roadways. That footage gets overwritten fast — sometimes within 48 to 72 hours.
Witness statements matter more than people think. A passenger in the other car. The driver behind you at the light. Someone walking into Fiddler’s Green. Any of them might have seen the other driver holding their phone. Get names and numbers at the scene if you’re able.
The crash pattern itself can be evidence. A rear-end collision at full speed with no skid marks points straight to distraction. An accident reconstructionist can analyze the physical evidence and testify that the other driver showed zero braking response — consistent with someone who wasn’t watching the road at all.
Event data recorders capture speed, braking, and steering inputs in the seconds before a crash. This black box data can prove the other driver never touched the brake pedal. That kind of fact changes a case.
Why the Hands-Free Law Makes This Easier
Before SB 24-065, Colorado’s texting ban was hard to enforce and harder to use in civil cases. The old law only banned texting. Now any handheld phone use while driving breaks the law. So if you can show the other driver was holding their phone for any reason, that’s a violation.
Under Colorado’s modified comparative negligence rules under C.R.S. § 13-21-111, a hands-free law violation strengthens your position. It’s solid evidence of negligence. Insurance adjusters have a much harder time arguing their driver was “paying attention” when the phone records show active use at the exact moment of a crash that is now explicitly illegal under state law.
But none of this evidence collects itself. Phone records require legal action to get. Surveillance footage gets erased in days. Witnesses forget details and move on. If you’ve been hurt in a distracted driving accident in Greenwood Village, the clock is already running on the evidence that could make or break your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Colorado’s hands-free law apply to drivers stopped at a red light on Arapahoe Road or Orchard Road in Greenwood Village?
Yes, SB 24-065 applies even when a vehicle is stopped at a red light. Many drivers in Greenwood Village assume a stoplight makes phone use legal. It does not. The law covers any moment you are behind the wheel, moving or stopped. If the driver who hit you was holding their phone while waiting at Arapahoe Road or Orchard Road, they were already breaking the law before they ever moved.
What does ‘negligence per se’ mean, and how does it help my distracted driving accident case?
Negligence per se means a driver’s law violation counts as automatic proof of carelessness. You do not have to argue the driver was being reckless. The violation speaks for itself. If the other driver was cited under SB 24-065 for holding their phone, that citation becomes direct evidence of fault in your case. Insurance adjusters cannot simply call it a minor mistake. To learn more about how fault works in Colorado, see our distracted driving accident page.
Does the hands-free law cover rideshare and delivery drivers near the DTC corridor in Greenwood Village?
Yes, SB 24-065 applies to every driver in Colorado, including rideshare and delivery drivers. This matters a lot near the DTC corridor and the Landmark entertainment district, where rideshare pickups and deliveries are constant. If a driver rear-ended you while checking an app on a handheld phone, that is a violation of the hands-free law on top of standard negligence. That combination strengthens your case significantly.
A common misconception: does the other driver have to be texting for the hands-free law to apply to my case?
No, texting is not required. SB 24-065 covers any handheld phone use at all. Holding a phone to make a call, scroll music, check a notification, or glance at a map is a violation. Insurance adjusters often claim the driver was “just holding” the phone and not actually distracted. The law does not require proof of distraction. It only requires proof the driver was holding the device.
What evidence beyond a traffic citation should I gather after a distracted driving accident in Greenwood Village?
A citation helps, but it is rarely enough on its own. Cell phone records show exactly what the driver was doing and when. The police report documents the officer’s observations at the scene. Witness statements from bystanders near Fiddler’s Green or along I-25 can confirm phone use. Event data recorders in newer vehicles capture speed and braking in the seconds before impact. Layering all of this together builds a much stronger case than a citation alone.
How does Colorado’s modified comparative negligence rule affect how much I can recover after a distracted driving accident?
Under C.R.S. § 13-21-111, you can still recover damages if you are less than 50% at fault. Your recovery is reduced by your share of fault. Insurance companies often try to push blame onto you to lower what they owe. A hands-free law violation by the other driver shifts that fault conversation quickly. The stronger your evidence that the other driver broke SB 24-065, the harder it is for an adjuster to argue you share most of the blame.