Yes, with conditions. Since April 13, 2022, Colorado has let people aged 15 or older on bicycles, e-bikes and electric scooters treat a stop sign as a yield sign and a red light as a stop sign. “Yield” is the operative word: slow to 10 mph (about 16 km/h) or less, give way to anyone in or approaching the intersection, and stop completely whenever safety calls for it. Riders under 15 get the same statewide treatment only when an adult accompanies them, and the enacted text and the agency summaries word that condition differently.
This article covers Colorado state law only. Legal figures keep the statute’s units, with metric in parentheses. For habits that apply on any road, see The Basic Rules of Cycling on Roads (That Save Your Life).
What House Bill 22-1028 changed
Colorado’s bicycle statute gives riders the rights and duties of any other vehicle driver, with listed exceptions that include section 42-4-1412.5. Before 2022 it was a local option: a municipality or county could adopt an ordinance letting riders make a “safety stop” instead of a full stop, with a “reasonable speed” of 15 mph (about 24 km/h) or less at stop signs.
House Bill 22-1028, “Statewide Regulation Of Controlled Intersections,” made those requirements uniform across Colorado. A controlled intersection is simply an intersection governed by a stop sign or a traffic signal. The act changed more than one number:
- The statewide “reasonable speed” is 10 mph rather than 15. A city or county may only raise it, to 20 mph (about 32 km/h) at a particular intersection where it also posts signs.
- The rules now depend on age: 15 or older, or under 15 with an adult.
- Pedestrians approaching a stop-sign intersection are covered, and the covered group grew from bicycles, e-bikes and electric scooters to “low-speed conveyances.”
The act was approved on April 13, 2022, which the General Assembly’s session-law listing also gives as its effective date (chapter 96).
The rules at each kind of intersection
| Step | Stop sign | Red light |
|---|---|---|
| Treated as | A yield sign | A stop sign |
| First step | Slow to 10 mph (about 16 km/h) or less; stop before entering if safety requires it | Stop before the intersection |
| Who you yield to | Traffic and pedestrians in or approaching the intersection | All traffic and pedestrians |
| What you may do next | Continue through, cautiously | Go straight or turn right if the intersection is clear; turn left only onto a one-way street |
At a stop sign
Think of it as a yield sign with a speed cap. CDOT says riders must slow and stop before entering if safety requires it. If a stop is not needed, they slow to 10 mph or less and give way, and the act says they may then proceed “cautiously.” In practice, a blind corner or an approaching car is reason to stop, and the State Patrol notes that nothing in the law prevents a complete stop.
At a red light
Here a full stop comes first, then you give way to all traffic and pedestrians. Only after that may you continue straight or turn right, and only if the intersection is clear. CDOT adds that you must not go if an oncoming vehicle is turning, or preparing to turn, left across your path. A left on red is allowed only onto a one-way street, after stopping and yielding.
Who the law covers
The age 15 rule
The signed act (chapter 96 of the 2022 session laws) applies the stop-sign rule to anyone fifteen or older, or under fifteen and “accompanied by an adult.” The red-light and left-turn provisions repeat it, and the bill summary matches. The act says only “an adult”; it does not add the parent, guardian or co-riding wording that two agencies use:
- Colorado State Patrol: “a child accompanied by an adult who is also operating a low-speed conveyance.”
- CDOT: a parent or legal guardian.
The enacted text is the primary source; an agency summary is secondary. As a rule of thumb rather than a legal requirement, teach a young rider the narrowest version: a parent or guardian riding alongside satisfies all three wordings.
A rider under 15 who is alone is not covered by the statewide rule. The act does keep valid an ordinance or resolution adopted by a county or municipality before May 3, 2018 that regulates bicycles or e-bikes as the act describes, but only as it applies to unaccompanied riders under 15 on bicycles or e-bikes. A local rule may therefore still shape what a child riding alone may do, so check the city and county where the child rides. Where none applies, the general rule that riders have a driver’s duties points to full stops at stop signs and red lights.
Which riders and devices count
CDOT lists bicycles and “low-speed conveyances,” including electric scooters, e-bikes, human-powered toy vehicles such as skateboards, and electric personal assistance mobility devices (EPAMDs). The act’s definition of a low-speed conveyance leaves out motor vehicles, low-power scooters and low-speed electric vehicles. If your device might fall into one of those classes, confirm its classification before relying on the rule; E-Bike Laws: What You Can and Cannot Do (US, UK and EU) explains how e-bikes are classified.
What the law does not change
- Compatible local rules stay. The act overrides conflicting city and county ordinances but leaves non-conflicting ones valid. CDOT recommends checking your own city and county ordinances.
- Bike-specific signs and signals still rule. Where a city or county installs a sign or signal that instructs only certain types of low-speed conveyances, those operators must obey it.
- No new places to ride. The act creates no right to use a roadway where state law or a local ordinance already prohibits travel.
What drivers should expect
Expect cyclists to pass through stop signs without stopping, at up to 10 mph (or 20 mph where a sign allows it), and to move on red after stopping. CDOT’s driver guidance: give way to bicyclists the way you would to motorists, do not underestimate their speed, check for them at stop signs and in parking lots, and when turning right on red, look right and behind for a rider coming up on that side.
CDOT’s page also restates two neighboring rules. Under the Three Foot Law, a driver or motorcyclist passing a bicycle or e-bike must leave at least three feet (about 0.9 m), or slow down and stay behind until passing is safe. And bicycles, e-bikes and electric scooters must show a white front lamp visible from at least 500 feet (about 150 m), plus rear and side reflectivity from sunset to sunrise or whenever light is insufficient. The Cycling Lights Buyer’s Guide covers lights that go well beyond that minimum.
Before you rely on this
This is a general explanation of a 2022 statute, not legal advice. The safety-stop rules sit in C.R.S. 42-4-1412.5. The statute’s own wording governs any ticket or dispute, and a Colorado attorney can say how it applies if you have been cited or a crash is involved. Statutes can be amended after signing, so read the current text and your local ordinances. If traffic or visibility makes proceeding unsafe, stop; the law allows it. CDOT also strongly urges everyone using these devices to wear protective equipment such as helmets, and Cycling Helmets: How They Work, MIPS, and Choosing the Right One explains what to look for.
Sources
- Colorado General Assembly: HB22-1028 Statewide Regulation Of Controlled Intersections
- Colorado General Assembly: Session Laws of Colorado 2022, Chapter 96 (House Bill 22-1028, signed act)
- Colorado Department of Transportation: Information for Bicyclists
- Colorado State Patrol: Colorado Introduces Changes to Bike Laws (June 2, 2022)
Last reviewed: October 2026.