Can You Get Ticket For A Cracked Windshield In Colorado? Kind Of

As we gear up for the snowy season, it's a common problem around these parts. The dreaded cracked windshield - usually from a tiny piece of gravel that was left behind by a snow plow laying sand, chucked up in the air by that pickup truck that flies past you on Highway 34 on your way to work.

Those little bits of tiny gravel left behind on our roads after plowing and sanding are pretty universally known as windshield killers. It's almost a rite of passage for every Coloradoan to have a cracked windshield at some point or another.

But how long do you usually wait to fix it? And what happens if you get pulled over while it's cracked? Can you get a ticket for it?

The short answer? Maybe. But probably not.

No statute exists in Colorado making a cracked windshield a specific violation.

The gray area exists when it comes to whether or not it affects your view as a driver, making your vehicle unsafe. In some counties and cities across the state, officers do have the discretion to ticket you if they feel like your vision is obstructed by something, including a crack that you have not had repaired.

This could especially apply if you were in an accident and an attorney wanted to pin the blame on you. Their argument would be something like, "They couldn't see my client coming because there was a crack in the windshield obstructing their view, and since they didn't fix the crack, that's why they're liable."

There's your potential issue. But can you get a ticket for it, without any other reason to be pulled over? No. There is technically no law on Colorado's books that applies to the subject.