42-4-1101.  Speed limits. (1)  No person shall drive a vehicle on a 
 highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions 
 then existing. 
      (2)  Except when a special hazard exists that requires a lower speed, the 
 following speeds shall be lawful: 
      (a)  Twenty miles per hour on narrow, winding mountain highways or on 
 blind curves; 
      (b)  Twenty-five miles per hour in any business district, as defined in 
 section 42-1-102 (11); 
      (c)  Thirty miles per hour in any residence district, as defined in 
 section 42-1-102 (80); 
      (d)  Forty miles per hour on open mountain highways; 
      (e)  Forty-five miles per hour for all vehicles in the business of 
 transporting trash, where higher speeds are posted, when said vehicle is loaded 
 as an exempted vehicle pursuant to section 42-4-507 (3); 
      (f)  Fifty-five miles per hour on other open highways which are not on the 
 interstate system, as defined in section 43-2-101 (2), C.R.S., and are not 
 surfaced, four-lane freeways or expressways; 
      (g)  Sixty-five miles per hour on surfaced, four-lane highways which are 
 on the interstate system, as defined in section 43-2-101 (2), C.R.S., or are 
 freeways or expressways; 
      (h)  Any speed not in excess of a speed limit designated by an official 
 traffic control device. 
      (3)  No driver of a vehicle shall fail to decrease the speed of such 
 vehicle from an otherwise lawful speed to a reasonable and prudent speed when a 
 special hazard exists with respect to pedestrians or other traffic or by reason 
 of weather or highway conditions. 
      (4)  Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c) of subsection (8) of 
 this section, any speed in excess of the lawful speeds set forth in subsection 
 (2) of this section shall be prima facie evidence that such speed was not 
 reasonable or prudent under the conditions then existing.  As used in this 
 subsection (4), "prima facie evidence" means evidence which is sufficient proof 
 that the speed was not reasonable or prudent under the conditions then 
 existing, and which will remain sufficient proof of such fact, unless 
 contradicted and overcome by evidence bearing upon the question of whether or 
 not the speed was reasonable and prudent under the conditions then existing. 
      (5)  In every charge of violating subsection (1) of this section, the 
 complaint, summons and complaint, or penalty assessment notice shall specify 
 the speed at which the defendant is alleged to have driven and also the alleged 
 reasonable and prudent speed applicable at the specified time and location of 
 the alleged violation. 
      (6)  The provisions of this section shall not be construed to relieve the 
 party alleging negligence under this section in any civil action for damages 
 from the burden of proving that such negligence was the proximate cause of an 
 accident. 
      (7)  Notwithstanding paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of subsection (2) of 
 this section, any city or town may by ordinance adopt absolute speed limits as 
 the maximum lawful speed limits in its jurisdiction, and such speed limits 
 shall not be subject to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section. 
      (8) (a)  (Deleted by amendment, L. 96, p. 578,  2, effective May 25, 
 1996.) 
      (b)  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, no person shall 
 drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed in excess of a maximum lawful speed
limit of seventy-five miles per hour. 
      (c)  The speed limit set forth in paragraph (b) of this subsection (8) is 
 the maximum lawful speed limit and is not subject to the provisions of 
 subsection (4) of this section. 
      (d)  State and local authorities within their respective jurisdictions 
 shall not authorize any speed limit which exceeds seventy-five miles per hour 
 on any highway. 
      (e)  The provisions of this subsection (8) are declared to be matters of 
 both local and statewide concern requiring uniform compliance throughout the 
 state. 
      (f)  In every charge of a violation of paragraph (b) of this subsection 
 (8), the complaint, summons and complaint, or penalty assessment notice shall 
 specify the speed at which the defendant is alleged to have driven and also the 
 maximum lawful speed limit of seventy-five miles per hour. 
      (9)  The conduct of a driver of a vehicle which would otherwise constitute 
 a violation of this section is justifiable and not unlawful when: 
      (a)  It is necessary as an emergency measure to avoid an imminent public 
 or private injury which is about to occur by reason of a situation occasioned 
 or developed through no conduct of said driver and which is of sufficient 
 gravity that, according to ordinary standards of intelligence and morality, the 
 desirability and urgency of avoiding the injury clearly outweigh the 
 desirability of avoiding the consequences sought to be prevented by this 
 section; or 
      (b)  With respect to authorized emergency vehicles, the applicable 
 conditions for exemption, as set forth in section 42-4-108, exist. 
      (10)  The minimum requirement for commission of a traffic infraction or 
 misdemeanor traffic offense under this section is the performance by a driver 
 of prohibited conduct, which includes a voluntary act or the omission to 
 perform an act which said driver is physically capable of performing. 
      (11)  It shall not be a defense to prosecution for a violation of this 
 section that: 
      (a)  The defendant's conduct was not performed intentionally, knowingly, 
 recklessly, or with criminal negligence; or 
      (b)  The defendant's conduct was performed under a mistaken belief of 
 fact, including, but not limited to, a mistaken belief of the defendant 
 regarding the speed of the defendant's vehicle; or 
      (c)  The defendant's vehicle has a greater operating or fuel-conserving 
 efficiency at speeds greater than the reasonable and prudent speed under the 
 conditions then existing or at speeds greater than the maximum lawful speed
limit. 
      (12)  A violation of driving one to twenty-four miles per hour in excess 
 of the reasonable and prudent speed or in excess of the maximum lawful speed
limit of seventy-five miles per hour is a class A traffic infraction; a 
 violation of driving twenty-five or more miles per hour in excess of the 
 reasonable and prudent speed or in excess of the maximum lawful speed limit of 
 seventy-five miles per hour is a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense; and a 
 violation under subsection (3) of this section is a class A traffic infraction.