State Idling Standard

C.R.S. tit. 42, art. 14

in effect

C.R.S. § 42-14-101 Legislative declaration

42-14-101. Legislative declaration. The general assembly hereby finds and determines that the operation of a motor vehicle in commerce has important statewide ramifications for commercial diesel vehicle operators because the transportation of people and property is not confined to one jurisdiction. Therefore, the general assembly hereby declares that idling standards are a matter of mixed local and statewide concern.

C.R.S. § 42-14-102 Definitions

42-14-102. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Covered vehicle" means a vehicle to which this article applies under section 42-3-104. (2) "Idling" means when the primary propulsion engine of a covered vehicle is running but the vehicle is not in motion. (3) "Loading location" means a place where a covered vehicle loads or unloads people or property.

C.R.S. § 42-14-103 Uniform standard - local governments

42-14-103. Uniform standard - local governments. (1) A local authority may adopt or enact a resolution, ordinance, or other law concerning idling of a covered vehicle that is at least as stringent as, but not less stringent than, the state idling standard set forth in this article 14. (2) The exemptions set forth in section 42-14-105 (2) apply to any local resolution, ordinance, or other law concerning the idling standard in section 42-14-105 (1).

C.R.S. § 42-14-104 Applicability

42-14-104. Applicability. (1) This article applies to: (a) Commercial diesel vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of greater than fourteen thousand pounds that are designed to operate on highways; and (b) Locations where commercial diesel vehicles load or unload if a local authority has adopted or enacted a resolution, ordinance, or other law consistent with this article. (2) This article does not supersede an ordinance of a local authority if the authority has an average elevation of over six thousand feet and if the ordinance was in effect on January 1, 2011.

C.R.S. § 42-14-105 Idling

42-14-105. Idling. (1) Standard. The owner or operator of a covered vehicle shall not cause or permit the vehicle to idle for more than five minutes within any sixty-minute period except as authorized by subsection (2) of this section. (2) Exemptions. Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to an idling, covered vehicle: (a) When it remains motionless because of highway traffic, an official traffic control device or signal, or at the direction of a law enforcement officer; (b) When the driver is operating defrosters, heaters, or air conditioners or is installing equipment only to prevent a safety or health emergency, and not for rest periods; (c) In the case of a law enforcement, emergency, public safety, or military vehicle, or any other vehicle used to respond to an emergency, when it is responding to an emergency or being used for training for an emergency, and not for the convenience of the vehicle operator; (d) When necessary for required maintenance, servicing, or repair of the vehicle; (e) During a local, state, or federal inspection verifying that the equipment is in good working order if required for the inspection; (f) During the operation of power take-off equipment if necessary for operating work-related mechanical or electrical equipment; (g) In the case of an armored vehicle, when a person is inside the vehicle to guard its contents or during the loading or unloading of the vehicle; (h) In the case of a passenger bus, when idling for up to five minutes in any sixty-minute period to maintain passenger comfort while nondriver passengers are on board; (i) When used to heat or cool a sleeper berth compartment during a rest or sleep period at a safety rest area as defined under 23 CFR 752.3, fleet trucking terminal, commercial truck stop, or state-designated location designed to be a driver's rest area; (j) When used to heat or cool a sleeper berth compartment during a rest or sleep period at a location where the vehicle is legally permitted to park and that is at least one thousand feet from residential housing, a school, a daycare facility, a hospital, a senior citizen center, or a medical outpatient facility providing primary, specialty, or respiratory care; (k) When idling for up to twenty minutes in any sixty-minute period if the ambient temperature is less then ten degrees; or (l) For a critical service or a utility provider, when performing the functions of the provider's duties.

C.R.S. § 42-14-106 Penalties

42-14-106. Penalties. The owner or operator of a vehicle or the owner of a loading location that violates this article commits a class B traffic infraction, punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred fifty dollars for the first offense or a fine of not more than five hundred dollars for a second or subsequent offense and by a surcharge of twenty dollars in accordance with section 24-4.1-119, C.R.S.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-42.docxFetched: 10/6/2026