Is a trailer considered a motor vehicle in colorado?

Question

Somebody I know was towing a trailer in the state of colorado with expired plates and got cited for it under 42-3-114 CRS The ticket was written with the vehicle's License plate number listed on it which was valid and the plate number for the trailer that was expired was never put on the ticket. I read into the statute above and it specifies a motor vehicle, Last I checked, trailers don't have motors powering them. In this situation, is the trailer considered a motor vehicle, and is there any defense for them in court against the charge?

Answer 1

Not even going to bother looking it up.



If (and a big IF at that) this was indeed a technical error, it is nowhere near a violation of their civil rights, right to due process, or any other legal theory that would compel a Judge to throw out the complaint.



Minor errors are fairly common, maybe a name is mis-spelled, or some other detail is out of order. It is called a Scribner's error, and can easily be corrected in court in front of the judge, or the officer and/or prosecutor can amend the charge at any time before the trial begins.



It may be important to plead guilty to the proper charge for other reasons (correct fine, driver's license points, insurance, etc).



The vehicle info on a uniform citation refers to the vehicle being driven and is simply another layer of identification. The narrative of the offense describes the violation.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Trailers are required to be registered ro be on the road, period. There is no defence for the ticket other than sheer ignorance. The ticket is issued to the driver, not the car, not the trailer. The vehicle's plate number was written on the ticket because the driver was using that vehicle to illegally tow the trailer. Expired plates mean NO valid registration.

The ticket is specifically for having a vehicle on the road that is not registered. The trailer was attached to the vehicle.

If there had been an accident, by the way, and any part of it could be attributed to the trailer, such as a blow-out or brake failure, the insurance company could deny the total claim.

The ticket is cheap enough, unless the person has a previous conviction for the same offence, Your friend should just pay it and learn to obey the law instead of trying to weasel out and virtually ensure getting the full fine without any chance of mitigation.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

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