Unless you’re a Colorado resident and motorist who has been on the receiving end of a vehicular eluding criminal charge, you likely have no reasonable idea what it means or encompasses.
And the same shoulder shrug might result for most people who hear the words “traffic eluding” for the first time.
Following is a bit of clarification.
Imagine a scenario where a behind-the-wheel law enforcement officer seeks to stop your vehicle for some reason. He or she later claims that it was inordinately difficult to do so because, while knowing you were being pursued, you purposefully sought to prevent apprehension by fleeing. Moreover, the elusive actions you took were in the realm of being legally reckless.
Under Colorado state law, that is vehicular eluding.
Traffic eluding is essentially the close cousin of vehicular eluding, with the major difference being that a traffic eluding charge does not contain an element of reckless driving. Thus, the potential criminal penalties that might be levied in a traffic eluding case are not as severe as is the case with vehicular eluding.
Those charges can be brought in cases that involve impaired driving allegations and in other instances, as well.
Here’s a central point to remember about vehicular and traffic eluding: a charge of either certainly does not guarantee a conviction. As we note on a page of our Denver area criminal law website at Pearson & Paris, P.C., the defenses that might be brought to bear in a given case encompass those that can be raised “with equal force … in any other criminal case.”
A proven criminal defense attorney can answer questions and provide diligent advocacy on behalf of any Colorado resident who is facing a traffic-related or other criminal charge.
