DENVER (KDVR) — It’s a common question everyone is asked at some point in their lives while driving a car that nobody ever really knows how to answer correctly—and now, one state is working to make sure it’s never asked again.
The question, of course, is: “Do you know why I am pulling you over?”
It’s regularly asked by police officers at a traffic stop and is a pain for drivers who aren’t sure how to respond for fear of incriminating themselves.
A bill has been introduced into the Colorado legislature—HB25-1243—that would prohibit officers from asking this very question and would instead have them tell the driver why they are conducting the traffic stop.
If the bill passes, Colorado would become one of just a handful of states that have outlawed the question over the past couple of years.
The first state to prohibit officers from asking drivers why they were pulled over was Connecticut, back in 2023. California soon followed in 2024, as did Minnesota in the same year.
One of the reasons for the bill is for officer safety. Skyler McKinley, regional director of public affairs for the American Automobile Association, said simply limiting time during the stop could make all the difference.
“Law enforcement, drivers, folks like tow drivers would tell you the difference between losing your life at the roadside and the difference between a near miss is milliseconds. Sometimes it’s fractions of a millisecond,” he said. “The more we can do to streamline these transactions at the roadside, the better.”
Safety is a priority for law enforcement, but sponsors of the bill said drivers’ rights are also on the table.
“Many of my constituents don’t know that when you get pulled over, you don’t have to answer the question of, ‘Do you know why I pulled you over?'” said Sen. Faith Winter, a Democrat who is a co-sponsor of the bill.
Winter said the bill is also a way of adding more transparency with law enforcement involved in traffic stops.
“All we’re asking for is transparency, and I think, especially right now, it’s really important that the community builds trust with our peace officers. I think this is one easy step to do that,” she said.