Automated Speeding Tickets Coming To I-25 And I-70 In Colorado?

With speeding being an issue for Colorado drivers along i-25 and I-70, could the state be looking at using new traffic technology to automatically issue tickets for speeding?

Colorado To Crack Down On Speeding With Automated Tickets?

While it feels like both I-25 and I-70 in Colorado are parking lots a lot of the time, we've all been cruising along at some point, and have a wild driver fly right passed you. With the speed limit already at 75 in many parts of I-25, I always tell my wife that they must be going at least 100!

The Colorado Department of Transportation began using new technology to help them identify drivers who are weaving in and out of the HOV Express lanes. Similar technology can also be used to identify drivers speeding.

In New York, a new initiative being used by the New York Department of Transportation is already using that speed detection technology in various locations, and will now begin to automatically issue speeding tickets to those breaking the speed limit.

A law was quietly passed in New York back in 2021 making automated speeding tickets legal on highways, and that law is now being put to use in various parts of the state as the camera tickets have begun. Could something similar now be coming to Colorado?

Are Automated Speeding Tickets Coming To Colorado?

Fresh off of traffic fatalities hitting a 40-year high back in 2022, the Governor signed a bill into law back in June of this year (2023), that allows local government to use traffic cameras in more places.

While the cameras aren't popular with most, research does indicate that they do make a difference when it comes to road safety improvement. But if implemented on Colorado interstates, how would it work?

As of the current version of this bill, as long as you weren't going ridiculously fast, you'd likely get a letter that would provide a warning first. After that, the new bill has a cap of speeding fines at $40 (for now), unless in a school zone.

The bill states that these automated tickets wouldn't allow points to be taken away from your driver's license, and doesn't allow the government to immobilize your vehicle if your fines go unpaid. Why would you even pay them at that point?

Would automated camera & radar-triggered tickets help with the crazy drivers on our highways in Colorado, and maybe clean up some of these unnecessary accidents causing so much extra traffic? I guess only time will tell if CDOT does go this route. With the new fines being implemented for the express lanes, it wouldn't be surprising if Colorado wasn't too far behind New York's new system.