- Colorado has expanded the use of cameras that will issue tickets if your average speed exceeds the limit by 10 miles per hour or more.
- The state passed a law in 2023 that allows law enforcement agencies to use automated vehicle identification systems to issue traffic tickets.
- The system issues tickets to vehicle owners, regardless of who is actually driving.
Speed cameras are nothing new. They’ve been used in the United States for nearly 40 years, and your favorite navigation app will warn you when you’re approaching one, but they no longer work as intended on certain sections of roads and highways in Colorado.
The state’s new automatic vehicle identification system (AVIS) uses multiple cameras to calculate your average speed between them, and if you exceed the limit by 10 miles per hour or more, you’ll be ticketed. You can no longer slow down when approaching a camera and speed back up after passing it, which doesn’t mean you have to speed on a public road in the first place.
Colorado began implementing this new camera system after legislators changed it law in 2023, authorizing AVIS for law enforcement use. The system, installed on highways and highways across the state, first began issuing warnings, but police began issuing tickets late last year.
The final stretch of road under scrutiny is a stretch of I-25 north of Denver, which draws our attention to the state’s growing panopticon. It started issuing tickets on April 2.
The Colorado Department of Transportation installed cameras throughout the construction zone. The fine is $75 and zero points for exceeding the speed limit, and police issue it to the vehicle owner, regardless of who is driving.
Motorcycle Pickup1: Colorado’s automated vehicle identification system should serve as a reminder that driving is a privilege and not a right, and that increased oversight in the state will make it easier for the government to enforce the law. It’s not impossible to imagine a future where these cameras, possibly equipped with artificial intelligence, will line every street in America and identify more than just speeding cars.
