DENVER — State transportation officials plan to deploy photo radar cameras on highways this spring to automatically enforce speed limits as part of a stepped-up campaign to drive crash numbers lower and reduce roadway deaths.
The Colorado Department of Transportation will install speed cams in several construction zones starting in April, State Traffic Engineer San Lee said. CDOT hasn’t disclosed the specific locations. Eventually, CDOT will expand automated enforcement to other areas where drivers exceeding limits cause crashes, Lee said.
“We want to start slow and then evolve into eventually going into specific corridors and school zones,” he said, suggesting Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon as a possible highway corridor in the future.
“It is data-driven,” he said. “We don’t want to jump into a blanket approach.”
“We’re seeing successes in key areas,” Colorado State Patrol Chief Col. Matthew Packard said, pointing to speed limit enforcement by 740 state troopers and safer vehicles as factors.
Speed cameras will help drive a bigger decrease in crashes, Packard said. “The data shows that automated enforcement works. Anything that makes our roads safer, the State Patrol supports it.”
Around the United States, courts consistently have supported the constitutionality of automated speed limit enforcement. The National Highway Safety Administration, which recommends state authorizing statutes, has found that installing speed cameras to enforce limits prevents collisions and reduces serious injuries and deaths.
