The Colorado Department of Transportation is beefing up its speed enforcement program this fall, and automated tickets will soon be mailed to speeding drivers in monitored areas.
For now, the cameras, which are part of the state’s Automated Vehicle Identification System or AVIS, have only been activated to monitor speeds on Highway 119 in Boulder County between Golden and an interstate junction near Longmont.
The system began issuing warnings at the end of July and will soon begin issuing actual civil penalties with fines.
The system monitors when a vehicle passes between a pair of cameras, then calculates the average speed. AVIS then identifies any vehicle going an average of 10 MPH or more over the posted speed limit and automatically issues $75 civil penalties to the registered owner of the vehicle, regardless of who was driving.
The registered owner of the vehicle may obtain payment from the driver and forward the payment to the state. If the vehicle was stolen or recently sold, you can file a dispute and upload the required documentation by visiting ColoradoSpeedSafety.com.
CDOT says once the official citation period begins this fall, it will make details of how to pay them available online.
CDOT plans to expand the program into school zones and other “high-risk corridors”, like construction zones, in the spring of 2026, but declined to share further details about where.
They say the program aims to “reduce speed-related crashes and fatalities on Colorado roads and improve safety for drivers, road workers and law enforcement.”
According to CDOT’s 2025 Driver Behavior Report, 71 percent of Colorado drivers said they drove over the speed limit on main highways at least some of the time, while 48 percent admitted to speeding on main city streets.
The money collected from the civil penalties will cover the operational costs of the system and any excess funds will be allocated to “vulnerable road user projects,” i.e., things that benefit and make streets and highways safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
As the program expands, CDOT is emphasizing transparency. You can visit their website to see where speed enforcement is currently active, and each new location will include a warning period of at least 30 days. They will also be identified with “Camera Speed Enforcement Ahead” signs at each entrance.
The ability to expand the AVIS program was granted by the legislature in 2023 and follows an increase in speed-related fatalities in the state.
CDOT says speed was a factor in 237 fatalities in 2024. In the last five years, more than 1,200 people have died on Colorado roads in speeding-related crashes.
In addition to the expansion of the speed enforcement program, CDOT is also starting a new anti-speeding campaign this fall through a series of infographics, posters and yard signs that will be distributed throughout the state.
Messaging will focus on clearing up myths and misconceptions surrounding speeding.
“Speeding drivers put everyone on Colorado roads at risk, especially vulnerable road users like pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists,” said CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew. “A common misconception is that speeding mainly occurs on highways, but the truth is, it happens on all roads. So, whether you’re on a highway, city street or rural mountain road, slow down and always watch for pedestrians. You could save a life.”
The counties that had the most traffic deaths involving speeding in 2024 were Adams, El Paso and Denver. Of them, El Paso County has remained in the top five for speeding citations since 2019, according to the Colorado State Patrol. It also had the second-highest total traffic deaths and injuries last year, with 78 fatalities and more than 450 serious bodily injuries.
Another common misconception the campaign aims to clear up is that speeding saves time.
According to a study conducted by AAA Colorado, a motorist moving at 80 MPH instead of 75 MPH would have to travel 100 miles to save roughly five minutes. In fact, the average driver saves just 26 seconds per day by speeding.
