Colorado bill would let speed cameras ticket drivers going just 6 mph over limit

I’ve always had it in my head that you can go up to ten miles per hour over the speed limit and the cops will leave you alone…whether or not that’s true, the new speed cameras around Colorado won’t be messing around!

A bill advancing through the state Senate would lower the enforcement threshold for automated speed cameras from 10 mph over the posted speed limit to just 6 mph, a change that supporters say will save lives in school zones and construction corridors, but critics warn could turn the cameras into revenue machines.

Senate Bill 26-152 went before the Senate Transportation & Energy Committee on Tuesday. If passed, it would represent one of the most significant expansions of automated traffic enforcement in Colorado since lawmakers first authorized the use of speed cameras in high-risk areas in 2023.

Under current law, Colorado’s automated speed cameras — which use pairs of cameras to calculate a vehicle’s average speed over a set distance — only issue tickets to drivers traveling 10 mph or more over the posted limit. The fine is $75, with no points added to the driver’s license.

The new bill would create a tiered enforcement system:

• 6 to 9 mph over the limit: First-time offenders would receive a warning. Repeat offenders, or those speeding in a school zone or construction zone, would face fines up to $40.
• 10 to 24 mph over the limit: $40 fine (unchanged from current practice).
• 25 mph or more over the limit: $120 fine. Fines can double in school and construction zones.

The bill would also raise the existing penalty caps. Current fines of $75 and $300 would increase to $95 and $375, respectively.

The proposal comes amid a rapid expansion of Colorado’s automated speed enforcement program. The Colorado Department of Transportation launched its first cameras on Highway 119 between Boulder and Longmont in mid-2025 and expanded to a stretch of I-25 between Mead and Berthoud this spring.

The results have been dramatic — and lucrative. Speed cameras on a single highway corridor generated nearly 10,000 tickets in just three months, pulling in more than $700,000 in revenue, according to Westword. On I-25, CDOT reported a 90 percent reduction in excessive speeding during a 30-day warning period before fines began April 2.

The bill could still be amended in committee or on the Senate floor before a final vote. Cameras must be preceded by signage at least 300 feet in advance, and the public must be notified when new cameras are installed.