Speed Camera Enforcement at 11 Locations Across Three Colorado Communities Reduced Speeding Violations by Up to 90 Percent.
Field Deployments in Vail, Avon, and Glenwood Springs Assessed Changes in Speeding Behavior After Speed Camera Enforcement.
Avon, Colorado
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Vail, Colorado
Do speed cameras actually work? Shrinking violations in Colorado’s rural mountain towns say they do
Summary Information
Speeding on rural streets has been identified as a persistent safety concern, indicating a need for more effective speed management strategies. In 2023, this prompted the Colorado State Legislature to authorize local governments to use automated speed enforcement. Following this legislation, police departments in Vail, Avon, and Glenwood Springs deployed automated speed camera systems within their city or town limits in late 2025. Deployments included five camera enforcement sites in the Avon, four cameras in Glenwood Springs, and two cameras in Vail.
The systems photograph speeding vehicles’ rear license plate images, use artificial intelligence (AI) to identify plate information, and route potential violations through vendor staff and municipal police departments for human verification before mailing citations to vehicle owners. After a 30-day warning period at each site, citations ($40) were issued for speeds at least 10 mph over the speed limit, with fines doubled to $80 in active school or construction zones in Avon and Vail.
METHODOLOGY
Local agencies in Vail, Avon, and Glenwood Springs evaluated speed camera performance by comparing speeding behavior before and after camera enforcement. Metrics included the number and percentage of speeding violations, the share of vehicles traveling within 10 mph of the posted speed limit, average daily violations, and traffic volume at camera sites.
FINDINGS
Early results suggest automated speed enforcement was associated with reductions in speeding violations in Avon, Glenwood Springs, and Vail by 45 to 90 percent.
Avon deployed five speed camera enforcement sites. Speeding violations across all five sites reportedly fell by roughly 90 percent when speed camera data collected from December 21, 2025 through January 12, 2026 were compared with a prior traffic study from July 29 through August, 4, 2025.
- During the before speed study on Avon Road, more than 6,200 northbound vehicles traveled at least 10 mph over the posted speed limit within one week. After enforcement began, Avon recorded 1,757 violations within 23 days across all five camera sites combined.
- Average daily violations decreased from about 1,744 during the traffic study to no more than 200 violations per day during the first weeks of citation issuance.
Glenwood Springs deployed four speed cameras when ticketing began in November 2025. During the program’s first two months, Glenwood Springs reported the cameras reduced speeding by 76 percent.
- Speeding violations declined from about 9,600 in the first week of the warning period (with one camera still offline) to about 5,900 in the final week, a reduction of over 45 percent. By the week of January 11, 2026, weekly ticketed violations had dropped further to about 2,300, even with adding a fifth camera.
Vail installed two speed cameras on North Frontage Road and South Frontage Road, with citations beginning in November 2025.
- During the warning period, 74 percent of drivers exceeded the speed limit; by January 1–14, 2026 55 percent were fully compliant and 98 percent were traveling no more than 10 mph over the limit.
- Violations exceeding 10 mph above the speed limit declined by nearly 50 percent from November to December, despite December traffic volumes being nearly 10,000 vehicles higher.
