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Colorado's New Speed Camera System Makes Waze Nearly Useless (motor1.com) 199

Colorado is rolling out an average-speed camera system that tracks vehicles across multiple points instead of catching them at a single camera, making it much harder for drivers to dodge tickets with apps like Waze and Radarbot. Motor1 reports: The state's new automated vehicle identification systems (AVIS) use several cameras to calculate your average speed between them, and if it is 10 miles per hour or more over the limit, you get a ticket. No longer will you be able to slow down as you approach a camera and speed back up after passing it, not that you should be speeding on public roads in the first place.

Colorado began deploying this new camera system after legislators changed the law in 2023, allowing AVIS for law enforcement use. The systems, installed on various roads and highways throughout the state, first began issuing warnings, but police began issuing tickets late last year.

The most recent section of road to fall under surveillance is a stretch of I-25 north of Denver, which brought the state's growing panopticon to our attention. It began issuing tickets on April 2. The Colorado Department of Transportation installed the cameras along a construction zone. The fine is $75 and zero points for exceeding the speed limit, and the police issue it to the vehicle's owner, regardless of who is driving.

Colorado's New Speed Camera System Makes Waze Nearly Useless

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  • by BenPollinger ( 78575 ) on Saturday April 04, 2026 @07:08AM (#66076702) Homepage

    We've had averaging speed cameras in the UK for many years (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]. Many stretches of road with permanent cameras and often seen on major roadworks (e.g. sections of motorway being worked on for months).
    Waze maps them as averaging sections with specific camera sites, so it's still useful.

    • by icenode ( 1605499 ) on Saturday April 04, 2026 @07:27AM (#66076712)
      TomTom is even better at this since it actually displays your average speed throughout the zone. I have no idea why none of the others offer this.
    • by fewnorms ( 630720 ) on Saturday April 04, 2026 @09:27AM (#66076850)
      Same here in the Netherlands. Waze works just fine here with those average speed enforcement zones (as they're called in Waze lingo). I think it even takes those sections into consideration when plotting routes based on "fastest". Quite useful information to have.
    • by Viol8 ( 599362 )

      And even after all these years there are still plenty of idiots who don't understand what the word "average" means. I always see them slowing down for a camera then speeding right back up again afterwards. How do people this dumb get a license?

    • What Waze does is warn drivers ahead of a speed camera, so that the driver may slow down. If there are a bunch of them, Waze will point that out as well. As well as hidden traffic cops, traffic lights, slowdowns ahead and so on

      Given all that, I doubt that Waze will be rendered useless by such adjustments in speed tracking

    • Not only Waze is useful to the driver, it is now part of law enforcement. People using Waze in these "average speed" areas are not avoiding the law, they are actually doing exactly what the law wants them to do: pay attention to their speed, and comply with the limit.

      • In any case, I am of the impression Waze's purpose is to plot the minimal-time route between two points across a network. Speeding or not, it still helps to avoid congested or stalled traffic.

        Just follow the rules and "the powers that be" will stop making more rules.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Months? They have been converting some motorway here for *years*. I think we are about 4 years in now, I lost track. It's taken so long that they started out making it a "smart motorway", realized that those things are deathtraps, and now I'm not sure what it's going to end up as.

      We have had average speed cameras in kilometre after kilometre of 50 MPH stretches for many years too. Some of them seem to have been forgotten about because there hasn't been any work or cones there for years, and most people spee

  • "...not that you should be speeding on public roads in the first place."

    Why is that? Speeding is defined relative to an arbitrary value, if the state doesn't want speeding it should set those values properly. Speed limits are set to ensure speeding, not to improve public safety.

  • by Teun ( 17872 ) on Saturday April 04, 2026 @07:30AM (#66076720)
    In The Netherlands we call it 'trajectcontrole' (average speed control) and it has been around since the early 2000's.
    • by wimg ( 300673 )

      Same in Belgium, they're all over the place.

      And Waze supports them just fine, it warns you when you're approaching one, entering one and leaving one. So you can set your cruise control to make sure you don't get a ticket...

  • Paradise! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by quenda ( 644621 ) on Saturday April 04, 2026 @07:39AM (#66076730)

    calculate your average speed between them, and if it is 10 miles per hour or more over the limit, you get a ticket.

    Seems reasonable. In Australia you get a ticket for a momentary 2mph over. And the fine can be over us$200, depending on state. It is higher in the states with the most financial problems.

  • by gweihir ( 88907 ) on Saturday April 04, 2026 @07:40AM (#66076732)

    There is a reason for that limit. And it is not to inconvenience you.

    • by zephvark ( 1812804 ) on Saturday April 04, 2026 @07:58AM (#66076750)

      Right, because our laws are created by an all-knowing and benevolent government that only has our best interests at heart.

      The fact that they're charging the vehicle owner, not the driver, should make it clear that this is an illicit cash grab.

      • Be interesting to challenge this as the owner, and require photo evidence of who the driver is at one location where the car was detected otl.

        • by schwit1 ( 797399 )

          Related: Florida red light camera law is unconstitutional because tickets go to car owner and not driver.
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

      • by gweihir ( 88907 )

        Speed limits are not laws. They are localized risk-management instances (with a legal basis, because people are dumb and cannot take advice).

        • Speed limits are laws. When you break them you pay a fine or go to jail.

        • by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

          Not murdering people isn't a law either. It's a general characteristic of a social species (with a legal basis, because people are dumb and cannot take advice).

      • They do this because the fines are civil penalties, not criminal as if a cop gave you a ticket.

    • by sinij ( 911942 )

      There is a reason for that limit.

      Yes, lets talk about that reason. A reasonable approach to setting speed limits would be engineering - what would it take to for a modern car to stop in set distance modified to account for bad weather. As tire technology, automotive safety systems, etc. are implemented you would think that speed limits would be constantly increasing. The reverse is true - with some notable exceptions of highway speeds in some states - speed limits keep getting decreased. Why?

      My answer to that is that speed limits have not

      • by gweihir ( 88907 )

        You are deranged. Speed limits are placed when there are non-obvious risks to driving faster.

        • While it is true that most speed limits are placed due to risk, that is not always true.

          There are places in the US and other countries where speed tickets are used to raise money from out of towners. They do things like down shift the speed by 10 mph for a 1 mile stretch and then station a cop near there. The cops know the local cars and if they do happen to break the law they get warnings.

          In addition, often speed limits are set differently for wealthy parts of town vs the poor parts of town - to give ou

      • by kenh ( 9056 ) on Saturday April 04, 2026 @09:16AM (#66076834) Homepage Journal

        A few years back where I lived they installed speed cameras. Municipality contracted speed camera installation to private firm, which calibrated them to ridiculous speed limit +2. Then the municipality started lowering speed limits. According to official statistics, by the end of the program about 40% of population got a speeding ticket in a given year. This resulted in political pressure to shut the program down. Thing is, before, during, and after there was no measurable effect on accidents. It didnâ(TM)t even work as a safety measure.

        The purpose of the speed cameras was always revenue generation - it was never about safety.

        The city hired someone to install cameras and give the city money. Over time the city wanted more money, so they kept changing speed limits. If they wanted to prevent speeding, the city would have increased interdiction, rather than installing a passive revenue-generating camera system.

        Why would anyone think getting a bill in the mail two weeks after you went speeding down a neighborhood street would increase safety?

        • "Why would anyone think getting a bill in the mail two weeks after you went speeding down a neighborhood street would increase safety?"

          When your license gets suspended because you couldn't afford to pay the bill then maybe you'll have a second, follow up thought.

      • by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

        Driver response time doesn't increase at all. The rest of stopping distance is determined by physics and doesn't increase much, at least not in good conditions where any old tire and any sufficiently strong brake is going to perform about the same. It CAN decrease a lot in bad conditions, whcih is also where most of the technology is useful, but most speed limits are set for good conditions with a law that says you should decrease your speed appropriately. Driving around at the speed that's reasonable for t

  • Call me ignorant, but I thought the point of Waze was to find shortcuts. Now this makes Waze useless?

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by kenh ( 9056 )

      Was it Wayze that got into trouble when it had an option to avoid driving thru high-crime areas? The provider was called racist, and community leaders insisted they remove the option, so that unsuspecting victims, I mean potential customers could drive by businesses in high-crime neighborhoods...

    • Waze has always been useless. It has never provided "better directions" but it will sen you on a wild goose chase down a one way road to make a left across 4 lanes of traffic to save you 30 seconds.

    • Apparently Waze exists for the sole purpose of avoiding speed traps.

      I never knew that... guess I've been using it wrong all these years. I use it to minimize the time I spend on my daily commute.

  • How interesting (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Dagmar d'Surreal ( 5939 ) on Saturday April 04, 2026 @08:18AM (#66076776) Journal

    What an interesting way to roll out a dragnet surveillance network.

  • When they went from tickets with only the exit ID on them, to tickets that were time and date stamped. Somebody at the turnpike authority decided it would be a good idea to figure out the time between getting the ticket and paying, and considering at a speed violation if the time was too short. That idea did not last long.

  • Speed enforcement (Score:3, Interesting)

    by kenh ( 9056 ) on Saturday April 04, 2026 @09:26AM (#66076848) Homepage Journal

    There are roughly three ways to enforce speed limits:
    1) Police officer in plain sight detects speeding, stops the driver, issues summons.
    2) Police officer hides, catches unsuspecting driver speeding, stops driver, issues summons.
    3) Camera/radar hidden along the street, it logs the vehicle speeding, issues a summons several days later.

    Arguably, #1 & 2 have the effect of causing people to obey the speed limit, by stopping the driver they (likely) influence behavior, at least in the immediate aftermath of a traffic stop. #3 is purely about money - they have no interest in modifying driver behavior, they simply want to collect a fine. A speed camera in school zone does not make it safer for children, it doesn't stop the driver going 40 MPH in a 25 MPH school zone, it just sends them a bill.

    • Re:Speed enforcement (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Sloppy ( 14984 ) on Saturday April 04, 2026 @10:43AM (#66076974) Homepage Journal

      2) Police officer hides, catches unsuspecting driver speeding, stops driver, issues summons.

      This is the very best approach. It's got the perfect tension leading to the greatest safety.

      When you're expecting such an ambush (getting caught a few times will teach you to do that), and you're really paying attention and playing "spot the ambush" then they won't catch you. But because you're being so damned focused and alert, you're also a safer driver.

      OTOH if they nail you, that means you weren't paying attention. So you weren't merely speeding; you really literally were speeding unsafely, and the ticket is the proof. (If you were so safe, then how come you didn't see the guy with the radar gun in time?)

      Every. Single. Time. I got ticketed, my mind was wandering and not fully focused on the road. I wasn't looking for a speed trap, so I didn't see it in time. Busted. And those times I was looking? I didn't fall for it. I slowed down and avoided a ticket.

      The ideal system (in terms of safety) happens to also be downright sporting! The ol' classic speed trap was almost .. a game?

  • by Dan East ( 318230 ) on Saturday April 04, 2026 @09:35AM (#66076864) Journal

    Last time I checked, my vehicle is not a legal entity that can be cited for infractions. Whatever person is sitting behind the wheel of that vehicle is not known by a camera. I can't believe these things haven't been totally obliterated in court. In my state, the tickets you get from these things are actually from 3rd parties contractors who run them, and try to sound very official, but they are not actual summons through a court.

    • by irreverentdiscourse ( 1922968 ) on Saturday April 04, 2026 @10:39AM (#66076966)

      Just start bleating about being "sovereign" while you're at it LOL

    • Correct. They are a civil fine. Not paying would simply send you to collections. In PA people weren’t paying toll fees and weren’t paying the collection agency either. I think they finally tried to pass something that would suspend your license as if that would stop the serial cheater from driving.

    • This is an actual thing and there's a case in Florida that can change everything in the future. A judge threw out every automated ticket from a county because ticketing the registered owner is akin to claiming they're guilty without due process. It should not be the owners burden to prove innocence, instead the government needs to prove the registered owner is guilty. Plenty of people allow others to drive their vehicles, for instance if you have other family members that live in your household, or you loan

    • by shanen ( 462549 )

      Actually they take pictures that include the driver's face. Just recently read about someone being impressed by the high quality of the images. They sent copies with the citation. The question of the identity of the driver seems like a minor one at that point. They would only need to confirm that the face matches a known face. If you tried to claim you had loaned the car to someone else, then it becomes even easier, just proving the photographed face does not match the claimed face. But it reverts to the ge

  • As I recall, Ohio toll highways did this years ago; if your time stamp at the booth was less than a certain number of minutes since the previous, you got a ticket for speeding.
    Infallible, and took away the point really.

    Sure, I guess you could speed and then pull over waiting before you cross the next gate but... Why bother?

    • That was a rumor in a lot of places. I tested it last year and averaged like 86 on a 70 toll road. They don’t care.

      • That's because people willing to pay to take a toll road to save speed can always avoid said toll road if they actually have to follow the speed limit on it. That eliminates the revenue the toll road gets, costing them money.
        Florida had this situation with a new toll road that runs parallel to the highway around Orlando. Cops were running speed traps there. They were quickly banned because they noted it was killing the number of people taking the road, costing them far more in revenue.

  • Waze is a navigation app. Making speeding harder doesn't affect its utility for that.
    When my family went to Costa Rica in 2024, Waze had much better road information than Google Maps.
    I had an uncle I never met because he was kiled by a speeder. I've never been sympathetic to people who want to get away with driving fast.

  • I have long concluded that the governments in most US jurisdictions are fine with the majority of freeway users speeding. It allows them to basically pull over anyone they want at any time without being accused of profiling. I don’t see any other reason why speed limits are set so low. 55 is still the standard for most freeways back east. If you drive that slow you would be a hazard. Out west 65 to 70 is common. Some roads are even 80 or no limit at all. Whatever the limit is you can be practically gu
  • "Just because my average speed was 85mph doesn't mean I wasn't going less than that the whole way."

    The Mean Value Theorem is coming to a prosecution slide deck near you.

    • Your average speed was 40 in a 40 zone. That never happens because of the traffic lights. No soup for you.

  • I wonder if people will vote their loser government out.
  • The new plea: "I got there quicker not by speeding, but I went through a wormhole on Elm Rd."

  • I've never heard of Waze or any other system designed to defeat camera systems. And it's been my habit, for most of my life now, to push that "10 MPH over the limit" line. But this seems fair, now that I'm older and more moderate in my driving habits. Still, I have to wonder if all the tricks I used Back In The Day with my motorcycles (pigdog Norton 750 Atlas, and then my beloved BMW R75-5) to defeat radar (careful use of lanes, using other vehicles to block my much smaller radar signature would still wo

  • Put them in school zones and activate during the speed restriction times. Give ticket money to schools. Profit
  • Waze fully supports average speed zone camera systems, let's you know if your average is too high whilst in the zone with a moving bar one one side of map.
  • For at least 2 reasons: 1) You have a right to face your accuser. In this case, your accuser is a machine not a human. 2) The government cannot ticket you for a crime that you did not commit. Therefore, they have to know the identity of the driver, and cannot assume that the driver is the same person as whoever registered the vehicle. The burden of proof is on the government, not the vehicle owner or driver.
  • by woodslanding ( 6709196 ) on Saturday April 04, 2026 @05:01PM (#66077536)

    I don't see many CO residents here, so I'll chime in.

    Across the front range, average speeds in the fast lane on I-25, I-70, Highway 6 and highway 36 have been creeping up, and now run 15-20 mph over the speed limit. At 20 over, you'll get people tailgating you to get over, and even going 85 in a 65 mph zone, it's not uncommon to have someone blow by you like you are standing still. It would be nice to go 7-8 mph over the limit and still blend into traffic.

    I'm all for more speed enforcement in this part of the world.

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