Are Traffic Camera Tickets Valid?
I've known two people to get camera traffic tickets in Fort Collins:
1) A friend who said he got a ticket in the mail with a picture of his car running the light at Drake & College loves to tell the story of how he sent them a picture of a $50 bill. (He never does talk about how that actually worked out for him, though.)
2) A friend who didn't realize she was speeding (she says) was super surprised to get a picture in the mail of her vehicle on Mulberry by City Park, along with a ticket. She has been a more cautious driver ever since.
So? Do you have to pay these?
Short answer: Yes. But there are numerous exceptions.
- CBS says at least 83,000 of these tickets were dismissed in Denver in 2015 because the pictures were out of focus, or there was some sort of identity mismatch between the vehicle and the driver.
- Another stipulation: The citation has to be served within 90 days of the offense and must be personally served.
- Fort Collins Traffic Camera Rules are here.
- Here is the Fort Collins Traffic Camera Map.
- Greeley has some traffic cam info here as well.
But, reverting back to friend 2 above, you never know when there might be a camera you weren't expecting, so good luck!
If it helps, for almost my whole driving "career," I have steadily driven four miles per hour over the speed limit and never gotten into trouble doing that. I have gotten so confident in it that I've even done it passing cops numerous times. It'll be quite the surprise if that apparent loophole changes without my hearing about it first, huh?