Denver, Colorado Speed Traps

From my window at work, I watched two Denver patrol cars work in tandem stopping cars just about all afternoon today. There must a really big bill coming due because a car was stopped by one or the other about every 10 minutes.

Beware if you are going North bound. This is the bridge that goes over the railroad tracks on Pecos and 60th. Unmarked cop car sits diagonally at the bottom of the bridge pulling people over and giving unsuspecting law abiding citizens a $175.00 ticket for going a little over the speed limit which is 35 miles per hour. This is an industrial area and there are no schools nor homes in the area. It’s a speed trap. I got pulled over and given a ticket and before I even left the scene he pulled over another poor unfortunate soul and ruined this persons day as well. I had not even left the scene yet and he had already pulled over someone else.

There is a school between these one-way roads so the limit is reduced to 20 during certain times of the day. There is no flashing warning sign just a yellow sign that is slightly obscured by the road curve and trees. Motorcycle cops love to sit just south of the school at the bend in the road and pick off speeders. They’ll jump out in the middle of traffic and wave you over and never have to actually chase you down. I sat parked on this street for twenty minutes finishing a call and watched him write seven tickets in 20 minutes. During this time there wasn’t a single child in sight! Northbound Syracuse routinely has the photo radar van parked on the right issuing tickets immediately at 2PM until 4PM. Got flashed at 4:03 PM, ticket said 3:58. Per CO state law I threw the ticket in the trash and they never successfully served me.

The photo radar van parks on the west side of Colorado Blvd, warning only by a sandwich board sitting on the ground. This van must give out scores of tickets because this stretch of Colo. Blvd, three lanes on each side, people drive typically at a safe and reasonable 40 mph.

This is a regular photo van location several days out of every week. The required photo radar van sign has regularly been stuck in the alley, between parked cars attending classes at the church at Cook and 6th Ave- hidden. A couple of us have complained that putting the sandwich board sign sitting on the ground between the parked cars is a deliberate attempt to hide the sign- which of course it is, and in clear violation of the state law requiring the photo radar van ahead sign in a "conspicuous" location. The complaints seem to temporarily have an effect, and the van was moved further east and the sign posted on a post. If you see it on the ground on 6th Ave., call the Photo Van Program via Denver 311 and complain about it again.

Sign placement for photo vans is at the control of the individual running the van- and until enough people complain, they still have the option of using these absurd sandwich boards that place the sign on the ground- where no one can see them. If you see one of these signs on the ground- call and complain that it does not qualify under the state law requirements- because ANY sign on the ground is NOT "CONSPICUOUS" and is hidden by ordinary traffic.