The stretch of Highway 24 between Woodland Park and Colorado Springs is a major ticket revenue generator. I drove that route for many years and there are speed traps all along the 18 or so miles. Colorado Highway Patrol, Woodland Park Police, Teller County Sheriff, El Paso County Sheriff and Manitou Springs Police all monitor the roads ALL the time. They will pull over for under 10 miles over the speed limits. They have many hiding spots and cars are pulled over all the time. I am little less than fond of the authorities there because while I was being harassed by a tailgating El Paso County Sheriff's car (followed me extremely close and blinded me for approximately 1.2 miles only to pass me turning the siren on once to "warn me" of what I am not sure, but without actually pulling me over), there was no one to be found anywhere when I almost got hit by a drunk driver going the wrong way on HWY 24 in the Ute Pass Canyon. So the authority seems to be there in the area mainly for revenue purposes.

Driving Ute pass for the last 22 years, I can tell you that morning drives down the pass and evening drives up the pass is like running the gauntlet. usually 3 to 4 troopers and county sheriffs as well as Manitou cops. I have had Manitou cops hop out from behind big Manitou exit signs with hand held remote radar guns at 4 am I thought I was going to be shot one morning, the first time, I didn't realize until I got passed him that he was a cop with a radar gun and not a freak with a pistol. There are no good tips on how to catch them before they catch you because they have a multitude of places to hide to catch you. and there are a couple of unmarked troopers who blend in well with traffic going the other way. In 22 years I have 10 speeding tickets off of Ute pass. Most under ten miles an hour a couple more then ten, when I got careless.

I am an out of state driver from the Midwest and I concur that this is a bad speed trap. Heading eastbound on US-24 outside of town, the speed limit drops to 45mph from 55mph right after a stop light at the top of the hill well before town. As an out-of-towner, I had been seeing plenty of speed limits change for lights and then increase afterward, so I slowed for the light, and then sped up again. I agree this was a bad assumption in this case, as the speed does not increase after the light, but with the plethora of other signs, I assumed I missed it. The road then heads around a curve and down a steep curve and at the bottom, you are met with another 45 sign, and then less than a quarter mile later a 35 sign and an officer waiting to pull you over for the speed they had you clocked at the apex of the hill, which is very likely to be above 45mph. I was even down to 45 by the second sign and down to 35 by the 35 sign, but this did not afford me any luck. When talking to the officer about the logic of the situation, I was summarily ignored and given the ticket. From what I hear from a local lawyer, the officers will show up in court almost without fail, so you really have no grounds to fight this. I will be talking with the Teller County DOT and request them to install a 45mph sign after the stop light and before the hill so that motorists unfamiliar with the area are assured that this is still a 45mph zone. If they are unwilling to talk to me, this is for certain a speed trap.

The entire Pass is absolutely a speed trap. I agree with all previous comments, but I thought I'd add to this conversation that my main bone of contention is that obviously the limits posted on this route are arbitrary and lower than they reasonably ought to be. Enforcement of these random speeds is capricious. The 85% rule does not apply to this road and for good reason. There's lots of money to be made off the many tourists that travel this road. Colorado Springs police know this as well. This is why they frequently wait at the bottom of the pass to collar tourists on their way home from visiting the forest. This is always on the way out of the pass; not into it. It's manifestly clear that very few drivers respect these speed limits, and consequently there is a constant battle goin on in the minds of most drivers that while going faster doesn't feel unsafe, no one wants to be first in line. This causes gridlock and bottlenecking. Any time there's a cop cruising the pass, the cars end up stacked up behind him. In some minds I suppose, this is safer? The same thing happens when road monitoring motorists decide to slow traffic by driving in the passing lane at the speed limit or below. These are not safe circumstances when compared to drivers spacing themselves out naturally when they're unimpeded. It's to be expected though as Teller county and that part of El Paso county (minus Manitou) is a large bedroom community with innumerable seniors with a "back the badge" mentality. Limited government" people don't really mind applying the force of law against drivers that scare them. Expect no changes anytime soon from the communities along the Pass. They'd go along with lowering these speed limits should that happen. In conclusion, it is unquestionably a speed trap. If you're one of those "safety first" idiots, consider this. The real problem on the pass is not speed. It is the handful of stop lights that are regulated poorly. People run those lights all the time and there are plenty of collisions as a result (including cops themselves: https://gazette.com/pikespeakcourier/no-injuries-reported-in-u-s-24-crash-involving-state-trooper-semi-in-woodland-park/article_6c76b6ce-0259-11ea-80ed-df39ad343515.html). In twenty years though I've almost never seen police parked near the lights ticketing red light runners. Stands to reason that it's easier to hide behind a rock and let the radar gun do the work than to actually pay attention to the real threat; bad judgement. All of it is legalized extortion.