9News reports that the Hudson Town Council voted to void all tickets issued from a controversial temporary speed camera on northbound Weld County Road 49 and refund drivers who already paid. The camera issued 31,353 tickets worth $1,254,120 in fines in just weeks, with more than $666,000 already paid before Hudson pulled the plug. That is not traffic safety. That is a slot machine with a speed-limit sign.
The article says the camera was placed about 400 feet from a 55 mph sign while still technically in a 40 mph zone, with the only 40 mph sign about a third of a mile south of the camera. Hudson also skipped a 30-day warning period, arguing an earlier warning period for a camera on the other side of the road was enough. After complaints and Steve On Your Side reporting, the town admitted the placement was inadequate and ordered refunds. Good. Eventually, the adults found the light switch.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Hudson voided the tickets and ordered refunds. Credit where due. They did the right thing after doing the very wrong thing very efficiently.
- The camera generated more than $1.2 million in fines in weeks. If your “safety tool” prints money faster than a casino ATM, people are allowed to ask questions.
- The camera sat near a 55 mph sign while enforcing a 40 mph zone. That is not clarity. That is a municipal ambush with a tripod.
- Hudson skipped the warning period. Because nothing builds public trust like surprise tickets from a robot hiding in the weeds.
- Kersey previously voided tickets on County Road 49, too. At some point, this road stopped being a transportation corridor and became a cautionary tale.
My Bottom Line
I have very distinct and very strong opinions about photo radar. I think these systems dance on the fringed and graying edges of the Constitution. I think they lack due process. And I think they are far less about public safety than automated revenue production. So yes, I come to this conversation with a distinct, um, attitude.
Weld County invested millions of your dollars into County Road 49. It is more interstate than county road, and it efficiently moves goods and services from east Greeley and Kersey to I-76 at Hudson. It was intended to be a safe alternative for Weld County motorists. It was not intended to become an ATM for municipalities with a camera vendor and a budget itch.
Hudson did the right thing by voiding these tickets. Now they need to work with the county on the south end of County Road 49, especially around the Pilot Truck Stop mess. That area has become a genuine SNAFU, and it needs real traffic engineering, real cooperation, and real enforcement.
Speed kills. That is true. But put actual officers on your section of roadway to take proper enforcement action. Do not play sneaky-sneaky with a portable revenue camera and then act shocked when drivers notice the trap. Public safety should look like law enforcement, not a pop-up toll booth with plausible deniability.
Source: 9News
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