COLORADO SPRINGS — More than 1,400 additional speeding tickets have been written by the Colorado Springs Police Department since November 1, 2018 as part of a program called Slow Down Colorado Springs. It’s a program funded by the Colorado Department of Transportation, which allows officers to focus on speeding in different intersections every three months for three years.
The Slow Down Colorado Springs program began last year, which was a deadly time for Colorado Springs roads. “In 2018, we had an unfortunate record setting year in Colorado Springs. It was the highest number of traffic fatalities we’ve ever had in the city,” said Lt. John Koch of the Colorado Springs Police Department.
The Colorado Department of Transportation awarded a $65,000 grant for the first fiscal year, which gives officers more time to focus on speeding, without interrupting those on patrol. “With grant funded speeding enforcement, we’re able to do additional specific enforcement that does not pull an officer that’s on patrol off patrol to go do these things,” said Lt. Koch. He said this was done to both protect the roads, while still responding to calls for service.
Lt. Koch said they have observed cars speeding at around 70 mph through 30 or 40 mph areas. He said the ultimate goal is to make people understand the potential consequences of speeding. “The goal is to get people to slow down, it’s not worth it, it’s not worth an injury to yourself, it’s not worth an expensive ticket, it’s not worth hurting or killing somebody else, just slow down,” said Lt. Koch.
The grant began on October 1, 2018, but the department had to focus on administrative work for the first month, which is why tickets did not begin until November 1.
