{"id":1283,"date":"2026-06-05T19:04:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283"},"modified":"2026-06-05T19:04:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:04:18","slug":"aurora-driver-says-photo-radar-speeding-ticket-violates-state-law-but-city-sticks-to-guns-on-tight-response-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283","title":{"rendered":"Aurora driver says photo-radar speeding ticket violates state law, but city sticks to guns on tight response time"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n

Jason Anderson was driving his Subaru Impreza down South Dunkirk Street in Aurora on a February afternoon when he saw the flash of a mobile speed enforcement camera go off on the side of the road.<\/p>\n

Read more ICE will no longer report deaths of detainees who have recently been released from custody<\/a><\/p>\n

Aware \u2014 and annoyed \u2014 that he\u2019d been nabbed for exceeding the 35 mph speed limit, Anderson didn\u2019t realize the monthslong legal quagmire in which he would soon be embroiled. It\u2019s one that echoes an all-too-familiar battle pitting the authority of a Colorado city against the power of the state.<\/p>\n

When the 44-year-old computer repair specialist received his ticket in the mail, it said he had 30 days to pay it or challenge it. Through deft use of the artificial intelligence chatbot Claude, Anderson dug into state law. He found that in 2023, the state legislature had passed a law that stipulated that the response time given to motorists caught by speed cameras \u201cnot be less than forty-five days after the issuance date on the notice of the violation.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that, Anderson hit on a legal discrepancy that he felt obligated Aurora to void his $40 ticket. And not only his ticket.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not against safety,\u201d he said, \u201cbut if you want everyone to follow the laws, you need to follow the laws, too. I\u2019m really hoping they have to refund the fines to those that got a 30-day notice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through a public records request this week, The Denver Post learned that Aurora had issued 26,268 speeding tickets to motorists since the city began enforcement through its automated photo safety program in late December. As of May 31, it had collected $627,000. Around 60% of violators had paid their tickets, the city said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have a program that\u2019s going to make you millions over the next few years, you should be able to follow proper procedure,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n

He noted that the city\u2019s webpage on the speed enforcement program has a link to the very state law he\u2019s holding up in his defense.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Anderson requested a hearing to dispute the ticket within the 30 days allotted. A magistrate commended Anderson for his gumshoe research into the matter \u2014 \u201cYou did a good job and you\u2019re making the city work,\u201d she told him during the April 30 appeal \u2014 but she refused to dismiss the ticket.<\/p>\n

The city agreed with the magistrate, telling The Post this week that Aurora is a home-rule municipality, \u201cmeaning the city has the constitutionally protected right to make local decisions at the local level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 30-day timeline between issuance and due date on these fine-only, civil violations is an example of the city exercising said authority,\u201d said Jennifer Soules, an Aurora spokeswoman.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not how two sponsors of the 2023 bill see it.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Former state Rep. Leslie Herod, a Denver Democrat, said the 45-day response period was deliberately inserted in the law to give violators a reasonable amount of time to both receive and respond to the ticket.<\/p>\n

\u201cForty-five days was put in there intentionally, and Aurora should follow the law,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Outgoing state Rep. Meg Froelich, an Englewood Democrat, said the legislature saw the use of speed camera systems as a matter of \u201cstatewide concern\u201d that would give localities little discretion on enforcement.<\/p>\n

The first paragraph of the bill says so \u2014 adding that the \u201cenforcement of traffic laws through the use of automated vehicle identification systems \u2026 is an area in which uniform state standards are necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Actor Anthony Head, known for \u2018Buffy\u2019 and \u2018Ted Lasso,\u2019 has died at 72<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were trying to balance people\u2019s civil liberties with the push for traffic safety and saving lives,\u201d she said. \u201cWe would hope the municipalities would enforce it to the letter of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawmakers, Froelich said, wanted to make sure that people who might work in another location in today\u2019s work-anywhere environment had adequate time to collect their mail and respond.<\/p>\n

\u201cFifteen (extra) days may not seem like much to Aurora, but it may be for this guy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The underpinnings of the dispute over Anderson\u2019s speeding ticket have flared often in Colorado, where state lawmakers gave towns and cities the ability to enact home-rule authority more than a century ago. The problem that repeatedly arises is the conflicting interpretations of how the state or the cities wield their respective powers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always been tension between state decisions and local sovereignty, and that won\u2019t go away,\u201d said Robert Preuhs, a political science professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver. \u201cIf the driver wants to pursue this, it will come down to the courts.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where two recent prominent home-rule and state preemption cases landed.<\/p>\n

Last year, six metro Denver cities sued Gov. Jared Polis over the enforcement of several housing laws that require municipalities to take steps to increase housing density. The plaintiff cities, including Aurora, claimed that the state laws encroached on their local home-rule authority to oversee land-use matters. The case is ongoing.<\/p>\n

And in the waning days of 2025, the Colorado Supreme Court handed down a ruling forbidding cities from punishing lawbreakers beyond what state courts would allow for the same offense. The justices ruled that when a municipal ordinance and a state statute prohibit identical conduct, the municipal penalties for such conduct \u201cmay not exceed the corresponding state penalties for that conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

Preuhs said it was not totally clear who had the legal advantage in the Aurora speeding ticket case. But if he had to bet, he would give the edge to Aurora.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the civil nature of it and the power of cities to set speed limits and enforce them, it wouldn\u2019t surprise me that they would have the power to set a reasonable time frame for a response to a ticket,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Questions about the terms and conditions of speeding tickets issued by radar-activated cameras will only increase as the technology proliferates. Local governments in at least 27 cities and towns in Colorado have approved automated speed camera enforcement.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Department of Transportation\u2018s first speed cams on Interstate 25 north of metro Denver caught more than 4,000 drivers speeding between Mead and Berthoud in March. Denver expects to install its first fixed cameras along high-accident stretches of Alameda Avenue and Federal Boulevard later this year, adding to the four photo radar speed vans that police move around the city.<\/p>\n

Anderson, who did pay his $40 fine after his appeal failed, doesn\u2019t know what his next steps will be with Aurora.<\/p>\n

Municipal leaders in the Weld County town of Kersey voted in January to refund thousands of dollars it overcharged drivers caught by its speed cameras, according to reporting from 9News. While the situation in Aurora is different, Anderson could envision a class-action lawsuit arising from all of the drivers who paid their $40 fine but didn\u2019t have enough time to formally lodge an appeal.<\/p>\n

He has launched a website to tell his story.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to stop,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot more road to go down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more The US job market is strong but many Americans are still frustrated by prospects and rising prices<\/a><\/p>\n

Tell us what you think about this story<\/h2>\n
Share your opinion about this story in a letter to the editor, which could be published online and in print.<\/div>\n
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aurora resident Jason Anderson is fighting the city over an automated speed camera ticket he received after he claims the city gave him less time to respond than allowed by state law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nAurora driver says photo-radar speeding ticket violates state law, but city sticks to guns on tight response time - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Aurora driver says photo-radar speeding ticket violates state law, but city sticks to guns on tight response time - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Aurora resident Jason Anderson is fighting the city over an automated speed camera ticket he received after he claims the city gave him less time to respond than allowed by state law.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-05T19:04:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1283#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1283\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"headline\":\"Aurora driver says photo-radar speeding ticket violates state law, but city sticks to guns on tight response time\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-05T19:04:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1283\"},\"wordCount\":1289,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1283#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/85367a3ecdca3fd63689adb8a6c1f06c.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1283#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1283\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1283\",\"name\":\"Aurora driver says photo-radar speeding ticket violates state law, but city sticks to guns on tight response time - Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1283#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1283#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/85367a3ecdca3fd63689adb8a6c1f06c.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-05T19:04:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1283#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1283\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1283#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/85367a3ecdca3fd63689adb8a6c1f06c.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/85367a3ecdca3fd63689adb8a6c1f06c.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=1283#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Aurora driver says photo-radar speeding ticket violates state law, but city sticks to guns on tight response time\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Aurora driver says photo-radar speeding ticket violates state law, but city sticks to guns on tight response time - Colorado Springs Moverss","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Aurora driver says photo-radar speeding ticket violates state law, but city sticks to guns on tight response time - Colorado Springs Moverss","og_description":"Aurora resident Jason Anderson is fighting the city over an automated speed camera ticket he received after he claims the city gave him less time to respond than allowed by state law.","og_url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283","og_site_name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","article_published_time":"2026-06-05T19:04:18+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"headline":"Aurora driver says photo-radar speeding ticket violates state law, but city sticks to guns on tight response time","datePublished":"2026-06-05T19:04:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283"},"wordCount":1289,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/85367a3ecdca3fd63689adb8a6c1f06c.webp","articleSection":["News","Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283","name":"Aurora driver says photo-radar speeding ticket violates state law, but city sticks to guns on tight response time - Colorado Springs Moverss","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/85367a3ecdca3fd63689adb8a6c1f06c.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-05T19:04:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/85367a3ecdca3fd63689adb8a6c1f06c.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/85367a3ecdca3fd63689adb8a6c1f06c.webp","width":1024,"height":682},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1283#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Aurora driver says photo-radar speeding ticket violates state law, but city sticks to guns on tight response time"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/","name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}