The Colorado State Patrol will ask lawmakers this week to increase state fines for moving violations – possibly doubling some penalties – in an effort to make highways safer.
The chairwoman of the House transportation committee said the overhaul is likely to be approved.
“It’s reasonable for the committee to review what the other states have as far as the fine schedules and compare them to ours,” Rep. Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo West, said. “It’s been quite some time. It will most likely get the support from the committee.”
The report goes to the committee on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the governor’s blue ribbon panel on transportation finance got a preview of the State Patrol’s report comparing Colorado fines to those in other states. The report shows Colorado’s fines were far lower.
It also showed state fines are 42 percent lower on average than those of Colorado cities such as Arvada, Lakewood, Colorado Springs and Fort Collins,
Terry Campbell, the State Patrol’s legislative liaison, who’ll be presenting the report, pointed to Colorado Springs as an example of stiffer penalties leading to a decrease in crashes.Campbell said that crashes in the city decreased by more than 35 percent between 2004 and 2007 after it increased its fines across the board in 2003.
The report shows that Colorado’s $50 fine for speeding 15 mph over the limit fell way below Connecticut’s fine of $163 and Minnesota’s $142 penalty.
Fines for careless driving in Colorado, the report shows, are $50 compared to $199 in Vermont and $192 in Minnesota.
It’ll be up to the legislature to decide whether to raise fines and by how much. If lawmakers opt to do this, Campbell says, fines for some speeding tickets could double.
“We looked at other states that have overall safety records and their fines were three times higher than ours,” he said.
“We think there’s a definite correlation focusing on amount of injuries and fatal accident.”
The State Patrol does not plan to ask lawmakers to make any changes to the points system on driver’s licenses.
The state’s fines have not undergone an overhaul as proposed for more than 20 years, statistics show.
Traffic safety data released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that Colorado had a 12 percent drop in traffic fatalities since 2005.
The new fines are intended to continue that downward trend, Campbell said.
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-954-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
