Albuquerque leaders say automated speed enforcement is slowing down drivers

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – On Tuesday, city officials shared the latest numbers on its Automated Speed Enforcement program.

“These numbers are encouraging the behavior change is actually happening, so average we’ve seen a 7.2 decrease in average speed people are going,” said Mayor Tim Keller. 

The program launched last summer as a way to stop speeders in the metro.

“We decided to do this, and we decided to do it for real, and we said fundamentally we’ve got to change our behavior,” said Keller. 

That means no more warnings. Drivers stepping on the gas are going to see a $100 fine. 

“No one wants citations. No one wants tickets, but it is a method of accountability,” Keller said. 

With new data showing a significant drop, officials want to do more. The city is expanding the program by adding seven more cameras across the metro.

“We are now able to add some cameras on state roads,” said Keller. 

The mayor says adding these cameras will help officers respond to emergencies.

“For every one of these citations right, that is also a citation that did not take an officer away from taking your 911 calls. So that continues to be our priority for APD and that’s why these cameras are so effective,” he said. 

“On average, to cover these 17 intersections 24/7, 365, we’d have an excess of 100 officers having to sit out there every day to watch and monitor these speeds, and they’d only be able to stop only one driver at a time. These cameras can do a lot more than that,” said APD Traffic Division Lt. Chris Patterson. 

The city also has something in store for people who don’t pay their citations – boots.

“The minute we announced booting, people started paying up, and booting is now going to start happening this fall,” said Keller. 

While this is a good sign, officials believe there’s more work to be done.

“Obviously, the fact that we almost have 100,000 citations shows this is still a major issue,” said Keller. 

The City of Albuquerque released these numbers Tuesday:

• The average speed on Gibson near Carlisle, going eastbound, decreased by 7.2 mph
• 88% drop in the number of speeders on Gibson
• 10 cameras saw an 18-88% drop in the number of drivers speeding by 10-40 mph
• The average speed on Montgomery is now just 3.6 mph over the posted limit
• On Lead, average speed is 1.4 mph slower than the posted limit of 30 mph
• The average speed on Unser has decreased by 2.1 mph