Bernalillo County, Albuquerque defend speed cameras as safety tools

Four new Albuquerque speed cameras pushed the city’s total to 34.

The City of Albuquerque began its automated speed enforcement program on April 25, 2022, and stopped issuing warnings on Sept. 6, 2022. The city is expanding from 20 to 40 speed safety cameras, and monthly citation figures are posted through December 2025 so officials can study how driver behavior changes over time. Safe speeds are a core principle of the city’s traffic-safety strategy, and the program is part of a broader effort to reduce fatal and serious-injury crashes.

Bernalillo County places cameras at intersections with documented safety problems and uses the data to decide whether the devices are working, Operations and Maintenance Director Antonio Jaramillo said. The county has seen a dramatic drop in citations. The county says the compliance rate now stands at 42%, roughly in line with a 40% national statistic.

The county launched its automated speed enforcement program on Aug. 23, 2024, after the Bernalillo County Board of County Commissioners passed an ordinance in February 2023. Altumint Inc. oversees the program, and county materials say all enforcement notices are sent by mail only. Officials also warn that text messages claiming to be county citations are scams. For drivers who do receive a citation, the county offers community service as an option instead of paying the fine, and Jaramillo said unpaid cases can be sent to the county’s collection vendor, MCOA, after 60 days without affecting credit, adding license points or triggering wage garnishment. County officials said the newest camera locations are at Central and 61st in both directions, Fourth near Griegos and Unser at Gwin. Earlier installations began with six cameras in August 2024, mainly in the South Valley. Officials plan to add three more cameras after approval from the Department of Transportation and review the sites again in six months to see whether the cameras are changing driver habits.