Cameras Should Catch Toll Road Cheaters

Pay up, cheapskates. That's the message from Virginia Department of Transportation officials -- and this time, they really mean it.

VDOT has added some teeth to its effort to collect tolls by installing a $7.6 million camera system at booths on the Dulles Toll Road and other pay-to-drive highways in the state, the agency announced yesterday.

Until now, miserly motorists could skip paying without much concern for consequences because there were no cameras and enforcement was minimal. Drivers might have set off flashing lights and a loud bell, but that was it.

The honor-system approach to toll collection has cost the state $1.2 million a year on the Dulles Toll Road and more than $1.4 million statewide, according to VDOT spokeswoman Joan Morris.

"We wanted to have the most technologically advanced system," Morris said. "This is a very smart investment to ensure the tolls are collected and returned to the toll road."

The cameras have been installed on the Dulles Toll Road, she said, and the enforcement system is in test mode. Violation notices will be mailed early next year.

"If you're sneaking through now, be aware that come early January, you're going to get nailed if you're not paying your tolls," cautioned Morris.

Violation notices will confront the guilty with freeze-frame photographic proof: a picture of their license plate taken at the time of the infraction. Violators must pay a $25 fine -- in addition to the 50-cent or 75-cent toll they should have forked over in the first place. Violators with three or more outstanding notices will be subject to additional fines and could have their vehicle registration renewal blocked.

For the most part, drivers in Virginia have been an exceptionally honest bunch, despite being aware of lax enforcement, Morris said. Only 1.7 percent of drivers who use the Dulles Toll Road cheat, well below the national average on toll roads of 3 percent, Morris said.

VDOT officials said the enforcement system would also speed up traffic by enabling more Smart Tag and E-ZPass users to breeze through toll gates.