Va. Toll Road Scofflaws, Beware: State Says Pay Up

Morning traffic approaching the west bound toll plaza at Tysons Corner. (James M Thresher - James M Thresher -- The Washington Post)

Chief Judge Donald P. McDonough voiced some consternation from the bench last week, at both the scale of the fines and the possibility of a rush of trials pitting VDOT's representatives against drivers with myriad explanations.

"Some of the excuses I have heard are quite liable to be true," McDonough said from the bench. He also encouraged VDOT and its representatives to be open to negotiating with drivers on the large fines.

Brown said that "we will comply with the court's recommendation," but did not otherwise show VDOT's hand.

None of the Fairfax cases have gone to trial. Cases were also filed under the new system in Loudoun and Chesterfield this month and are expected to start in August or September in Gloucester, Brown said. The largest fine paid so far was $1,900 in Loudoun for six violations, she said.

Henos Taye paid more than $300 this week to cover two of his nine alleged violations on the Dulles Toll Road. Paying the full fines on all of them would cost more than $4,000.

"I admitted the one or the two of them in February because I didn't have any money in my SmartTag," he said referring to the electronic transponder that automatically deducts tolls from a motorist's account. He said he doesn't know what happened on the other seven. He plans to talk to VDOT about a settlement.

The Dulles Toll Road is an eight-lane state-owned highway operated by VDOT. The 14-mile road extends from the Capital Beltway to the Dulles Greenway, a private toll road.

The toll road's E-ZPass/Smart Tag-only lanes do not have gates, but vehicles that rush through without paying the toll trigger a flashing light and "ding-ding-ding" sound. The same is true of the regular lanes, some of which have gates.

The man behind the wheel of Isham Ahmed's car saved less than $30 by skirting along the Dulles Toll Road 20 times last year without paying. Last week, Ahmed stood in court facing a $10,000 bill from the state.

"It's a lot of money, sir," McDonough told a shaken Ahmed. Ahmed told the judge he wasn't in the car but remained responsible.

"I think I'm guilty on that. Unfortunately, at that time, I wasn't driving the car," Ahmed said. McDonough told him he would dismiss the case, as allowed by the law, if Ahmed submitted affidavits giving the name and address of the person he says was driving.

But Ahmed said that he knew only the man's first name and that he has moved back to Africa with no forwarding address. He appeared eager to just settle the matter quickly.