Post by Coach on Dec 16, 2005 9:52:18 GMT -5
Dulles Road Cheaters Take Toll on Virginia
Enforcement Is Lax for Booth Violators
By Steven Ginsberg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 16, 2005; Page A01
When drivers blow through the toll lanes on the Dulles Toll Road without paying, a red security light immediately flashes and starts whirling in circles. A loud bell rings.
And that's it. Forever.
Some of the cameras, lights and other enforcement devices along the Dulles Toll Road are just for show, Virginia officials say. Without equipment to catch cheaters, some fees go uncollected. (By Larry Morris -- The Washington Post)
Despite the gaudy appearance of enforcement, it's all for show, state officials acknowledged. That little device that looks like it houses a camera? There's nothing in there. There is no equipment to catch toll cheaters. No pictures are taken. No ticket is issued. No note is sent home to Mom.
And, most important for Virginia, no money is collected. The lack of enforcement costs the state about $1.2 million a year, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation, which said about 6,600, or 1.7 percent, of the 381,000 weekday toll road users get away without paying.
"That is quite a bit of money," said Dennis Morrison, Northern Virginia administrator for VDOT, who did not know about the lack of enforcement until asked about it by a reporter. "We need to quickly get a system up so we're not losing" it.
VDOT officials said glitches in toll equipment also account for some of the uncollected money.
Electronic tolls were first put on the Dulles Toll Road in 1996, but no electronic enforcement went with it. The state uses sporadic police patrols to enforce the tolls, which range from 50 to 75 cents.
So why all the bells and lights when violators drive by? "To alert a nearby toll collector if they can catch the license plate to take down information or if law enforcement is nearby and there is somebody they need to pursue," said Deborah Brown, director of innovative finance and revenue operations at VDOT.
Virginia has delayed adding high-tech enforcement on the Dulles Toll Road because there have been problems with systems at two other facilities, and VDOT wanted to find a good method that would be usable everywhere, Brown said.
Officials said the agency plans to install such a system on the Dulles Toll Road and elsewhere in fall 2006 that will include cameras to take pictures of license plates. Under that system, which will be similar to ones used in Maryland and other states, bills will be mailed to violators, officials said.
"Nothing will 100 percent solve the problem of violations," Brown said, "but it certainly will improve enforcement efforts."
Toll violations are rare at manned booths, where drivers stop to hand over money. Few drivers will speed through a booth with someone in it, and many of those lanes have gates that prevent people from passing without paying.
But toll violations have become an increasing worry since the advent of E-ZPass, Smart Tag and other electronic systems that don't require any person-to-person transactions. Concerns have grown even greater in recent years with the rising popularity of "open road" tolling, where drivers don't have to slow down to pay. On the Dulles Toll Road, the open toll lanes are on the left side, where drivers can proceed through booth-less lanes at 35 mph as the E-ZPass transponder is read by a device overhead.
With that kind of setup, it's easy for people to drive through without paying tolls.
"The presence of a human being is inhibiting to most motorists, and it's very, very rare for someone to drive past a toll collector," said Peter Samuel, editor of the Toll Roads News Web site. "But open road tolling is very inviting. It's got to be managed intelligently."
Samuel said it's highly unusual to have open tolls without cameras. "That certainly is something of an anomaly because most toll roads do have cameras so at least there's a good shot of getting people," he said. "That's pretty amazing."
Operators of the Dulles Greenway, a privately owned toll highway that connects Leesburg to the Dulles Toll Road, installed cameras last summer to take pictures of license plates. Violators are mailed a bill for the toll and a $25 administration fee.
Greenway spokeswoman Ann Huggins-Lawler said violations are minimal because all lanes have gates, although they are not used during peak times. She estimated the violation rate at "less than a half of a percent."
Maryland officials said they have taken pictures of license plates since they installed electronic tolls in 1999. "What happens is a camera takes a picture of tags as violators go through, and they get a notice in the mail that just states that they need to send us payment for that toll," said Teri Moss, spokeswoman for the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Moss said 197,000 violation notices were mailed statewide in 2004 -- 0.37 percent of the 52.8 million electronic transactions that were registered. A $15 fee is added if violators do not pay the toll within a set amount of time and, repeat violators are referred to collection agencies, she said.
Real estate agent Matt Dent uses the toll road several times a day as he shuttles clients from house to house. He pays with Smart Tag and said that, every now and then, it doesn't work.
"The light usually flashes, and the bell rings, although there are times where nothing happens at all," Dent wrote in an e-mail. "And, no, I have not once received a ticket or a warning in the mail about this."
Dent said it's not uncommon to see trucks illegally driving through the toll lanes. Would he join them now that he knows there's no way he'll get a ticket?
"I'm Canadian, one of your very typical law-abiding Canucks, so I'd probably pay anyway," he wrote.
Samuel said once word gets out about the lack of enforcement on the toll road, he might be about the only person paying.
"To actually not have any cameras at all is rather inviting," he said.
We the fuckin ass holes/
don't pay the fast tolls/
cost the state millions,
but it don't hurt my bank rolls/
Enforcement Is Lax for Booth Violators
By Steven Ginsberg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 16, 2005; Page A01
When drivers blow through the toll lanes on the Dulles Toll Road without paying, a red security light immediately flashes and starts whirling in circles. A loud bell rings.
And that's it. Forever.
Some of the cameras, lights and other enforcement devices along the Dulles Toll Road are just for show, Virginia officials say. Without equipment to catch cheaters, some fees go uncollected. (By Larry Morris -- The Washington Post)
Despite the gaudy appearance of enforcement, it's all for show, state officials acknowledged. That little device that looks like it houses a camera? There's nothing in there. There is no equipment to catch toll cheaters. No pictures are taken. No ticket is issued. No note is sent home to Mom.
And, most important for Virginia, no money is collected. The lack of enforcement costs the state about $1.2 million a year, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation, which said about 6,600, or 1.7 percent, of the 381,000 weekday toll road users get away without paying.
"That is quite a bit of money," said Dennis Morrison, Northern Virginia administrator for VDOT, who did not know about the lack of enforcement until asked about it by a reporter. "We need to quickly get a system up so we're not losing" it.
VDOT officials said glitches in toll equipment also account for some of the uncollected money.
Electronic tolls were first put on the Dulles Toll Road in 1996, but no electronic enforcement went with it. The state uses sporadic police patrols to enforce the tolls, which range from 50 to 75 cents.
So why all the bells and lights when violators drive by? "To alert a nearby toll collector if they can catch the license plate to take down information or if law enforcement is nearby and there is somebody they need to pursue," said Deborah Brown, director of innovative finance and revenue operations at VDOT.
Virginia has delayed adding high-tech enforcement on the Dulles Toll Road because there have been problems with systems at two other facilities, and VDOT wanted to find a good method that would be usable everywhere, Brown said.
Officials said the agency plans to install such a system on the Dulles Toll Road and elsewhere in fall 2006 that will include cameras to take pictures of license plates. Under that system, which will be similar to ones used in Maryland and other states, bills will be mailed to violators, officials said.
"Nothing will 100 percent solve the problem of violations," Brown said, "but it certainly will improve enforcement efforts."
Toll violations are rare at manned booths, where drivers stop to hand over money. Few drivers will speed through a booth with someone in it, and many of those lanes have gates that prevent people from passing without paying.
But toll violations have become an increasing worry since the advent of E-ZPass, Smart Tag and other electronic systems that don't require any person-to-person transactions. Concerns have grown even greater in recent years with the rising popularity of "open road" tolling, where drivers don't have to slow down to pay. On the Dulles Toll Road, the open toll lanes are on the left side, where drivers can proceed through booth-less lanes at 35 mph as the E-ZPass transponder is read by a device overhead.
With that kind of setup, it's easy for people to drive through without paying tolls.
"The presence of a human being is inhibiting to most motorists, and it's very, very rare for someone to drive past a toll collector," said Peter Samuel, editor of the Toll Roads News Web site. "But open road tolling is very inviting. It's got to be managed intelligently."
Samuel said it's highly unusual to have open tolls without cameras. "That certainly is something of an anomaly because most toll roads do have cameras so at least there's a good shot of getting people," he said. "That's pretty amazing."
Operators of the Dulles Greenway, a privately owned toll highway that connects Leesburg to the Dulles Toll Road, installed cameras last summer to take pictures of license plates. Violators are mailed a bill for the toll and a $25 administration fee.
Greenway spokeswoman Ann Huggins-Lawler said violations are minimal because all lanes have gates, although they are not used during peak times. She estimated the violation rate at "less than a half of a percent."
Maryland officials said they have taken pictures of license plates since they installed electronic tolls in 1999. "What happens is a camera takes a picture of tags as violators go through, and they get a notice in the mail that just states that they need to send us payment for that toll," said Teri Moss, spokeswoman for the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Moss said 197,000 violation notices were mailed statewide in 2004 -- 0.37 percent of the 52.8 million electronic transactions that were registered. A $15 fee is added if violators do not pay the toll within a set amount of time and, repeat violators are referred to collection agencies, she said.
Real estate agent Matt Dent uses the toll road several times a day as he shuttles clients from house to house. He pays with Smart Tag and said that, every now and then, it doesn't work.
"The light usually flashes, and the bell rings, although there are times where nothing happens at all," Dent wrote in an e-mail. "And, no, I have not once received a ticket or a warning in the mail about this."
Dent said it's not uncommon to see trucks illegally driving through the toll lanes. Would he join them now that he knows there's no way he'll get a ticket?
"I'm Canadian, one of your very typical law-abiding Canucks, so I'd probably pay anyway," he wrote.
Samuel said once word gets out about the lack of enforcement on the toll road, he might be about the only person paying.
"To actually not have any cameras at all is rather inviting," he said.
We the fuckin ass holes/
don't pay the fast tolls/
cost the state millions,
but it don't hurt my bank rolls/
