Pa. Turnpike prepares cases against toll evaders

Vehicle registrations may be revoked

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A year after identifying its top toll evaders, the Pennsylvania Turnpike is getting serious about collecting delinquent fees.

For the first time in its history, the agency is working with a half dozen district attorneys across the state to prepare criminal cases for theft of services against some of the drivers who blow through the turnpike’s cashless E-ZPass lanes without a transponder linked to a credit card for payment.

And by the end of the year, the agency expects to turn over the names of dozens of repeat scofflaws for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportationto revoke their vehicleregistration.

“We’re obligated to collect our toll fares,” said turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo. “We’re going after the worst of the worst.”

In October 2016, the turnpike identifiedtwo dozen firms that owed more than $20,000 each in unpaid tolls — more than $1.5 million in all — including one New Jersey company that had made more than 7,600 free trips and owed more than $678,000 in unpaid tolls. That led to the state Legislature passing a law to allow the agency to enter into reciprocity agreements with other states to go after each other’s scofflaws.

Over the summer, the turnpike offered amnesty from penalties and fees to debtors if they paid back tolls ormade arrangements to pay before a law allowing vehicle registration revocation to take place. Nearly 2,100 motorists agreed to pay more than$1.4 million to settle their debts.

But that left more than 10,000 scofflaws who owe more than $17 million over the past three years who could face losing their vehicle registration if they commit another violation.