Big opportunity introduced for drivers with outstanding penalties
Jul 20, 2015, 12:51 PM | Updated: 1:15 pm
Though they may be few and far between, some drivers have racked up thousands of dollars of penalties for unpaid road tolls. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
Though they may be few and far between, some drivers have racked up thousands of dollars of penalties for unpaid road tolls.
By ignoring a fee, the drivers now owe enormous amounts of money for not paying just a few dollars while passing through tolls.
“We know we have some customers who owe tens of thousands,” said Patty Rubstello, Washington State Department of Transportation toll operations director .
Related: Questions answered about how drivers are tolled
On Monday, WSDOT introduced an ongoing program that will allow violators to pay outstanding tolls, without fees and penalties. Drivers with unpaid civil penalties can contact and request a waiver. There’s one catch: They must be willing to actually pay the tolls.
“As long as they’re willing to pay the tolls, we’re willing to wave fees and penalties,” Rubstello said.
First-time violators can call and review their penalty prior to a hearing. Customer service will work with them to get their tolls paid.
Toll violators have 20 days to pay, otherwise a hold will be placed on their vehicle registration.
“We’ve learned that customers need flexibility and each situation is unique,” Rubstello said. “The purpose of this program is to collect the toll and educate the customer so they won’t get behind in in the future. This approach fairly balances enforcing tolls for the 95 percent of drivers who pay on time while giving others the opportunity start over with a clean slate.”
The registered owner of a vehicle receives a bill in the mail within two weeks of using a toll facility, if he or she didn’t pay the toll. They have 15 days to pay before a second bill is issued with a $5 reprocessing fee. If the toll remains unpaid for 80 days, a notice of civil penalty is issued with $40 penalty per toll transaction. Unresolved civil penalties will still result in a vehicle registration hold.
There could be people who owe a lot of money, Rubstello said. WSDOT will work with them to help them understand the program.
“If someone owes a tremendous amount in tolls, we’ll figure out how to make those payments,” she said.
Related: State has two years to make I-405 tolls work
