DOT to start collecting delinquent tolls via DMV
»Play Video
SEATTLE -- After losing millions of dollars to toll violators, the state DOT is cracking down on drivers who refuse to pay.
Driver who use the 520 and Tacoma Narrows bridges just ignored nearly a quarter million penalty notices for non-payment, blowing off nearly $10 million in penalties.
These are just those pay-by-mail users who get a toll bill after the bridge camera snaps a shot of their license plate.
Now, the DOT is trying to collect the delinquent tolls and $40 penalty through the DMV.
"If you ignore that, then what we'll do is put a registration hold on your vehicle," said Craig Stone with the WSDOT. "So you have to get it re-registered in the next year, you're gonna have to clear that toll and that penalty."
Soon, the state will also send unpaid bills to a collections agency.
The tolling study shows about 1,350 vehicle owners will face registration holds by the end of this year.
DOT managers say the money they recover will more than pay for any additional enforcement costs
Driver who use the 520 and Tacoma Narrows bridges just ignored nearly a quarter million penalty notices for non-payment, blowing off nearly $10 million in penalties.
These are just those pay-by-mail users who get a toll bill after the bridge camera snaps a shot of their license plate.
Now, the DOT is trying to collect the delinquent tolls and $40 penalty through the DMV.
"If you ignore that, then what we'll do is put a registration hold on your vehicle," said Craig Stone with the WSDOT. "So you have to get it re-registered in the next year, you're gonna have to clear that toll and that penalty."
Soon, the state will also send unpaid bills to a collections agency.
The tolling study shows about 1,350 vehicle owners will face registration holds by the end of this year.
DOT managers say the money they recover will more than pay for any additional enforcement costs
They sent me a letter saying I hadn't paid a toll. I made a copy of the check they cashed and sent it to them. They then sent me a letter confirming that "yes, I had paid". Money and time well spent? I wasn't real happy I had to take up MY time to research that I had already paid. SO.....check and be sure you haven't already paid the toll before you just take it at their word.
"the state DOT is cracking down on drivers who refuse to pay."
Well, I refuse to pay because I do not nor will I ever use that bridge since the tolls went on. If they try to collect, there will be a very public court case.
I have no problem paying an honest toll but this tolling company is ridiculous. Why is the tolling company located in Texas? Why not have the jobs in Washington, benefiting our citizens? I ended up paying for two $4 tolls at a cost of $84 because a couple of the billings were missed. I have always paid the toll bills I receive. They admitted to me that the toll bills slipped through the cracks. When I called to challenge the charge, I was told that they were not responsible for billing us, that it is a "courtesy" and that it is THE DRIVER'S RESPONSIBILITY to keep a log and pay accordingly, or sign up for an account. I said that penalizes me for not "signing up" with them and that, if they are not responsible for "billing" us, why do we pay them to do so. Despite the option, the only valid challenge to a toll is the sale of your car (non-0ownership). Now they will hold people's car licenses hostage...I foresee a lot of people driving without tabs... Perhaps this is their convoluted way to get more money. Perhaps they shouldn't be allowed to toll I-90 until they can prove that they can get the tolling on 520 right.
The DOT needs to be controlled by a position that is accountable to the people. Skeletor put the DOT in a position that has not one person accountable to the people. Appointments means no one is responsible to the people. Get leadership back on the ballot to give that power back to the people.
Trick is over 5% of all tranaactions are faulty cause its billing washington state tags when they are out of state plates, the other batch is probably just faulty billing, Typical WDOT...
We're going to send Craig Stone and WSDOT to collections for the money wasted with constructions problems for the 520 bridge.
They are going to need it to pay for the 520 bridge and all its problems!
@Joy Whitney Yup. This is what you get from the lowest bidder. What if they had just chosen the highest bidder that was going to use ALL USA-made materials and only cost 1/3 more than that lowest bidder? I'd say we would be in much better shape, and money ahead! Stupid is as stupid does, and you cannot fix stupid.
For those stating they drove either bridge & were never billed for it, in the past WSDOT has stated that "up to 10% of vehicles" never get captured on the cameras. So, they are regularly missing that much "revenue", and they knowingly installed a system with that flaw.
Just think, if there had been real live toll takers on 520, there would be ZERO percent "missed" tolls. What a thought...and it probably would have had WAY less cost for installation, no missed deadlines, no problems delaying implementation - all problems they have had with the 520 tolling.
And for those claiming that live toll takers would cause traffic delays - they have them on the Narrows, and traffic seems to keep moving just fine. Why have them on one bridge and not the other?
@LocalLady or, like the Narrows, have the option of doing the tag or stopping and paying the toll right at the time of use.
For a while weren't they sending out the bills in plain white unmarked envelopes? Many people probably thought they were junk mail.
@wgm I don't know about that, but I can't imagine that's a very valid excuse. "Hey, if you sent the bill in a different envelope, I would've paid it."
Let that be another reason why you shouldn't toll I-90, or you shall expect this to get worse!
And when you sell a car you will be charged for any tolls if the other peoson does not send in the buyers report EVEN IF YOU SEND in the sellers report!!!! Just another fliecing by the state....
@bustedupredneckÂ
If you sent in the seller's report, that should be enough to prove transfer of ownership. All you have to do is keep documentation.
This is a pure cluster. Pretty soon they will bill you for leaving your own home or breathing to many liters of air. Why we ever let them put it in place at all, is a mystery. Oh! I guess we did not have a say...
Grumps: Who do you want to pay for it? These people are cheaters, just like those who use the cheater lanes with only one person in the car. I also think that people who use studded tires should pay for the damage that their tires do to OUR roads..
@rockguy not all are cheaters...I probably cross 520 once a month or less. For that amount of driving, I don't feel as if I should have to get an account they can access at any time. If they are a billing company, they should have to send a bill. It is what they are paid for. If they are not doing their job, they should be fired. If they miss sending a bill, and the consumer brings it to their attention, they should not be allowed to charge the penalty.
Colorado outlawed them about 30 years ago because they were tearing up the roads. It is insane not to!
@britlady My neighbor puts studded tires on the day after they become legal and takes them off on the day they become illegal for use.  She never drives over any mountain pass much less drives when there is any signifigant snow/ice on the local roads.
@rockguyÂ
They ought to charge a $25 fee fee PER STUDDED TIRE.Â
People automatically put them on the minute they become legal and leave them on for the full time, when we rarely if ever actually hve the weather conditions & road conditions that warrant them. All they do by doing this is rip up the roads, creating ruts that fill with water when it rains and requiring expensive repairs which take a huge bite out of the already thin repair budget that they have.
@slappywagÂ
Actually, last year, when I had a contract in Yakima, I NEEDED my studs to cross the pass and drive around the icy roads in Yakima. Sorry if I didn't leave my summer tires on from Lynnwood to the pass, but changing tires at the first hint of snow just wasn't practical.
@LocalLady Screw that. $100 per tire. NOBODY in Western Washington NEEDS studded tires. Period.
I drove over the 520 bridge twice in the summer and they never billed me for it. I called and emailed them multiple times asking to check on my address and license plate and they said they couldn't find any record of me driving over it. Funny stuff...
@SeaPWDon't worry. They'll magically find it later and add on a nice $40 fee on top of what you owe.
@Hambingo
@SeaPW
No doubt - keep your correspondence and emails. I type notes of phone calls, date and time, number called and to whom spoken to. All admissible in court. Sounds like a bother but can pull your bacon out of the frying pan. Especially when dealing with a large bureaucratic system with no clear direction.
I have driven over the Tacoma Narrows bridges 5 times over the past 6 months and they still have not sent me a bill. WDOT clearly knows my mailing address because they sent me new plates in January.
@timdog WSDOT doesn't send out license plates. The Dept. of Licensing does that. If you're a "frequent flyer" over the Narrows bridge, why not get a Good To Go sticker? You will pay less for tolls and no worry about getting hit with collections or holding up plate renewal or even a driver's license renewal.
"DOT managers say the money they recover will more than pay for any additional enforcement costs" The same managers oversaw the massive delays in putting the 520 tolling system online in the first place, and who didn't penalize that company for their mistakes? I don't see them having much credibility left. Not to mention the tolling system is prone to billing mistakes.
@Just_Mike yes but why enforce something just to pay for the enforcement. Seems stupid to me.
@FED__UP A bureaucracy will spend $1 to get $.03. Bureaucracy is only in the business of being in business. They are not about efficiencies. In fact, quite the opposite.