Toll evaders have reportedly cheated the state out of $200 million, with one unpaid toll tab linked to a vehicle in Montgomery County totaling more than $116,000.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is teaming up with the Pennsylvania State Police to crack down on drivers who evade paying turnpike tolls.
The statewide initiative began April 1, with troopers issuing tickets or citations to toll scofflaws, or impounding vehicles belonging to drivers with suspended registrations linked to unpaid turnpike tolls and fees.
And the turnpike commission and state police aren’t the only ones going after toll scofflaws.
Republican state Sens. Judy Ward (Blair) and Kim Ward (Westmoreland) are planning to introduce legislation calling for harsher penalties for habitual offenders—some of whom have racked up tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid tolls on the turnpike’s open road tolling system—including a third-degree felony offense for those with unpaid tolls topping $10,000.
In a memo outlining the measure, the senators claim that toll evaders have cheated the state out of $200 million.
Last fall, the Turnpike Commission announced it was working with the state attorney general’s office to pursue civil action against those owing more than $12,000 in unpaid tolls.
The largest unpaid toll tab in the state totals more than $116,000, and is linked to a commercial vehicle in Montgomery County.
Other vehicles referred to the attorney general’s office for excessively large outstanding toll tabs include:
- A privately owned vehicle in Butler County — $96,322
- A privately owned vehicle in Lehigh County — $89,285
- A privately owned vehicle in Berks County — $84,821
- A commercial vehicle in Philadelphia — $80,605
- A commercial vehicle in Bucks County — $67,814
- A commercial vehicle in Philadelphia — $66,310
- A privately owned vehicle in Fayette County — $65,990
- A commercial vehicle in Montgomery County — $61,521
- A commercial vehicle in Lancaster County — $58,022
Philadelphia leads all Pennsylvania counties with 34,112 toll violators and nearly $38 million in unpaid tolls, followed by Bucks (15,056 violators, nearly $20 million in unpaid tolls); Montgomery (14,121 violators, more than $16 million in unpaid tolls); Lehigh (6,122 violators, more than $7 million in unpaid tolls) and Allegheny (5,447 violators, more than $4 million in unpaid tolls) counties.
