Toll Road Operators Might End Leniency Toward Freeloaders

Irked by the growing tendency of drivers to blow through toll plazas without paying, transportation officials recommended Wednesday that some of the TLC be taken out of Orange County toll roads by getting tougher with first-time offenders.

Complaining that the Foothill, Eastern and San Joaquin Hills toll roads are experiencing a rate of toll cheating more than double the national average, members of the Transportation Corridor Agencies called for immediate $25 fines for all first-time toll violations.

“This is long overdue,” said Transportation Corridor Agencies Director and county Supervisor Todd Spitzer. “I also think that the people who use the toll road and do pay probably resent the fact that people are out there trying to be freeloaders.”

Currently, the agency simply mails out a request that the offender pay the 25-cent to $2.50 toll by mail. Violators rarely pay, though, and even when they do, the payment doesn’t cover the $5 expense of processing and mailing the notice.

Would-be toll cheaters need not fear a crackdown just yet, however.

While directors of the Eastern and Foothill toll roads support the tough-love approach, directors of the struggling San Joaquin Hills tollway are worried that stricter enforcement would scare away much-coveted customers.

“I don’t think it’s a very good marketing strategy,” said Transportation Corridor Agencies Director and Laguna Niguel Councilwoman Linda Lindholm. “I really want to give people a chance to experience the toll roads without getting a notice and a fine that say, ‘You screwed up.’ ”

Departing director and former Irvine Mayor Christina L. Shea agreed, saying first-time toll road users could be easily confused. “I know that the first time I used the toll roads, I made a mistake putting my quarters into the machine and I got a notice,” Shea said. “I was a nervous wreck.”

Because of this difference, and because two separate boards oversee the county’s toll roads, it’s unclear what will happen with the proposed get-tough policy. A joint meeting of the boards has been scheduled for next week to determine which philosophy will prevail. In the meantime, advocates of the tougher policy say they will lobby their more forgiving colleagues on the matter.

During any given month, roughly 5% of the 6.6 million cars--slightly more than 330,000--that zip through network toll booths do so without paying. Either they simply fail to toss change into the automated teller baskets, or they drive through the radio-operated FasTrak lanes without the required transponder. Colleen Clark, the agency’s chief financial officer, said the national average for toll road violations is 2%.

In most cases, toll officials know who owns the car that slips through without paying, thanks to an ever-vigilant network of video cameras that record the vehicle’s license plate number. Violation notices are then sent to the vehicle’s registered owner.

Although toll officials have wrestled with certain repeat violators--motorists who have built up fines and unpaid tolls in the thousands of dollars--the toll lanes experience 40,000 first-time toll violations each month.

Under the current system, violators can be charged up to $96 for each violation. If the fines are not paid within six months, the Transportation Corridor Agencies can place a hold on a driver’s motor vehicle registration, which bars renewal until the fines are paid. Under the get-tough policy, the amount of fines and fees would be capped at $50 per violation, but a registration hold could be placed on a car after only two months.

Clark has called for a tougher approach to violators, saying the number of cheaters appears to be growing and may soon exceed 5% of all toll users.

“If you do not pursue violators, you’re going to have to raise tolls to meet the expense,” Clark warned directors Wednesday. “You’ll probably have more violators as time goes on as well.”