Drivers Say Cashless Tolling Leads To Erroneous Fines

On the eve of Thanksgiving, Deloris Ritchie and her family were pulled over by the police and left on the side of the road in the Bronx while her car was towed and impounded, as reported by The Journal News. Police said she owed $12,000 in fines from unpaid tolls and had a suspended registration. Ritchie said this was not true, but it took her months to prove it.

Hundreds of people who use the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge said they were charged fines for tolls they had already paid, or were never notified about, according to The Journal News.

"We've been hearing hundreds of stories, but they all follow the same sort of skeleton," said Christopher Eberhart, one of the journalists reporting on driver complaints. Many drivers signed up for Tolls by Mail system complain of not receiving the first or second bill, which are sent out every 30 days. As bills and fines stack up, drivers are not getting reliable mailings.

"People were getting only that third bill," said Eberhart. "And sometimes they didn't even get that bill, they would get only a notice of collections."

Last month, the Thruway Authority started an amnesty program for drivers who have been wrongly fined. Drivers can log on to pay outstanding tolls and have fines waved until February 26, 2018.