MassDOT: Some Drivers Obscuring License Plates, Avoiding Tobin Tolls
BOSTON (CBS) – The new all-electronic tolls on the Tobin Bridge has sparked a surge in EZ Pass applications and uncovered a new problem - hidden license plates.
In the last two weeks since the Tobin moved to electronic tolls, transportation officials have handed out 25,000 transponders. During a normal two-week span, nearly 8,000 transponders are distributed.
If a driver doesn't have a transponder, then a camera takes a picture of the license plate and the bill is sent to the driver's home.
But MassDOT Highway Administrator Frank DePaola told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 some people are making that harder than it should be.
'A small number of motorists have, I'm sure unintentionally, obscured their license plates, making it difficult to read with the video capture devices. That's illegal in Massachusetts," he said.
"We're going to put out some message boards to that effect and then we're going to start some enforcement. We'll start with issuing warnings, but eventually this could be a moving violation."
More than 12,000 "pay by plate" bills went out last week, DePaola told WBZ, and some drivers have already paid.
Overall, DePaola said the new system is working well and "functioning just as we hoped it would."
The Tobin Bridge toll is $2.50 with a transponder and $3 without one.
DePaola talks to WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Art Cohen:
Tobin Tolls Early Review
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