A bill headed for a Virginia Senate vote would add cameras to crack down on drivers who “backtrack” on the Dulles Access Road to avoid paying tolls.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mark Herring, D-Fairfax-Loudoun, would add camera systems or license plate scanners along the access road to nab violators.
The Senate Transportation Committee passed the bill 14-1 Thursday, and the full Senate is expected to vote on it next week, Herring said.
The bill is part of a larger regional effort to enforce high occupancy vehicle laws, Herring said, but he added that the legislation really came down to a question of fairness. Some drivers double back on the access road, designed for people going to the airport, to avoid paying tollson Route 267. Tolls are $1 for two-axle vehicles at the main toll plaza and 75 cents at the on- and off-ramps.
Cutting down on access to the toll road would cut down HOV violations, said Courtney Mickalonis, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which regulates use of the road. Drivers who use the airport road during rush hour are exempt from HOV regulations on Interstate 66, which feeds directly into the road.
“It’s not fair to those commuters who are carpooling legitimately,” Herring said.
More than 1,100 drivers were givencitations for breaking access road laws in 2009, Mickalonis said. She estimated that the figure was far lessthan the actual number of violators.
“The bill will allow us to use new technology to enforce existing laws,” she said. “It will help us keep the access highway open.”
Bob Chase, president of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance, also supported the bill. It protects the integrity of the HOV system, helps enforce the law, and puts money back into the corridor, he said.
“I think it’s an important and necessary piece of legislation,” he said.
