Legislation moving through the House of Delegates would spare motorists from having their driver’s licenses suspended as punishment for going through a toll without paying.
Del. Tom Rust, R-Herndon, who introduced the proposal, said he is not trying to be easy on toll violators. When the General Assembly passed legislation setting up punishments for driving through a toll lane without paying, he said, lawmakers did not intend for violators who did not pay the toll and then ignored the additional $25 to $100 penalty to lose their licenses.
The violators were supposed to be prevented only from re-registering their vehicle until the citation was paid, but Circuit Court judges read the statute differently and started suspending licenses.
“We didn’t want to suspend their licenses because we would know they owned the car but wouldn’t know for sure if they were the ones driving when they went through the toll,” Rust told the House Transportation Committee, which approved his bill this week.
