Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a new DMV regulation that is cracking down on repeat toll violators.
The regulation, which went into effect Wednesday, will suspend a driver's registration if he or she does not pay three or more toll violations within a five year period, or do not pay $200 or more in tolls within the same time period for commercial vehicles.
This new law is a result of the expansion of open-road, cashless, automatic tolling and will apply to all New York tolling authorities.
Violators will get a notice for each violation with the amount owed, how to pay and dispute the alleged violation.
If a driver with outstanding toll fees fails to pay or has the fees dismissed because of multiple notices, the violator will be referred to the DMV for further action.
Drivers can ask for a hearing with a DMV administrative law judge before a registration suspension, which will delay the possible suspension until the end of the hearing. If a hearing is not requested, the suspension will take effect as stated in the notice and remain in effect until the tolling authority notifies the DMV that the toll has been paid.
This new regulation is part of a plan to make open road, cashless tolling available on all toll bridges by the end of the year. It will also include new systems at each Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to read the license plate of every vehicle and alert Troopers and MTA bridge and tunnel officers if the vehicle has a suspended registration.
