TACOMA – Almost every driver who has crossed the new Tacoma Narrows bridge in its first week has forked over the requested toll. But they didn’t have to – not yet, anyway.
That’s because the law setting a $49 fine for crossing without paying doesn’t take effect until July 22, the day most new state laws officially go into force.
The state Department of Transportation says more than 41,000 vehicles have crossed the new bridge since it opened July 16. About 95 percent of them paid the $3 cash or $1.75 electronic-debit toll.
State officials say they’re pleasantly surprised by the high compliance rate. The 2,022 motorists who didn’t pay represented 4.9 percent of the bridge crossings – about half the nonpayment rate expected in the first month.
Greg Selstead, the DOT’s tolling director, said toll operators elsewhere in the country told Washington officials that a nonpayment rate in the single digits would be remarkable.
“Maybe it’s the wholesomeness of our citizenry,” Selstead told The News Tribune. “Back east, they’re hitting 15 percent.”
Not all of those who haven’t paid are scofflaws. Some drivers with electronic payment accounts didn’t get their toll transponders in time, or had faulty or improperly installed devices.
In any case, the one-week grace period soon will be over: The State Patrol plans to start issuing tickets early Sunday morning for those who ignore the toll.
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