Smile, toll cheats: Cameras to monitor turnpike’s E-ZPass

PORTLAND – E-ZPass is expected to replace the existing Transpass toll system on the Maine Turnpike this fall and turnpike officials hope it will reduce fare cheating.

Officials now use cameras to take photos of toll evaders’ license plates. But the system is only 96 percent accurate, according to turnpike spokesman Dan Paradee.

Paradee said cameras would run all the time at all locations after the switch to E-ZPass and that the new system has a 99.9 percent accuracy rate.

A bill to be considered by the Legislature’s Transportation Committee would allow the turnpike authority to hold quasi-judicial proceedings at its Portland headquarters.

Under the plan, motorists receiving a notice for evading a toll would have three options: File a written dispute, pay a fine – $50 for a first-time offender – or schedule a hearing.

Similar systems are in place in several E-ZPass states, including Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey, according to turnpike representative Conrad Welzel.

“We did not want to overburden the court system. They don’t want to deal with an issue that they did not have to deal with before,” Welzel said.

Lt. Randall Nichols, commander of the Maine State Police troop that patrols the highway, said the turnpike authority’s proposal could improve enforcement.

“It’s difficult for us to do sustained enforcement of toll evasion, given our other responsibilities out here,” Nichols said. “On the list of priorities, it’s pretty low.”