The Delaware Department of Transportation just signed an agreement to extend their toll-dodging enforcement in an attempt to reverse declining toll revenues from commercial vehicles.
The prior agreement, which lasted from November to December, called for Delaware State Police to patrol on Del. 4 and Del. 896 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m, in search of commercial vehicles skipping I-95 tolls by taking side routes. Under the new agreement, which is slated to last for five months, State Police will be on the lookout for toll dodgers 24 hours a day.
In addition to remedying declining revenues, DelDOT also claims that the enforcement will prevent unnecessary wear and tear on local roads.
Police will be stopping commercial vehicles that they believe may be avoiding tolls by taking local detours, and issuing fines and points on their license if they do not have the proper permits to be traveling on local roads.
According to Hugh Curran, DelDOT’s director of finance:
“The main goal wasn’t to issue a bunch of citations to truck drivers, but to keep them on the highway and off of local roads.”
During the initial toll-dodging campaign commercial toll transactions saw a minor uptick. When asked about the revenue potential of the new enforcement agreement, Curran told reporters: “Hopefully, we’ll see more of a trend.”
