9/11/2005
New Hampshire: Toll Evasion is No Longer a CrimePolice cannot fine New Hampshire motorists who drive through a toll booth without paying.
In an attempt to turn failing to pay a toll into a "civil violation" that can be enforced by a camera, New Hampshire legislators in July deleted the section from the lawbooks that had previously made toll evasion a crime carrying a $140 fine and driver's license demerit points. Because the state only uses cameras on the E-ZPass lanes, there is no legal basis for the state to stop anyone who blows through the cash-only lanes without paying.
Anyone accused of not paying the toll in an E-ZPass lane faces a $25 "administrative fee." The state department of transportation estimates one percent of users skip the toll.
New Hampshire Transportation Commissioner Carol Murray explained the legislative mistake to the Union Leader: "We knew what we wanted it (the new law) to do; we didn't think about what we didn't want it to do."