The New York State Thruway is ready to resume a program that suspends registrations for drivers who skip out on paying tolls.
A spokesperson confirms the agency resumed its registration suspension program on July 25 and has since sent out notices to about 100 registrants who combined owe the Thruway $1.8 million in unpaid tolls and fees.
"I think that’s the right thing to do, if they are not paying their fair share they should have their license suspended," said Alan Tacinelli, Yonkers.
The Thruway paused the program back in 2018 amid confusion as the switch to cashless tolls was underway.
"We experienced a lot of growing pains," said NY Thruway executive director Matthew J. Driscoll. "Customers who had their registration suspended never knew they had any violations."
Some drivers never received toll bills because a wrong address was registered at the Department of Motor Vehicles, others simply tossed or ignored the bills thinking it was junk.
Amid complaints, the agency initiated an amnesty program to help people get out of the red - resolving 280,000 violations.
But some drivers say they are still experiencing issues.
"Recently we've gotten four or five bills in the mail that equal $200-plus that we never got the original bill," said Jimmy Landon, of Hastings-on-Hudson.
Before reinstating the registration suspension program, the Thruway made some changes.
"We simplified the billing statements and changed billing envelopes so people wouldn't think they were junk mail and ignore them," said Driscoll.
The Thruway also lowered the violation fee for unpaid tolls from $100 to just $50 and added more signage on Thruway roadways.
You may be at risk of registration suspension if you have at least three outstanding toll violations in a five-year period.