N.J. will get tough on toll cheats

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority has given the names, addresses, and license plate numbers of the cheats to the Motor Vehicle Commission, which has sent notices of possible suspension.

If violators make payment arrangements within 25 days, they will avoid suspension. If they don't, their registrations will be suspended until they pay the outstanding tolls and fees. Fines for driving with a suspended registration can be as high as $1,000.

"Since they've ignored every notice we've sent and every effort we've made to collect, now they'll have to face the consequences," Turnpike Authority chairman James Simpson said. "It's not fair to the honest drivers who pay what they owe to let these tolls go unpaid."

According to the authority, state law gives the Motor Vehicle Commission power to suspend or not renew registrations of repeat toll violators, though this is the first time such power has been used. The matter had been handled by a collection agency that tried to collect the debt before notifying consumer credit-reporting bureaus.

That system collected $1.9 million in unpaid tolls and fees last year, about four times as much as in 2010, the turnpike authority said.