Just because there's no man in the booth, doesn't mean that you don't have to pay the toll.
One Virginia driver learned that the hard way when he was recently slapped with a $200,000 toll bill for failing to pay his dues while driving on the Dulles Toll Road every night for three-and-a-half years.
“They provided me with a stack of summonses that was 12 inches high," Jason Bourcier told NBC Washington.
According to FOX 5 D.C., Bourcier owed only $440 in missed tolls. (Since January 2013, it costs $1.75 per car to pass through the toll road's main plaza.) However, that sum swelled to a whopping $202,000 because of fees and fines. The Virginia Department of Transportation charges a $25 administrative fee per violation and up to a $500 fine per infraction, depending on the number of offenses.
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokesman Christopher Paolino said Bourcier had incurred 335 toll violations, USA Today reports.
"I can also say his were one of the largest number of violations that had been taken to court," Paolino told the publication.
However, Bourcier is not the only driver in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area who has racked up a hefty bill. Last year, The Washington Post reported that eight car rental companies owe between $80,000 and $200,000 in unpaid tolls and penalties.
Fortunately, Bourcier and his lawyers managed to wrestle his bill down to $40,000 in court this week. Now, he has to fork over $150 a month until the bill is paid in full.
If Bourcier sticks to the payment plan, he estimates that his balance -- including interest -- should be paid off by 2067.
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