This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
The new tolling rules on SR 167 have been in effect for about two weeks. Drivers tell me they’re still seeing a lot of cheating. What kind of enforcement can you expect?
Whether you see them or not, state troopers are watching you and watching for violations.
If you’re new to the upgraded toll system, there is a flashing light when you go under the tolling equipment. It flashes blue when charging a toll. It flashes white if you are declaring HOV. The flex pass on your windshield (you should have one by now) determines the color of the flash. HOV mode or toll mode.
“The light will go off if you’re in HOV status and you can look and see, okay, there’s only one person in that car,” Washington State Patrol Trooper Rick Johnson said.
That flash is the first indication. Troopers also look for the color of the pass. HOV is red. Toll is white. But those are very hard to spot at speed and in the dark.
You can still try to cheat the system. You can declare HOV and roll solo, but you run the risk of a ticket.
Having standardized tolling equipment and rules should help with compliance.
“I think it’s going to be easier for people to understand, and it’ll be easier for us to enforce that because there’s extra troopers out every day during the week in enforcing those toll lanes,” Johnson said.
Drivers also looking to report HOV violations on SR 167
And troopers aren’t just looking for HOV violations.
“I understand the public says ‘we’re not enforcing this,’ but we are,” Johnson said. “We’re enforcing people that are jumping that double white line, and that’s really a safety thing.”
Jumping the double white line is one of the most dangerous things you can do in these tolled facilities. In a lot of cases, drivers pull out from a dead stop into the toll lanes and into the path of a car traveling at speed.
Just don’t do it. I get it. You’re tempted, but the downside is massive.
As for the HOV violators that are still tolling for free, Johnson said that is a sure way to invite problems from other drivers.
“One of the number one complaints that we get is HOV violators,” Johnson said. “It’s an inciting violation. We have a lot of road rage that begins with somebody violating the HOV lane.”
You shouldn’t have to think hard about the number one excuse given to troopers for failing to flip your flex pass from HOV — it’s “I forgot.” That’s not going to fly.
You’d have better luck putting a dummy in your front seat, but troopers are great at catching people at that.
How about we all follow the rules and pay our fair share?
Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.
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