If you fail to pay your toll on Delaware’s I-95, the state could confiscate your car without any due process. This cheery news comes to us from motorist watchdogs extraordinaire, thenewspaper.com. Your license plate number will be recorded if you drive through an automated toll point without paying, and police can run your plates through a database to find out if you have evaded your toll-paying responsibilities. If you show up on one of these databases, your car can literally be confiscated on the roadside, meaning you have to prove your innocence to a civil hearing officer to avoid paying hefty fines and towing fees. And automated toll roads are hardly without their errors; one Texas system overcharged some 50k motorists, Virginia falsely accused 8k of skipping toll payments, and a Harris County audit showed that as many as 67k drivers are wrongly accused of not paying tolls. But that’s not stopping Delaware from stranding you on the side of the road and forcing you into a Kafka-esque bureaucratic labyrinth to get your car back, whether you’re guilty or not. Just another reason to avoid that particular slice of purgatory they call Delaware.
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Or you can just pay cash to a toll operator, bypassing the system and avoiding the whole mess altogether.
Delaware is a well-known “avoid” on our road trips to the Northeastern US.
Huh…this place called Idaho seems to get a little better everyday! Toll roads? Hell, our interstate is just getting a 3rd lane on either side.
Makes me think of that Ray Wylie Hubbard song “Screw you, we’re from Texas”
Now I love the USA
And the other states
Ahh, they’re OK
Texas is the place I wanna be
And I don’t care if I ever go to Delaware anyway
I’ve never been to that part of the US. But what struck me as odd is that Delaware can charge people for driving on I-95, a federal highway.
Of course I’ve never understood how my home state of California gets away with charging $4 to cross the Carquinez Bridge (Where I-80 crosses the Sacramento River). Again, I-80 is a federal highway. It just burns me so much whenever I hit that damn toll both. I don’t recall having to pay to cross the Colorado River on the I-10 or I-40. I don’t recall ever having to pay to cross the Mississippi River, or the Missouri River, or where the I-5 crosses the Columbia River.
Grrrr… I’m going on a rant now… sorry.
Anybody remember Wayne’s World? The “Hi! We’re… in Delaware…” joke? No? I’ve got nothing, then.
What is in that state aside from the Dover racetrack, anyways?
Having worked in Wilmington, DE for about 3 years, I do know first hand that they are super-aggressive on parking ticket collections, just as Philthydelphia is. In fact the city made a big deal in the papers about purchasing a slew of shiny new boots one year. And they definitely love using them…
This type of collection should be viewed as a very organized big-business venture, because it is.
Last I was there (3 years ago), it cost about $6 to drive Delaware’s ~5 miles worth of I-95. Just on the road mind you. If you avoid tunnels and bridges in Maryland, you can get through the whole state for free. And as a whole, MD’s highways are the most well maintained that I’ve driven on.
Apparently DE uses tolls and speeding tickets to make up the revenue they lose by being a business tax haven. Oh yeah, my only speeding ticket was in DE where the speed limit dropped from 55 to 35 in the span of 200 yards. Delaware sucks.
Delaware is something that gets in the way when you drive betw nyc and dc.
@yankinwaoz: Kansas charges you to drive on I-35…a federal interstate. Luckily, their nice enough to just send you a bill (for more than the postage) if you’re caught not knowing such a toll would be required somewhere between Texas and Utah.
The reason they can do this is a little thing called “civil asset forfeiture.”
It was slipped through as part of the “War on Drugs.” The original idea, ostensibly at least, was that pushers and dealers should not enjoy the fruits of their ill-gotten gains. We the People accepted it because, as everyone knows, Drugs Are Bad. Law enforcers could seize any asset you owned on their own assertion that the owner either used it in a crime or got it as the proceeds from crime.
The problem with this helpful enforcement tool quickly became evident when police departments figured out they could stock up on everything from high-end SUVs to air conditioners for their own use, simply by seizing them from citizens who then lacked the means to go to court and fight to get them back. This emboldened the police forces to go even farther, shuttering businesses as blackmail to extract guilty pleas and literally seizing cash from citizens’ pockets. Yes, it happens.
Once again, those who surrender their liberty for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Well said, tonycd!
Dela… where?
I suppose the argument that automated toll-collecting is not perfect will be met with “let’s increase surveillance” a la the UK with cameras, cameras, and oh, loss of privacy and freedom.
And you want Joe Biden to be your vice president?
Amen, tonycd!
Don’t even think about buying an airline ticket with cash. The ticket agent will report the transaction and get a 10% commission on whatever the DEA takes when they confiscate the rest of your cash, since obviously only drug dealers would buy airline tickets with cash.
You want your money back? Sue the government to get it.
The problem with this helpful enforcement tool quickly became evident when police departments figured out they could stock up on everything from high-end SUVs to air conditioners for their own use, simply by seizing them from citizens who then lacked the means to go to court and fight to get them back. This emboldened the police forces to go even farther, shuttering businesses as blackmail to extract guilty pleas and literally seizing cash from citizens’ pockets. Yes, it happens
Even civil attorneys can represent people at no charge (look up the local Legal Aid office). Name an instance where a police agency decided they needed someone’s vehicle/house/money and seized it without ANY cause whatsoever (no speeding, no concealed weapon, no drug possession, no solicitation, etc.). Police abuse of power does happen. Is it common? Not as much as you like to think. Eventually, someone outside their circle smacks them back down to earth and puts them in jail.
In this case, liberty isn’t sacrificed for safety. A depreciating asset is seized for a debt collection. A bit like a title pawn shop repossesing a $3k car for a $500 debt. Is it fair? No. But if no one has an incentive to pay a debt, they won’t. Whether you feel the debt is right or wrong is invalid at this point, it’s the law until it is changed.
Makes you wonder why they chased King George out of the USA only to totally disregard the Constitution and once again allow the government all the rights of a King and the citizen very little.
Winston Churchill
“A five minute conversation with the average voter is the best argument against Democracy”
AutoFan,
Sorry, it does happen. I remember a case in my home town. Police busted some kid for selling some pot. He was renting a house. The police took the house.
Can you image as a landlord loosing your house because your tenant decided to sell some weed?
I’ve never been to that part of the US. But what struck me as odd is that Delaware can charge people for driving on I-95, a federal highway.
Nothing odd about that. The New Jersey Turnpike is a federal highway that charges tolls, as is the New York State Thruway, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and every bridge and tunnel around here charges tolls even though they’re part of the federal highway too.
Delaware is something that gets in the way when you drive betw nyc and dc.
You have that confused with New Jersey.
Can you image as a landlord loosing your house because your tenant decided to sell some weed?
Yeah, I can, because it’s the law. A landlord is responsible for making sure that no illegal activities are happening on the property. Same with cars, if you lend your car to someone who is holding or tranporting drugs, you lose your car.
If the house was seized, I can just about guarantee it wasn’t personal use amount of pot that kid had. It had to be a felonious amount and was probably selling to undercover officers or was ratted out by a neighbor.
The previous post was phrased in such a way to make it sound like all of us are at risk to lose our property for NO reason other than the police want it. There may be thin reasons, but reasons none the less and they will either be upheld in court or not, that’s why we all have our day before a judge and/or jury if accused of a crime.
Hm,
I wonder if in this case, the Landlord can sue the tenant for the price of the house/apartment + lost rent…?
tonycd: It was slipped through as part of the “War on Drugs.”
Asset forfeiture has been around longer than the War on Drugs.
I recall reading that the federal government would regularly seize the vehicles of moonshine runners back in the 1940s and 1950s.
Here in Pennsylvania it has been law for well over 40 years that people who buy alcohol out of state and try to smuggle it back in to avoid the archaic state-owned liquor stores (don’t ask) with their high prices and limited selections can have their vehicles confiscated.
quasimondo: The New Jersey Turnpike is a federal highway that charges tolls, as is the New York State Thruway, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and every bridge and tunnel around here charges tolls even though they’re part of the federal highway too.
Don’t know about the other roads, but the Pennsylvania Turnpike was constructed largely by Pennsylvania, with some federal help, in the early 1940s.
It predates the federal interstate highway system, and has been a toll road since the day it opened. It was later designated a federal highway (I-76) but was allowed to continue collecting tolls.
“And you want Joe Biden to be your vice president?”
Yes! I need someone to help me pay more taxes be patriotic!
I would love to pay more taxes! It means I am actually making money, not loosing it like what has happened to my business and personal finances for most of the last seven and a half years.
Back to cars… Oh yea, another business that has thrived in the past seven and a half years. GM doesnt pay a lot of taxes anymore either…
One trip down I95 back in 1974 was enough for me. In my travels south, I make an early morning dash over the Tappan Zee to north Jersey and pick up I 81 near Harrisburg PA. A little bit longer miles, a wash on time, and waaay less stressful. Free too.
On a similar note, don’t fly into Maine unless you bought your plane there. They have been claiming sales taxes due on aircraft under 12,500 poinds for people who bought in no tax states who fly into Maine – even if they do not reside there!
This can easily be 25k or more. They exclude planes of higher weights because they know that they would lose the court battle. As it is, they can force the lower end owners to pay because the battle will cost more than the tax.
They openly admit this!
Florida tried a similar scam, but is apparently backing off.
And yes, they will put a lien on the plane, and attempt seizure.
Fuel taxes, highway tolls…..what’s the difference, really?
I lived in Delaware for 15 years, and despite some of the bashing here, it is a great place to live.
Two key points to make clear –
1. Under this law the car is not forfeit, it is simply impounded until the fees are paid, much like many other states have laws against parking ticket scofflaws. Once the fees are paid, the owner gets the car back.
2. The amount owed has to be over $1,000. That is a lot more than accidentally running a toll will rack up, this is targeted only at habitual repeat offenders.
Also, my memory may be fuzzy on this, but as I recall all of the tolls along I-95 in Delaware have screens that display ‘Go’ or ‘Error – call EZ pass’ once the transponer has been read. If the account your transponder is registered to is closed, or there is a read error, the screen will let you know, and you can take actions to correct it.
Anyone living and driving in the Northeast without an EZPass is either a ludite or a masochist. Delaware’s Route 1 (the state north-south beach/Dover-Downs highway) even has high speed EZPass lanes where cars with transponders simply veer off to two lanes on the left where they don’t have to slow down to be read, which does a lot for relieving congestion.
The tolls in DE don’t do a whole lot to affect residents, the one alone the Maryland border is easily bypassed, and the one along the Delaware Memorial Bridge (the get out of Jersey fee) mainly effects travellers and those coming in for tax free shopping.
With low business taxes, no sales tax, and lower property taxes than surrounding states, Delaware has to get income somehow. The tolls aren’t unreasonable (the toll on I-95 over a river in Maryland, I think the Susquehanna, is ridiculous, last I drove it was $7 for a little rinkydink bridge) and this law, as stated in the article, isn’t going after accidental toll-skippers, just habitual law breakers. While I am sure some mistakes may happen, it would take an incredible break down of the system to allow someone not guilty of running tolls to end up with over $1000 of debt to the state and therefore get pulled over and impounded.
Just another reason to avoid that particular slice of purgatory they call Delaware.
Hey hey! I live here! Tax free shopping, baby! [sigh] Anyway, we all know Jersey is the Purgatory State. If you wanna talk about horrible personalities, baffling driving behavior, and poor road planning, NJ takes the cake.
You don’t wanna pay the toll, just avoid it. You can’t doing anything about the Delaware bridge toll if you’re coming off the NJ turnpike or 295. But everyone can avoid the second one going into MD.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=newark,+de&ie=UTF8&ll=39.657381,-75.76807&spn=0.055903,0.11055&z=13
Take the 896 north exit and turn left on to Christiana Pkwy (RT 4) and the left on to Elkton Rd (RT 2). Its a straight shot at that point. You’ll cross into MD and run into 95 south. It’ll add about 10 minutes to your trip, though.
I was gonna hop on this, but NulloModo and John R already nailed it on key points I was hoping to defend. Don’t knock DE or you’ll force our hand to take more pot shots at NJ.
Yeah Delaware sucks. Don’t move here, drive or shop in our state. Stay in the People’s Republik of New Jersey or the CommonWealth confiscation of PA or some other place. Too many out of staters coming in here and demanding more tax money be spent in their neighborhoods. Delaware is an island of fiscal responsibility surrounded by high waters of taxes. You would not believe how low our property taxes are.
BTW name another state that balances it’s budget every year.
GS650G you bring a tear to my eye. I live in the People’s Republic of NJ, and I now go to Christiana each Christmas so that my liege, his Lordship King Jon Corzine I, cannot lay claim to what little treasure I have.
Seriously though, if it weren’t for Wilmington, the chicken farms, and the screen door factory (see The Simpsons), Delaware would be a little slice of heaven.