John Curley’s nemesis is sucking money from Puget Sound drivers
May 19, 2015, 11:58 AM | Updated: 12:55 pm
There is another reason for KIRO Radio's John Curley to hate the 520 bridge. Drivers are paying millions in fines. (Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Transportation)
(Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Transportation)
There is another reason for KIRO Radio’s John Curley to hate the 520 bridge.
Car tab registrations have been put on hold for about 80,000 drivers, according to Danny Westneat of The Seattle Times.
About one-third of the money being made from the bridge is through fines; last year 520 collected $61 million in tolls and about $26 million in fines and fees, Westneat reports.
And it all comes down to a flawed system, Curley said. Drivers who receive fines on the bridge are stuck in an endless cycle. If they haven’t paid them off by the time they cross the bridge again, their toll goes toward their fines. That means they receive another fine for not paying that toll.
“It’s like a blackberry bush,” Curley said. “You pull up one and it just grows somewhere else.”
When people owe millions in fines, including one person who owes about $60,000, there has to be something wrong with the system, KIRO Radio’s Tom Tangney added.
Ignoring fines for just a few months can result in thousands of dollars owed.
“At that point, you just say screw it,” Curley said.
There is a piece of legislation trying to address the issue, Tom pointed out. Lawmakers are attempting to accommodate drivers, instead of treating them like “cash machines.”
Curley has a quick fix for the toll bridge: take I-90.
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 3pm for John Curley and Shari Elliker.
