Cameras poised to catch toll cheats on Garden State Parkway

Starting Monday, a video surveillance system will be in place to catch toll cheats who zip through the exact change lanes without paying the toll.

The parkway loses about $4 million a year due to those violators, according to Ronnie Hakim, executive director of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

“People will pretend to throw in money. People will throw a penny in and go. People will not even roll down their windows, just drive through the lanes,” she said. “We don’t have gates in those lanes, so people just drive on through. Tolls aren’t donations and we think everybody should pay their toll.”

The cameras will record an image of the scofflaw’s license plate. Violators will be sent a notice to pay the toll plus a $50 administration fee.

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Hakim said that will help as the authority revises its revenue expectations for the year.

“Traffic is down. The economy still hasn’t recovered. Gas prices have been higher,” she said. “So we’re probably going to probably be short almost $50 million from our projections.”

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