As a New Hampshire resident who has personally faced the revocation of my motor vehicle registration over unpaid EZPass late fees, I understand the importance of supporting the Department of Transportation's (DOT) services through timely payment of toll charges. These charges are essential to maintaining and improving our state's infrastructure. However, I do not support the current late fees structure.

With the introduction of fully electronic toll plazas on the Spaulding Turnpike, drivers no longer have the option to pay tolls as they pass through; instead, they are required to maintain an EZPass system or pay online fees within 7 days to avoid extra charges. This requirement can become a major financial burden, especially for those who may not be able to manage this obligation due to various reasons such as financial or technological constraints.

The late fees that are charged for unpaid EZPass violations by the New Hampshire DOT are dramatically higher than other states. For instance, in Massachusetts, the late payment fees for EZPass violations start from a minimum of $1.00 (Massachusetts Department of Transportation). New Hampshire residents deserve a more balanced and fair fee structure, as of currently the late fee;s for not paying a toll within 90 days of passing through it, residents are required to pay more than 25 times the cost of a $0.75 toll fee. Late fees for all tolls after 90 days is $25 per toll currently. Let's take a Quick Look at what some New Hampshire motorists are facing for outstanding balances. Some people have fee's over $150/day  if they live in the Rochester or lakes region area and travel on the Spaulding Turnpike and through the Hampton Toll towards Massachusetts for work daily. For these motorists, they hit 3 tolls booths each way, 2 @ $0.75 each and one for $2. That alone is $7/day in tolls and after 90 days the current system tacks on an additional $25/toll for a whopping $157/da. If they failed to pay them on time for the whole week and work 5 days per week, they are looking at late charges of $750 for a single week of work travel. There are many New Hampshire drivers that have outstanding balances of over $10,000, some dating back to the early 2000's. However, with the recent changes to automate toll plazas, that number is rising substantially by the day as drivers have not transitioned to the EZ Pass system or have trouble keeping their accounts funde. If residents do not call in or go to an EZPass location and opt to pay their dues online, they are not able to have any of the fee's waived. The call center wait times to call and speak to a representative are often lengthy and can take up to several hours on busy days to speak with a person to request any of the fees to be wived. In many circumstances Motorists have to speak to the DOT Directly rather than the EZ Pass call centers and have to wait for a callback to negotiate settlement offers. In many cases, even the settlement offers are upwards of $2500 and they will not allow any kind of payment plan opportunity to pay on the balance and keep their registration rights, leaving many residents unable to keep their jobs and limiting how far they can travel to obtain employment.

Our goal is not to evade our financial obligations to infrastructure maintenance but to alter the late fee policy to be more considerate and fair. Let's call upon the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to modify its current EZPass late fees system. The new system must promote a culture of responsibility without causing undue financial burden on its motorists. Please, sign this petition to advocate for a fairer EZPass late fee structure and remove the thens of thousands of dollars for New Hampshire Motorists that are no longer able to Register a Motor Vehicle in the State of New Hampshire due to the current balances on their accounts because of the astronomical cost of the current late schedule.