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VERIFY: Can you get a speeding ticket from the cameras on toll lanes?

Virginia and DC commuters already have to pay to drive the toll lanes. Can you also get ticketed for speeding? A viewer asked our Verify team to look into it.

WASHINGTON — QUESTION:

Are the cameras on toll roads and E-ZPass lanes used to catch speeders? Do people monitoring the cameras notify highway patrol officers or the police if the public is speeding? 

ANSWER:

No, cameras on the toll lanes cannot be used to issue speeding tickets

SOURCES:

Mike McGurk -- Transurban spokesperson

PROCESS:

From missed tolls to red light cameras and speed traps, there are many ways to get caught while driving in the DMV. Recently, a viewer asked our Verify team to find out whether cameras on toll lanes are after speeders.

"I want to know if cameras on toll roads and  E-ZPass lanes are used to catch speeders?" a viewer wrote in an email. "Do people monitoring the cameras notify highway patrol officers or the police if the public is speeding?"

Our Verify researchers spoke to Mike McGurk, a spokesperson for Transurban, the toll road operators on I-95, I-495 and I-395.

"No, the cameras cannot be used to issue speeding tickets," McGurk said.

RELATED: VERIFY: Can you get a refund if you forget to switch your E-ZPass Flex to HOV?

Transurban has two types of cameras. If you’re driving on the toll lanes without an E-ZPass, cameras on the gantry will snap a picture of your license plate. They send the DMV those plate numbers, so they have your address on record to send out bills. 

The other cameras help Transurban manage accidents on the road and help with daily reversals. 

So, we can Verify that no, toll lane cameras can't be used to ticket you.

That said, if Transurban's team sees anyone driving recklessly, like swerving, they can alert police. 

"They don’t look for that type of thing as part of their primary duties, it would just be coincidental," McGurk said. "After being notified, a trooper would still have to observe the driver committing the behavior in order to issue a ticket."

It's essentially the same thing as someone calling 911 to report it

RELATED: VERIFY: Yes, police need to pay on Virginia toll lanes, but only when they're off the clock

RELATED: VERIFY: What do you get for your money when using I-66 tolls?

RELATED: VERIFY: How are toll prices determined on Virginia's I-495 and I-95 Express Lanes?

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