Rust, whose bill is known as HB 1295 while Herring's is SB 667, said officials at the Airports Authority approached the two about introducing the legislation. He said they told him they needed additional help in nabbing “backtrackers,” a term that describes motorists who cut through the airport in order to hop on the access road.
“This would just give them the technology they need to enforce this,” he said.
The four-lane road is sandwiched between the lanes of the Dulles Toll Road and dedicated solely to people coming and going to Dulles International Airport for airport business.
Courtney Prebich Mickalonis, a spokeswoman for the Airports Authority, said police handed out 1,172 citations in 2009 for misuse of the road, a fraction of what officials think are the actual violators, she said.
She said the reasons some people backtrack include avoiding the tolls and traffic on the Dulles Toll Road and being able to access the HOV lanes on Interstate 66 during rush hours.
“Our current traffic enforcement efforts are labor intensive,” she said. “Being able to use a photo-monitoring system or an automatic vehicle identification system will allow us to enforce this law more effectively.”
According to language in both bills, the system would work like those found at some traffic signals, as cameras would identify a violator then a ticket would be mailed out to the vehicle’s registered owner.
A fine of $50 would be levied on first-time offenders. But the fine would go up to $100 for a second offense in one year, $250 for a third offense within two years of the second offense and $500 for a fourth and all subsequent violations within three years from the second offense. Fines would be reduced if the motorist decides to waive any challenges to the violation and “prepay” the fine. An administrative fee of up to $100 would be added to tickets beyond the first violation.
John Townsend, manager of public and governmental affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said he understood the need for the technology but sympathized with those avoiding "the traffic and increased tolls" on the Dulles Toll Road. He suggested opening up the access road at a "small fee" to those commuting to and from work.
"They are prisoners of their geography," he said of backtrackers. "They already pay property taxes, and they are tired of being nickled and dimed."
Rust said the recent increase in tolls on the Dulles Toll Road likely played a part in the Airports Authority approaching him. He also said a similar system is being planned for the HOT lanes now being added to the Beltway, and because of this, he said he's confident his legislation would be approved this winter.
“This is not new technology,” he said, “so I think its chances would be pretty good.”
Both bills are currently being reviewed in the House and Senate. On Jan. 28, the Senate Transportation Committee approved Herring's bill 14-1.
This is a waste. How can you justify somebody who is illegally using the Airport Road? If you take a spin through the departure area, who's to say you didn't drop off a passenger and are now heading else where? Maybe you decided to get gas at the station by the rental vehicles. Maybe you decided to drive to FedEx at the airport, changed your mind, and kept on going and out the Airport Road to Tysons.
This high tech gear cannot determine what the scenario of why you are using the airport road. As such, any cases that go to court will never yield any convictions and likely waste more money than they collect.