West Virginia Code 17-16D-6 – Liability of owner
(a) All owners and operators of motor vehicles shall pay the posted toll when on any toll road, highway, or bridge authorized by the Legislature, including any toll collected by a private toll transportation facility pursuant to § 17-17-38 of this code, either by paying the toll at a toll collection facility on the toll road, highway, or bridge at the time of travel thereon or by paying the toll within the time prescribed for toll payment in a toll billing notice or invoice generated by an electronic toll collection system. These tolls may be collected by electronic toll collection. If an owner or operator of a vehicle fails to pay the prescribed toll when due, the owner of the vehicle is in violation of this article.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 17-16D-6
- Electronic toll collection: means a system of collecting tolls or charges that has or includes the capability of charging an account holder, owner or operator of a vehicle for the prescribed toll:
(A) By electronic transmission of information between a device on a vehicle and a device located in a toll lane or otherwise used at a toll collection facility. See West Virginia Code 17-16D-2
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Owner: means any person in whose name a motor vehicle is registered under:
(A) Article three, chapter seventeen-a of this code. See West Virginia Code 17-16D-2
- Parkways Authority: means the West Virginia Parkways Authority established by article sixteen-a of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 17-16D-2
- Toll road: means any road, highway or bridge in this state upon which there is a toll administered, collected and enforced by the Parkways Authority or on behalf of the Authority. See West Virginia Code 17-16D-2
- Video collection system: means a vehicle sensor, placed in a location to work in conjunction with a toll collection facility, that automatically produces a videotape or photograph, microphotograph or other recorded image of the front or rear portion, or both front and rear portion, of each vehicle at the time the vehicle is used or operated on the toll facility in order to charge or collect tolls or detect violations of this article. See West Virginia Code 17-16D-2
(b) If a violation occurs, the registration plate number of the vehicle as recorded by a video collection system establishes a rebuttable presumption for civil enforcement purposes that the owner of the vehicle was operating the vehicle, or had consented to another person operating the vehicle, at that time. This presumption may be overcome only if the owner: (1) proves by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she was not in fact operating the vehicle at the time; and (2) identifies by name and mailing address the person who was operating the vehicle.
(c) If the presumption is not overcome by a preponderance of the evidence, the owner of the vehicle shall be found to have violated this article and be held responsible for payment of the tolls and the administrative fees and money penalties imposed by this article for failure to timely pay the tolls.
(d) Nothing in this section prohibits: (1) A law-enforcement officer from issuing a citation to a person in control of a vehicle for a violation of this article or other provisions of law at the time of the violation; (2) the Parkways Authority from issuing reminder notices or making other communications directly or indirectly in connection with toll collection efforts or efforts to enforce violations of this article. The Parkways Authority is authorized to use secondary sources of information and services including, but not limited to, services such as the National Change of Address Service or skip tracing services; or (3) a private toll transportation facility from issuing any notices, reminders, or other communications in connection with its toll collection efforts pursuant to §17-17-38(c) and §17-17-38(d) of this code.