It’s ironic state lawmakers are looking at punitive measures to increase toll collections on the state Turnpike.

After all, it was legislators and Gov. Tom Wolf who created this mess by instituting cashless tolls on the Turnpike and, in turn, making it harder for some people to pay tolls in the first place — an attempt at simplicity and maximizing revenue by cutting costs also introduced into the tolling system some new hassles for a populace that was accustomed to a certain way of doing things. In a state where many cling to the old ways of doing things, who didn’t see an unwillingness to get an E-Z Pass transponder coming a mile away, other than those who make these decisions at the state level?

Now, in an effort to collect unpaid tolls totaling more than $150 million, legislators are looking for ways to force people to pay up. Sen. Marty Flynn, D-Scranton, is looking for co-sponsors for legislation he is drafting that would require drivers to pay their outstanding tolls and late fees before re-registering their vehicle. At the same time, Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Bethlehem, is circulating a co-sponsorship memo for legislation she is drafting that would garnish lottery winnings and state tax refunds for those with unpaid tolls.

Some people will have to be shocked into changing their habits, so a hold on registration renewals for those owing toll money may be useful.

What’s curious is why some punitive measures weren’t part of the original cashless tolling proposals in the first place? As we said, it shouldn’t have come as a shock that some wouldn’t pay tolls, either through wanton disregard for tolls or less nefarious reasons like simply being busy and not thinking about paying toll-by-mail bills after a trip is done. Either way, other states’ experiences with cashless tolling should have told us not every dollar owed was going to be quickly collected.

Drivers need to pay the money they owe, but this debacle also is evidence that cashless tolling was poorly handled in Pennsylvania from the very beginning.