It’s not every day that we celebrate the state making an example of someone. In fact, we’re far more likely to call for care and compassion when it comes to handing down punishment on an individual or group of people who have run afoul of the law.

But here we are: Friday, Aug. 4, the deadline for those with unpaid Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls to either pay up or face suspended vehicle registrations and more fines and fees as the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission moves aggressively to collect what they’re owed.

We hope motorists take advantage of the opportunity to make things right when it comes to unpaid turnpike tolls. But there should be no sympathy for those who choose not to and face these additional financial punishments.

There may be instances where motorists have incorrectly made their way onto the Turnpike’s list of delinquent payers. But they are surely a tiny minority compared to the tens of thousands of drivers who simply chose not to pay their fair share for using the road.

Many have already made things right with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, which instituted a partial amnesty program earlier this summer after being empowered last year to work with state transportation officials and suspend the vehicle registrations of drivers who still refuse to pay — and there are a lot of them.

Last month the Commission said that there were 10,611 motorists who owed at least $500 in tolls or late fees. And Butler County is no shining example of keeping toll accounts current. The county is home to 1,507 motorists who owe the Commission a total of $105,000 in unpaid tolls and violation fees.

That represents a fraction of the $17.1 million owed by the worst toll scofflaws statewide, but it’s still a shameful and inexcusable total.

It’s not as if the Commission hasn’t tried to recoup these unpaid tolls and violation fees, either; the scofflaws have collectively been sent more than 280,000 violation notices and invoices.

That’s more than enough of a good-faith effort to feel completely justified in declaring these people unabashed freeloaders who use the turnpike for free while the rest of us struggle to keep it in good shape and pay tolls that have increased every year for nearly a decade.

Perhaps it seemed to many toll violators that they would never be taken to account for their behavior. And it did take far too long for the state to give the Commission the tools it needed to actually go after these people. But late is better than never when it comes to these irresponsible and freeloading motorists getting their comeuppance.

Today’s that day. Time to pay up.