Got charged for driving on a toll road and didn't even know it...

[cynatnite]

I'm pretty goddamn pissed about this. I don't do a lot of long distance driving. Back in November I went to Indiana to visit a sick friend. I got nothing in the mail about that. Then I went to see her again in January before she passed away. Still nothing.

Last month, the husband was injured and I had to drive to Montana to get him and bring him home.

Today, I get in the mail an invoice for $8. One for the second trip to Indiana and the other for Montana.

I didn't even know I was on a fucking toll road. There were no booths in order to pay.

I'm trying to figure this out and I read that they're all going to these transponders. On one hand, technology updates and I get that. On the other hand, I would rather pay then and there on the spot with cash.

More than anything, I feel violated, too. It's silly, I know, but it has the picture of my car and I had no idea that this was a thing.

It's damn infuriating.

[Else You Are Mad]

1. This is just a way...

To get late fees for people that forget or, like you, didn't know that the road was a toll road.

[jehop61]

2. Consider yourself lucky

Indiana just doubled their tolls. It's part of Interstate 80, a major east West road across the US. Owned by a French consortium, if I'm not mistaken.

[cynatnite]

4. Indiana can just go fuck itself...

No offense to DU Indianans.

If I have to take another long distance trip, my car will not cross into that state. I'll avoid the toll roads. Husband is a truck driver. He knows all the tricks.

[jehop61]

5. US 30

Pretty much follows the same route

[haele]

12. Until Drumpf's auction of the interstates is made on the Supreme Courthouse steps.

Along with our airports, dams, and national monuments.
Then every hundred miles or so we'll have to drop $10/$20 to yet another multi-national investment firm toll just to get to Grandma's.
And we'll need a $200 a month Multi-Pass just to commute to work every day if we have to take the interstate.
As for state highways - they're going to be stuck for funding, too.

Haele

[Chipper Chat]

15. A lot of the truckers go US 30 to avoid the tolls.

It's really rough on 4-wheelers tho. You are surrounded by trucks.

[Chipper Chat]

14. Spanish

[Tommy_Carcetti]

3. Florida does that around the Miami area.

They took away toll booths and if you don't have a Sunpass transponder, they just mail an invoice to the address listed in the vehicle registration.

[OriginalGeek]

25. Tampa does too

but they at least have big signs letting you know what roads are toll roads and what are not.

I guess on the plus side you are just getting charged the regular rate instead of a penalty for going on the toll road without paying. The fine for not paying the toll used to be much higher than the toll and they always had cameras so I guess they figured it would be just as easy to mail an invoice as it was to mail a summons.

I finally gave in and got Sunpass because you do get a tiny discount and I drive enough that avoiding toll roads is a PITA. The toll roads around Orlando are mostly shiny and new and WAY smoother than I-4 and other highways. And they are almost always empty so traffic is a breeze.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

27. Orlando is really weird.

They've got one non-tolled expressway in the entire city, I-4, which is almost always a parking lot.

But they've got lots and lots of tolled expressways, which run a lot smoother than I-4.

Basically, if you want to get anywhere fast, Orlando forces you to pay.

[OriginalGeek]

31. yep, or know surface streets lol.

After 30+ years here, I kinda know where I am...but they wore me down. I used to be adamant about not paying to drive on a emmreffing road that my gd taxes were supposed to be paying for already. Construction everywhere slows down most surface/non-toll roads and you just give up and get on the toll road to get anywhere.

I-4 is extra shitty right now as they are doing construction/expansion on it right in the middle of downtown.

[Lars39]

6. Got a second notice for the new ones in Louisville KY.

Did not get a first noticed. Paid by mail, but made copies of check and bill.
Are we supposed to buy these damned transponders for every state we travel thru? Takes more money upfront and if you don't use it all your sol getting it back.

[Blue_true]

16. The transponders are set up to be national. You can buy one that is recognized everywhere.

Unfortunately, both blue and red states view tolls as a source of revenue for road maintenance, which basically means cities and suburbs pay for their roads and for roads in the sticks.

[Lars39]

21. Buy one where? When you go to individual states they don't state that.

That would only give you the option of paying by mail unless there is a national account you can set up to deposit money into. Any info is welcome.

[Blue_true]

24. Contact your state Transportation Department.

I think you just pay your state and when you get dinged in another state for a toll, it is subtracted from your balance. I used the system a couple of years ago when I drove my personal car across several states, but not since. Normally I use a rental car within states and have the transponders added.

[Lars39]

36. Heh, TN doesn't have toll roads, so there's no system in place.

I think I'll be making calls to the states we go thru. Thanks!

[mythology]

26. In the northeast the transponders work across states

And the money put on the account doesn't expire.

[Wellstone ruled]

7. Montana Toll Road?

Where?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

20. I think it was a toll on the way to Montana, not in Montana. NT

[DAMANgoldberg]

42. E-470 outside Denver

If you are on the way to Montana from my part of the world, you will almost always pass through Denver to get there. E-470 is a toll road that starts at I-25 South and goes counterclockwise to the NW, ending at US 36 for now.

[LisaM]

8. Yeah, I don't like this one bit.

I agree, bring back the tollbooths (and the jobs for the people in them), if you're going to have toll roads.

[sharp_stick]

9. They removed all the booths in MA along the I90

as well as most of the booths in New York and New Jersey. They've gone to the transponder license plate method. If you have an EZPass it registers and charges your account. If not it takes a pic of your license plate and they mail an invoice.

Around here the toll roads and bridges are pretty well signed but I can see people being surprised. I think it beats the "oh shit a toll booth does anyone have any change?" surprise.

[unblock]

13. yeah, especially when you get to an unattended gate that won't lift until you find some change.

quite possibly by waiting for another car to show up behind you!

[Blue_Adept]

23. it's fantastic now that it's all transponders

I had gone in on them when they first started for work reasons (courier) and stuck with it afterward.

Now that all those massive booths are gone and all the traffic bottlenecks are gone it's a beautifully smooth ride.

[BigmanPigman]

10. That happened to me in LA 3 years ago!

[unblock]

11. i've never seen a toll road that didn't have proper signage, but

you can no longer rely on seeing the obvious old toll booths.

[haele]

17. Most of the time, you'll just go under one of those signs that go across all the lanes.

And that's where it starts. They have them on some of the California highways (especially ones built or extended after 1995) and HOV lanes, and while there's typically signage to warn you it's coming up in two/three miles, there's usually not a lot of options available that don't entail an additional half hour of driving. Only a few toll roads still have booths or ticket dispensors at the on-ramps/readers at the off-ramps.

What really sucks is when there's no access road or other local road that will run reasonably parallel to where you want to go if you don't have the cash or the transponder. You're stuck with a $4.00 to $8.00 invoice in the mail a week or so later.

Haele

[unblock]

22. that toll roads are increasingly common is a separate matter.

at least, i think this thread is mainly about the surprise aspect of it, if you're expecting to see old-fashioned toll booths.

one of the real annoyances with the newer toll road operations is that they can vary the toll based on time of day/traffic conditions, so you can't be certain when you plan your journey how much it's going to cost.

[Wellstone ruled]

18. In the Denver area

the 470 Toll Road could get you in a couple of spots. But,they have excellent signage,it is the on ramps that are a bit sneaky.

[Chipper Chat]

19. I crossed I-65 from Indiana into Louisville in April.

Still haven't got the bill but I know it will come eventually. Expect higher tolls and more toll roads in the future. Kim Jong Trump has to find new ways to pay for his fucking wall.

[snooper2]

28. It is perfectly legal to take pictures/video of you and your car in public

[Blue_Tires]

29. We have them here in VA

it's been polarizing to say the least...

[Freethinker65]

30. Open road tolling can be convenient but pricey.

If you find yourself needing to take toll roads for whatever reason, get the transponder for reduced rates. Also you can manage your account online and add different vehicles. We have one transponder for three vehicles because we knew only one of the cars would be using the toll roads at any time.

[PJMcK]

32. Many toll roads are changing to automatic tolling

I live on the east coast and we use a system called EZ-Pass. Many of the tolling stations are converting to a "No Cash Tolling" system. The governing authorities have installed many signs explaining the process. If you don't have an EZ-Pass transponder, they will photograph your license plate and send the bill to the registered owner. It has been a tremendous improvement in traffic management. The traffic backups that generally occur at toll plazas have been diminished and the reduced toll rates are welcomed by drivers.

Check the routes that you're traveling. Perhaps there are lower cost alternatives. However, I'm a huge fan of cash-free tolling because it keeps the traffic moving at a consistent pace.

[Not Ruth]

33. Paying a toll in cash provides jobs which may raise the cost of collecting the toll

[Igel]

34. Easy to do.

You probably missed the signage.

In Tx requirement that interstates and state highways have to be public, without tolls. They finished the 2nd ring road around Houston. Part of it is toll-free, part has tolls. So the official state highway in on the multilane highway for part of the way, and then it goes on the access or frontage road for the rest of the way.

Usually the first violation is forgiven.

[stopbush]

35. We have those in CA, but all toll roads have signage up the wazoo

including vebiage about length of time to pay before getting an additional fine.

[Historic NY]

37. Fairly soon there will be not toll booths in NY also..

new Tapan Zee bridge will be all electronic. We have E-Z pass and you do save with it. I added my other cars plates because a couple of yrs ago it wouldn't pick up the signal from my old 1947. I asked for the Velcro and they sent them on for all the cars.

[Alea]

38. Took the GW Bush turnpike to bypass Dallas

I knew it was a toll road but it was worth it to not sit in traffic on 635. I never saw a booth and wondered if I was getting a freeby, but got the bill for $7, 6 months later with a pic of my license plate. Still worth the $7 dollars.

Traffic was thick but fast moving. If there had been a toll booth at the end it would have been a huge backup.

35E was a nightmare and under construction but at least the trip around Dallas was nice.

[CanonRay]

39. That happened to me in England

crossing the Thames east of London. After I got home I got a bill for 34 POUNDS (about $60) from the toll authority and then a bill from the car rental company foam and additional 35 pounds for "handling". That MF was about $120 in tolls

[lostnfound]

40. Great way to keep riffraff immobile, and roads clear for the upper class. Nt

[nikibatts]

41. Get used to it. This is how the GOP plans to fund infrastructure re-building.

And this is how states will make up the difference in the transportation funds they previously received but will be cut by the GOP. The taxes on the wealthy will be reduced and the difference will be made up from such as tolls that most aren't even aware of and some private sector shenanigans.