Legality of 'Toll by plate' system

Flea0320

New Member
Jurisdiction
Pennsylvania
I travel from WV to PA on average 1 / month. At some point the toll booths were converted to electronic, which means they snap photo of plate and send a bill. I am not a resident of PA so here's the question I have. 1) With the new toll system, there are higher rates, late payment fees, or terms and conditions I didn't initially 'agree' to the first time I drove through the new toll. I am assuming after my first bill and subsequent trip through toll is considered implied consent, but for that first trip through, no fees posted or any other relevant information that would inform a decision to exit toll road or if in agreement with fees / terms, proceed. Why is this legal? And is the legality of it at all affected by my not being a PA resident?

TIA
 
Why is this legal?

You might wish to ask the Governor, the Attorney General, or any of the legislators of PA about the legalities of automated toll collection.



is the legality of it at all affected by my not being a PA resident?

You might wish to ask the Governor, the Attorney General, or any of the legislators of PA about the legalities of their commonwealth regarding the treatment of nonresidents.

You could also ask any of your elected federal officials, including the person occupying the White House.
 
Why is this legal?

I suspect that there is a statute somewhere that allows for it and says that anybody using the turnpike consents to it.

There's a concept in law called "knew or should have known."

The changeover was publicized last year.

And is the legality of it at all affected by my not being a PA resident?

No.

You used the turnpike, you pay for its use

Now that you know, I believe you can set up an EZ PASS account for lower rates.

Or, you can refuse to pay, hire a lawyer, and spend thousands being a test case.
 
With the new toll system, there are higher rates, late payment fees, or terms and conditions I didn't initially 'agree' to the first time I drove through the new toll.

I don't understand what you're saying. Are you suggesting that, at some point, you entered into a verbal or written agreement (with whom?) regarding the terms under which you could/would drive the road(s) in question?

I am assuming after my first bill and subsequent trip through toll is considered implied consent, but for that first trip through, no fees posted or any other relevant information that would inform a decision to exit toll road or if in agreement with fees / terms, proceed. Why is this legal? And is the legality of it at all affected by my not being a PA resident?

You not living in PA is irrelevant. When you choose to drive on highways in PA, you are subject to all applicable laws.

As for the rest of this, I have no idea how things work in PA, but where I live, when you drive on a toll road, you can do one of three things to avoid paying anything beyond the applicable toll: (1) get an account with the toll road company and carry a transponder in your vehicle; (2) after about 24 hours following your use of a toll road, log onto the toll road website and pay the toll online; or (3) wait to get a bill in the mail and pay the toll within a certain number of days.
 
Why is this legal?

Because when you hop on a toll road you are agreeing to pay the tolls for that. If you haven't looked into the tolls before you get on the road you take the risk the tolls are going to be more than you think. So, if you are not sure what the tolls are then you may want to avoid the toll road altogether if you don't like surprises. It's pretty common that there are no signs with a detailed list of the toll charges before you get on, and not just in the US. When I drove through France and Italy years ago it was the same deal: you see a sign alerting you it's a toll road but the rates were not posted; one needed to research it ahead of time if one wants to know what those tolls are.

And is the legality of it at all affected by my not being a PA resident?

No. The rules apply to you once you make the choice to get on that road. State residency makes no difference.
 
4. Avoid the turnpike and take a different route.

I generally agree with this.

That did not prevent me from having my EXPass account charged for going through a toll near Buffalo erroneously: my car was on the opposite side of NY state at the time. There was no photographic proof accessible on my account, so I don't know if someone misread the plate, or if it was an out of state plate that was misidentified.

What OP is griping about is easily remedied: get an EZPass account in whatever state you're most likely to use it to minimize your costs. And watch your statements like a hawk, contesting billing errors immediately. Link to a credit card, not a debit card.
 
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