I don't have a EZ tag or Texas Tag and took the grand parkway. Its been over two months and I have not received a statement. Should I contact them or not worry about it? My license plates are up for renewal in May and I really don't want to have a problem getting renewed.
Is your vehicle registration address correct? Cameras capture your licence plate number which is used to get your address then they mail you a ticket. If your registration address is correct and you did not receive ticket then you may have squeaked by. You could just call them and ask. http://www.fbctra.com/faqs/violations-tvn-s.html
If you've never violated a toll before you're probably ok. I think you're allowed two violations before they start fining you. If you do end up receiving something, just get an EZ tag and pay the tolls. It'll be much cheaper than paying the fines.
I don't understand why they don't use the same system they do with the Central Texas tolls. No penalty for using the toll road. If you don't have a TxTag, they simply mail you a bill for the full toll. While 1, 130 and 45 in Austin are not used nearly as much and it was a way to generate more traffic, it keeps cars moving. You'd almost eliminate rush hour traffic on the tollways if you eliminated the booths. Plus, people are more likely to pay if there aren't fines attached.
They'll send you a statement with a fine on the 3rd offense. Then, you'll have the option of getting an eztag and getting the fine waived or paying the $30+ fine and tolls.
Because when you steal something you don't just pay for the cost of the stolen item. And they have to incur the cost to mail your bill to you, including time and materials.
So make it not stealing and tack $1.15 on (as TxTag does) for "administrative fees". That covers the paper and the stamp.
I have no problem with that except the fee has to be higher, while staying reasonable. If you think about it, they have to buy these high tech equipment (cameras, OCR devices, etc) to be able to catch these toll runners. So when the toll runners get caught they are essentially subsidizing that cost.
It would be nice to lose the tolls booths, the problem is that you'd have a lot of people that would just cheat and not pay the bills they got the in the pail. Ultimately you'd spend more money going after them for the tolls and fines. Whenever the honor system comes into play, people will cheat. Just look at the little HOV/EzTag lane on the Katy Freeway. People cheat on that thing right and left.
They have it pretty well patrolled around the toll booths, at least when we're driving home. Seems like there's always at least one cop at the toll booth along with another one a little further down. They've also recently made changes to the HOV lane in Katy to make it much better for car-poolers and to cut down on violators. That said, you hear stories about people owing crazy amounts in violations, so plenty of people would skate by, I'm sure.
Why would anyone not have a toll tag? You can register online and it only takes $40 at a time. Anyway OP you should just call, tell them your story and say you want to register for a toll tag. I'm 100% sure they would waive your fee/penalty.
I knew something looked different with the HOV through Katy. I believe they added the pylons to the exits, so cars would stop entering at the HOV exits.
Best advice is to cover your license plates when traveling on toll ways. Sure it's illegal, but when a few dollars can be saved, you do what you gotta do.
Just an FYI, don't let unpaid tolls go too long - they will try to **** you and it takes FOREVER to get someone on the phone or in person that can help you. A few years ago my credit card was stolen, so I cancelled it. I completely forgot to change the card on EzTag's site and within a month I racked up about $1500 in penalties even though I never received a notice in the mail. I only found out after a hold was put on my registration. Long story short, it took me hours on the phone and a few months to clear up. EzTag is run by morons... so I went with TxTag.
NTTA is DFW is just as bad as EzTag. You don't need a toll tag to use their system. I move and they mail to my old address. They finally mail to my correct address in three different letters going up to about 700 total. I called the first time and they didn't do anything. Hung up and called again and got all the fees knocked off and only had to pay $50. Went out and bought a txtag later on and haven't had issues.
