If you have driven on toll roads in California, it’s possible you may have missed paying a toll if your transponder malfunctioned or you did not have one. Toll violations occur when a driver goes through a toll plaza without paying the required toll. This often happens by accident if a transponder fails to read or a driver takes a different route than normal and ends up on a toll road by mistake. Fortunately, there are ways to find out if you have any outstanding toll violations in California and take care of them.
What Happens if I Miss a Toll Payment in California?
When you go through an electronic toll plaza in California without paying, the toll agency will use your license plate information captured by cameras to look up your address. They will mail you a notice that you missed a toll and give you the option to pay the toll amount due, plus any applicable fees based on how long it takes you to pay.
If you do not respond to this first notice, a second notice with additional fees will be sent. If you continue to ignore the notices, you may be contacted by a collection agency and have holds placed on your vehicle registration until all tolls and fees are paid. This can prevent you from renewing your registration.
Ultimately, failing to pay tolls and fees can negatively impact your credit score and lead to being taken to court. Acting promptly to address any potential toll violations is important to avoid additional costs.
How Do I Check for Toll Violations in California?
There are a few ways you can proactively check if you have any outstanding toll violations in California:
Review Correspondence from Toll Agencies
Carefully go through any mail you’ve received from toll road agencies in California. Unpaid toll notices will be mailed to the address where your vehicle is registered. Look for letters from the following agencies:
– FasTrak – Sends notices for tolls on all bridges managed by the Bay Area Toll Authority, including the Golden Gate Bridge.
– The Toll Roads – Covers tolls associated with Orange County’s SR-73, SR-133, SR-241 and SR-261 toll roads.
– Transportation Corridor Agencies – Manages tolls on SR-73, SR-133, SR-241 and SR-261 in Orange County.
– Caltrans – Handles tolls on state-owned bridges like the Bay Bridge and San Diego-Coronado Bridge.
– Regional toll operators – Various regional transportation agencies may send notices.
Check Your FasTrak Account
If you have a FasTrak account for electronic tolling, log into your account online or via the mobile app to view your notices and trip history. This will show any toll crossings that did not register with your transponder. You can pay directly through FasTrak to resolve most violations quickly.
Contact Toll Agencies Directly
You can contact toll operators directly to inquire if your license plate or Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) has any outstanding violations:
– FasTrak – Call 1-800-600-6841
– The Toll Roads – Call 1-949-727-4800
– Transportation Corridor Agencies – Call 1-949-727-4800
– Caltrans – Call 511 and say “violations” to speak with a representative
When you call or email, they will check their databases and let you know if there are any tolls due on your account.
Request Your Violation Record from DMV
You can complete a Toll Violation Request form through the California DMV to check if you have any unpaid tolls or associated fees on your record. The DMV compiles this information from all toll operators in the state.
Complete the online request form here: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/file/request-for-toll-violation-stopper-payment-of-toll-evasion-violation-lexisnexis-form-reg-256/
There is a $5 processing fee and you will receive a mailed report showing your outstanding violations.
Check Online Databases
Some toll agencies maintain public online databases you can search for violations by license plate:
FasTrak: https://violationinfo.fastrak.org/
Transportation Corridor Agencies: https://www.thetollroads.com/violation/violationSearch.do
If your license plate appears with unpaid tolls, you can proceed to pay directly through the site.
What Do I Do if I Have Unpaid Tolls?
If you discover from any of these check methods that you have outstanding toll violations in California, you will want to resolve them right away to avoid additional fees. Here is what to do:
Pay the Tolls Directly
The fastest option is to pay the toll amounts directly through the agency’s website, by phone, or mail. Most accept credit card and checking account payments. This will stop the violations from being escalated further.
Be sure to follow any instructions that come with your toll notice for where to make the payment. The notice will indicate the precise amount past due.
Dispute Erroneous Tolls
If you find violations for tolls you do not believe you should have incurred, first contact the toll operator to contest them. There is typically an appeals process to have wrongly assessed tolls and fees removed.
You may need to provide evidence like proof of a transponder malfunction on the date in question. Be persistent if you are certain there was an error.
Request an Amnesty Program
Some toll agencies like FasTrak provide one-time amnesty or indigent programs that allow certain qualifying customers to have their penalties and fees reduced or waived. You typically need to prove low income eligibility.
Sign up for a Payment Plan
If you are unable to pay the full amount of accumulated tolls and violations immediately, you may be able to enter into a payment plan directly through the toll agency. This allows you to pay over time while avoiding further escalation.
Be sure to make the agreed upon payments on time to avoid being in further violation. FasTrak offers payment plans online: https://www.bayareafastrak.org/en/support/payment-plans.html.
How Can I Avoid Tolls and Violations in California?
Now that you have addressed any past due toll violations, here are some tips to avoid running into issues going forward:
Get a Transponder
Opening a FasTrak account and mounting their transponder tag in your vehicle ensures automatic scanning and payment at most toll plazas in California. This significantly reduces errors and missed tolls that lead to violations.
Order your transponder here: https://www.bayareafastrak.org/en/howitworks/getatag.shtml
Pay Attention to Signs
Watch for signs indicating you are approaching a toll plaza on highways and bridges. This gives you time to change lanes if needed to go through an automated lane. Absence of signs is generally not considered a valid reason for missing a toll.
Have Cash Ready
Some toll booths in California are cash-only. Have $1 to $10 in bills ready to hand the attendant to cover common toll costs for passenger vehicles.
Avoid Tolls If Needed
Use mapping apps to check for toll roads along your route. You may be able to opt for a toll-free alternative if the time difference is acceptable. This avoids putting yourself at risk of violations.
Check Your Balance
If you have a FasTrak account, log in periodically to check your balance is sufficient for upcoming toll travel. Add funds anytime to avoid low balance violations. You can also set up autoload options.
Conclusion
Missed tolls can easily happen to anyone driving California’s many pay roads and bridges. But unpaid toll notices escalate quickly to fines, holds on vehicle registration, and hits to your credit. Fortunately by remaining vigilant with your correspondence, proactively contacting toll agencies, and keeping valid payment methods on file, you can avoid most California toll violations or address them promptly. Leveraging payment plans, amnesty programs, and disputes can also help resolve legitimate outstanding tolls that have piled up. With all the proper tools and knowledge, you can make sure tolls don’t take a real toll on you.
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Transit in California relies heavily on toll roads and bridges to fund operations, maintenance, and expansion projects. With some of the most congested corridors in the nation, tolling helps manage traffic while generating transportation revenue. The State Route 73, 133, 241 and 261 toll roads in Orange County are examples of how tolling provides congestion relief on parallel free routes like I-5. And bridges often cannot be financially feasible without tolls, like the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
But with more than 150 toll facilities statewide, it is easy for California drivers to inadvertently miss a toll and get hit with violations and fines. Unpaid tolls most frequently happen due to:
No valid FasTrak transponder – Vehicles still must pay even if no notice signs are posted.
Expired or depleted prepaid balance – FasTrak will try to replenish but may not collect in time.
Defective or improperly mounted transponder – It needs to be unobstructed for readers to detect.
Driving a different vehicle – The transponder may not be transferred over.
Taking an unfamiliar route – Drivers may end up on toll roads unintentionally.
Rushing the gate – Vehicles may clip through before the system can register.
Not carrying cash – Some booths are still cash only and exact change is needed.
Cameras capturing the rear plate – If no transponder, the toll agency looks up the registered owner.
With toll-by-plate, even out-of-state drivers are billed by mail for California tolls weeks or months later. But addresses may lag behind DMV records, leading to missed notices and escalating fees.
How toll violation notices progress:
1st Notice – Mailed to the vehicle’s registered address within 21 days. $25 fee added in most cases. 30 days to pay before it escalates.
2nd Notice – Mailed after 30 days of nonpayment. The toll amount and fees double, up to $70 maximum.
Final Notice – Mailed after another 30 days without payment. Additional fees up to hundreds more dollars. May be sent to collections.
Registration Hold and DMV Penalties – May place a hold on vehicle registration renewal. Can also suspend driver’s license.
Collections – Unpaid violations are assigned to collection agencies after 90 days. They may pursue payment in court.
FasTrak Violations – FasTrak sends an initial Notice of Toll Evasion and assesses a $25 penalty per incident if not paid promptly. Repeated violations can lead to cancellation of your account, fees up to $500 per toll, and collections.
Avoiding toll violations takes diligence. But some key steps can help:
– Keep your address updated with the DMV so notices go to your current location.
– Check the mail promptly and open all letters from transportation agencies. The timeframes to pay or contest tolls are short.
– Set up autopay and notifications in your FasTrak account to avoid low balance issues.
– Know when your transponder battery needs replacement and renew old tags.
– Review your routes occasionally and call agencies directly to check for any violations.
– If leased plates are transferred to a new vehicle, update the toll operator promptly.
– Pay attention to road signs indicating toll plazas – unawareness is generally not a defense.
If you do incur violations, act quickly to resolve them:
– Pay immediately online or by phone if the amounts are still relatively small. This prevents them from ballooning.
– Dispute erroneous tolls and provide evidence like transponder malfunction records.
– Request fine reduction based on financial hardship if you qualify.
– Set up manageable payment plans – make the payments on time or they may be cancelled.
– Contact the agency first for resolution – avoid waiting for collections agencies to pursue you.
California’s complex toll road systems make violations an easy mistake. But staying vigilant in payment and record keeping can help identify issues early while they are still affordable to address. Drivers should learn the proper dispute and amnesty avenues as well in case legitimate violations stack up over time. With sound toll road practices, Californians can travel the state’s infrastructure smoothly without breaking the bank.