Fleet toll management can be challenging because there are many duties required to keep the fleet on the roads. A common problem that can impact profitability and efficiency is the management of tolls and violations. The bigger your fleet, the higher the likelihood that toll fees will slip through the cracks – resulting in fines and inconvenient paperwork.
Instead of focusing on the most important fleet management tasks, you might find yourself dealing with fee invoices and toll disputes all day long. The truth is that tolls are an unavoidable part of managing the fleet. But there are ways to simplify this process so you can avoid stress and headaches in the future.
What are Toll Violations?
If you receive a toll violation, then it means that one of the trucks in your fleet made a mistake on a toll road. For example, violations are often sent when:
- Drivers use the wrong lanes at the toll station
- The truck passed through the toll incorrectly
- Driving through the toll with a deactivated pass
- Using certain toll lanes without a transponder in the vehicle
- Having insufficient funds in the transponder account
- Using a transponder that is not properly mounted in the vehicle
- Using the transponder in a vehicle other than the registered vehicle for that device
- Driving an unregistered vehicle through the toll
- Drivers breaking the facility’s rules
- Toll fees are unpaid and overdue
- A toll transponder didn’t work correctly
Keep in mind that these are common reasons why toll violations occur. However, the specific rules and requirements vary depending on the toll facilities and state regulations. Drivers need to know about these general guidelines so they don’t break the rules. At the same time, it’s important that every member of the team knows about location-specific toll violations based on the state.
Not only will an invoice come through for the amount due, but there are also fines and late fees if the payment was missed. If this paperwork gets lost in the mail or goes unnoticed, then the financial consequences are even higher.
Who is Responsible for Toll Violations?
As the person responsible for fleet toll management, it can be frustrating to receive unexpected toll violations in the mail. Not only do the drivers hold responsibility for a toll roads violation, but the vehicle owner also shares responsibility. If you are the fleet manager, then it’s likely that the notice of violation will be sent to you, or a different person in the company who has their name on the vehicle registration.
Receiving a “pay toll violation” notice in the mail has two purposes. First, the toll company is notifying you of the violation. Not only are they letting you know about the problem, but this notification can also help to avoid the risk of the same issue occurring again in the future. Second, the toll violation notice is requesting money for the toll, as well as any associated administrative fees.
What Happens if You Don’t Pay a Toll Violation?
You will see a timeline listed on the toll violation, and you must respond during this time frame. As the person responsible for fleet toll management, you might be wondering what will happen if a toll violation payment is missed or overlooked.
It’s important to stay ahead of these payments and notifications, because serious consequences can occur if you aren’t proactive with taking care of the situation. During the stated period of time on the toll violation notification, you have the option to respond by 1) disputing the violation, or 2) paying the requested amount.
Failing to respond usually results in additional fees that need to be paid. If the notice goes unanswered for too long, then it can cause even bigger problems, such as a suspension of the vehicle’s registration. Eventually, unanswered toll violations can impact your car insurance policy for the fleet or even result in the loss of your operator’s driver’s license due to a suspension.
Toll Violations Add Up
Even though tolls can be relatively affordable, the violations can really add up. For example, if the toll fee is $5.50 but a violation occurs, then you might receive an invoice for the $5.50 payment plus a late fee of $50 – totaling $55.50 that must be paid to resolve the toll roads violation.
If you miss the first notice of violation, then another notice will be sent – with an additional fee added on. These fees continue going up the longer the toll violation goes unanswered.
These late fees and missed payment penalties can really stack up, especially if you have a large fleet on the road. So, toll management is critical to managing overhead costs and avoiding unnecessary payments.
Toll Management Tips: Handling Violations
If you are responsible for fleet toll management, how are you handling the toll violations that are coming through? It’s important that you act fast to reduce the overall amount that needs to be spent.
First, make sure that the violation has been rightfully issued. You need to be sure that the violation is valid and not a violation for another company that was mistakenly sent to you. Then, follow these steps to take care of the toll violation:
- Check All Information: Read through the violation notice in detail. Pay attention to specific information, such as the name, license plate, and more. Look at the provided image to see if it is clear or blurry. For example, if the image is blurred, then there could be clerical errors that resulted in the violation being sent to the wrong driver.
- Do You Own the Vehicle: Once you establish that the toll violation applies to one of your vehicles, then determine whether the vehicle is still in your fleet. If the vehicle has recently been sold, then you probably don’t need to pay the fees and charges.
- Check the Transponder and Accounts: Why did the unpaid fee come through? Make sure that your prepaid toll account has a sufficient balance to cover the tolls. Also, check the transponder to make sure the pass is active.
- Pay As Soon As Possible: After reviewing the information, it’s best to respond to the violation as soon as possible. If you can’t take care of the payment right now, then mark your calendar with the deadline to avoid additional charges.
Help With Fleet Toll Management
It can be challenging to keep up with toll management and violations, which is why it makes sense to hire the experts for assistance. At Innovative Toll Solutions, we offer full-service solutions to simplify your management systems. Contact us today to see how we can help.