Just got here, off to a bad start

[jerbroni]

Well I finally made it to WDW - we just checked in at CSR and are eagerly awaiting our 9:00 PS at HoB. However, on the way here I got a nasty surprise. I followed 417 to WDW just as the guy at the rental counter directed, but when it came time to pay the toll as we got off at exit #3, we realized it was exact change only, and we were 40 cents short! There wasn't anyone in the little kiosk, and there was no change machine. I ran back and asked the guy in the van behind me if he had change for $1, but he didn't. Not wanting to hold up the line any further, I jumped back in the car and blew the toll booth. Now I'm freaking out and worrying that the cops are going to be waiting for us when we get back from DTD tonight. OK so maybe that's a little excessive, but at any rate now I'm trying to decide how much my fine is going to be and how they're going to charge me as I'm in a rental car. My biggest fear is that I'll go to return this thing next week and I'll have an extra charge for $250 (or whatever the fine is) on there all because I was missing a lousy dime! HELP!

 

[llp479]

Here in IL if you don't have the change you have 48 hours, I believe, to call them and tell them you didnt' have change and they give you an address to send the money to. Maybe someone there, or at the rental car company, can help you.

 

[RamseyTrio]

I know that last time we were in Vancouver, BC my DH went through a yellow light that had turned red as we were driving through it. They had a camera there that caught it all on tape. We had a rental car that we had picked up in Seattle so they traced it to them and then the car company charged our Amex card and sent us all the paperwork. It took almost 3 months for us to even realize that it had happened! We could have disputed it but the time period had already passed since it was mailed to the car rental place instead of to us.

Hopefully there's an easy way for you to fix it on your end. I'm sure it happens quite a bit and I bet that the rental company can give you some info.

Enjoy your trip anyway!!!!

 

[kilee]

This happened to my sister last Oct in Florida too. She tried to pay at the next toll (which had a "real" person) but they didn't take it. She never did hear anything. What I don't understand is why they don't have signs warning you to exit now or have exact change-- what is with that?????

 

[Ted and Holly]

When my friend picked up his new Jeep off East Colonial drive, there was a toll getting back onto the highway. It was a 25 or 50 cent toll. We had 20 cents between us. There was no one around to ask for change, so he blew it.

He never heard a thing.

I do that drive up and down 417 fairly often. I have NEVER seen a booth unmanned by someone ready to hand out change and receipts.

I am trying to think, which is exit 3? Did you go all the way down 417 to I4?

Ted

 

[beavismom]

The same thing happened to us a couple of years ago and I was so freaked out. I ended up calling the highway patrol and they said it happens all the time and they don't do anything the first couple of times it happens or if it turns out to be a rental.

 

[bibbidiboo]

Tolls are un-American.

Don't let the Man get ya down, jerbroni!!

 

[LibertyBelle]

We live locally... Don't worry about it. I have accidentally run the tolls before... been in the E-Pass line thinking it was the exact change line, I have also done the same thing as you did...not had enough change at an unmanned toll. Don't worry.

Funny story for you, to ease your mind. There was a news story about this guy that had run the toll on the East West Expressway over 250 times in one year and they were just getting around to trying to find him. Now this guy had a souped up custom made car with a specailty Licensce plate, not too hard to track down right? Well it took them 250 toll violations to even begin looking for him. I don't think you have to worry about running one change toll

Enjoy your vacation... oh and when you head back to the airport, exit from CSR to the left and stay on that road go past the Caribbean Beach, stay in the right lane and it will force you to turn up onto the overpass (heading to I-4...but don't get on I-4) move over to the far left lane and keep going straight... that road will bring you directly onto 417 and all your tolls will be manned

Enjoy your vacation

 

[jerbroni]

You guys are great! Between the cocktails at HoB and your encouraging responses, I'm ready to enjoy the rest of my vacation! I'll follow up tomorrow with the outcome!

 

[jockey]

The same thing happened to me a while ago - we just drove through and never heard a thing!!

 

[G's mommy]

Same thing happened to me in June returning from MCO. I never heard a thing!

 

[Mamu]

Been there, done that!

 

[castawayfan]

Same exact thing happened to us in May. We had to go back through that toll later on in our trip so I put in extra money that time through just to ease my mind!! I did not breathe easier until we returned the rental car and noone said anything.

 

[WDSearcher]

They'll really only snag you if they discover that you've run tolls a number of times. Everyone gets one or two "grace" runs, I think, particularly tourists, because they generally don't know what tolls will be or aren't ready for them or whatever.

They'll likely run the plate and if this is the only transgression, they won't hunt you down to get their 40 cents. If, however, you continue to run tolls throughout your vacation, you may find some Florida State mail waiting for you upon your return home!

 

[Maridw]

Same type of thing happened to us in 2000.

We drove down and went a little different way then we have previously and there was construction, so I thought we had missed our exit. We were on the Florida Turnpike and so I had DH turn around and we went back (more tolls to pay). We are heading back towards WDW and the exit I thought we had missed, get to the first toll, DH misses the bucket.

Gave him another 50 cents and we head off. Get to the exit I thought was ours and find out it wasn't. So we keep going and finally get to our exit. We exit and the first sign I saw, looked like it said 50 cents and so we go to the Exact Change line, and we get there and its 75 cents. We start scrounging for the extra 25 cents and come up 5 cents short.

Since we now have people honking their horns, we just go on. The whole way to WDW we are figuring that when we get home we will have a fine waiting in the mail.

The whole trip actually started off wrong, when we locked the house and found we didn't have a house key. So we had to break into the house to get a key before we could leave. Then once we get through the day at the parks, we go to get ready for bed and I have no pj's. So we had to walk to the main building and buy me some pj's.

So if blowing the toll is the only thing that happens on the trip, count yourself lucky.

 

[PrincessDadx2]

Happened to me in NYC at the George Washington Bridge. I ended up in the EZpass lane and couldn't get out. 1 month later I got a letter from NY asking for the $6 or I could pay a fine of $25. Since this was the first time they let me pay the toll. I guess $6 is enough to come after someone

 

[DizBelle]

If there were no signs to warn you that the toll up ahead would accept exact change only and that you need to get off at the next either manned or non-toll exit, then I wouldn't worry about it. If there was a booth at the toll plaza that could have been manned but wasn't, there was no way you could have known that exact change would have been required.

Here in Houston, if it is late, some of the exit booths are not manned and the gates are up. I figure they determined that they would have to pay more to man the booth at that time than they collected in tolls. Could this have been the case there?