Thursday, June 26, 2008

my e-mail to the IL DOT

To Whom It May Concern at the Illinois Department of Transportation:

We are driving cross country from San Diego, California to Toronto, Canada with our three-year-old triplets and one-year old baby. We're currently on I-80 east and just crossed over to Gary, Indiana.

My husband, who did not have a sufficient amount of coffee this morning and is suffering the effects of a 2,235-mile road trip with four children under the age of four (and a wife/copilot who was on a conference call), did not realize that he was supposed to be in the right lane to pay a $0.60 toll and was instead, in the far left lane with the cars who have Fast Passes.

If Illinois is anything like California, I suspect that there are cameras to take photos of cars that do not pay tolls - and the drivers will be sent an invoice in the mail to cover the cost of the toll, shipping and handling and postage. Usually the bill for missing a toll is around $40.00.

If you could please respond to this e-mail with an address where I can send $0.60, my husband will be forever grateful.

Sincerely,

Jen

13 comments:

  1. Been there, here is the link to pay.http://www.illinoistollway.com/portal/page?_pageid=133,1407950&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

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  2. Oops! What a pain. Coming around Chicago on I-80 is a pain, so many tolls.

    If you come through Ohio on I-80 too, think of me, I'm not far away. ;)

    I love hearing about your trip and it sounds like a lot of fun.

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  3. Sorry, link won't work. Try www.illinoistollway.com then missed toll.

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  4. You have SEVEN DAYS to get the toll paid:
    How to Pay a Missed Toll

    Pay Online
    Credit/Debit Card Only

    Please have the following information available before proceeding to the Missed Tolls Payment site:

    Vehicle owner's name and contact information
    Vehicle license plate information - state, type*, number
    Date and time when the incident(s) occurred
    Identify road and Toll Plaza location(s) where the incident(s) occurred
    *If you have specialty plates, (e.g., pet friendly, environmental...)this needs to be specified

    http://www.illinoistollway.com/portal/page?_pageid=133,1496139&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

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  5. And, when you get the bill, I would be surprised if the toll is actually sixty cents. As a Chicagoland driver I know the tolls are usually a more scary amount, and if you do not have an I-Pass whatever amount they might have on the sign is actually doubled (sticking it to the tourists!).

    But, yeah, it is no big deal to get straightened out. Certainly not a big enough problem to diminish the fun of your road trip! Thanks for the updates - it's great to read.

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  6. Don't worry - Ive blown enough tolls to realize they only get about 1 in 10. The odds are in your favor. And believe it or not, even here in NY , the people in charge are easy to deal with.

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  7. Too funny! Sorry it happened though - just becomes a huge pain. I admire your guts to go so far in the car with the kiddos. We just drove from VA to FL a few weeks ago and are heading back next week and I dread it! Of course, we do all 900 miles or 17 hours in one day - few stops. Thank God for Elmo!!

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  8. Gary? Golly Gee I believe you all are making your deadline. Go Charles Go!

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  9. You guys were in my state today! Yay! But yes, the Illinois police are very strict about speed limits and camp out near border to catch unsuspecting motorists, so I suspect that they would be just as strict about this.
    I hope this rest of your drive in Illinois was enjoyable!

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  10. In response to another response...they are pretty strict about the tolls...although they don't send you the bill right away...just pay it online or if go home by way of IL, ask for an envelope to pay for a missed toll. Funny/not so funny story...when I was dating my husband, he had to take the tollroad on the way to work when they first started I-Pass...he went through various times...not sure if he just didn't get it or what...they caught up with him and he had a $400 fine for what could have been about $5 or so in tolls...He never did that again!

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  11. HA! I'm amazed that you're able to blog on your trip, but enjoying it. I hope everything goes well for you. We did about 5000 miles with three 18-month-olds and a 4 yr-old. My husband asked if I wanted to do it again this summer and I said "I don't think so!"

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  12. Been there, done that in Pennsylvania when visiting my family (from NJ). I had to redeem a ticket as well and pay about the same 60 cents or so and so I held on to both and sent it in with my check. If I didn't have that ticket they wouldn't know where I came from and have to pay more money. It was so silly writing a check for 60 cents but I couldn't mail cash. I think that is what I did.

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