I've heard that as "out-of-staters" we don't "have" to pay Texas tolls. Now I know that legally we are required to, but what are the consequences if we run through the Toll Tag lane without a Toll Tag?

I've also heard the same about Texas parking tickets.

Any thoughts or personal experiences?

Rank speculation on my part, but I suspect that's inaccurate. Many, not all, toll gates have cameras that capture the image of the vehicle tag for cars that blow through without paying. While they may not take any action to enforce the citation if you don't pay, they may very well issue a bench warrant or something similar for failure to pay. The risk is that you get pulled over in Texas at some later date, the officer sees the warrant and takes you to the city jail. You post a bond, hire a lawyer at a substantial cost to advocate your "non-residents don't have to pay" defense, which may or may not be successful. The same is true for even a traditional defense of "you can't prove it was me driving that car". The other bad scenario is you visit Texas in the future, enjoy a great meal or event, only to walk out and find your car is gone. You call the police department to report it stolen, which is when the dispatcher informs you it wasn't stolen - it was towed for failure to pay a traffic or parking citation. More cost, more PIA.

I'll pay a sawbuck to drive on the toll road and a handful of quarters to plug the meter...

I've been wondering the same thing. Up until 2 years or so the George Bush Turnpike just north of Dallas had booths for non-Tx-Tag users to pay, and we would dutifully pull over and pay. Then one trip, the lanes leading to the booths were all closed, and signs were up stating keep moving we will bill you. Now all of the booths are gone, and the we'll bill you signs are still up. We probably travel them 8 times a year, and have yet to receive a bill.

I'm a former Texan and still have a car wth Texas Tags (I will for another 3 weeks unitl I get my new car and will be registering it up here). When I go to my parents home in the Dallas suburbs I usually take Sam Rayburn Tollway (SH 121) which was recently built as a completely electronic only tollway. For me it works when I go under the readers. Since I don't have a TolllTag (equivalent of a PikePass) it just reads my plates and books it into a master computer. This is a STATE ONLY system. So if you have an OK tag you will not be booked into the system.

Now here's the kicker. I learned this from a family friend who is a state trooper. On tollways where there are frontage roads out of state drivers are expected to take these instead since theres no way to charge you. If you are caught on a tollway with frontage roads you can technically be pulled over and written a citation for "nonpayment of tolls". However, this is never enforced and I imagine if you were to take it to court they would probably just reduce the fine to the actually toll owed which is usually $3-10 depending on where you are and what time fo day.

IMO Oklahoma does tend to enforce nonpayment of tolls by out of state drivers much more aggressively, as they should since there's no excuse to not pay. I do know a guy at OU who was from Wichita Falls TX and would take the HE Bailey and bragged about taking the pikepass lane. He eventually got caught and slapped with a pretty big ticket. I've always tried to pay when I go on the Turner or Kirkpatrick because its the right thing to do, and I think I can take the hit from a 2 dollar toll. Don't be surprised in the not too distant future TX and OK do something similar to the EZ Tag multistate system up north.

As far as tickets, yeah don't even try it. They do put active warrants on out of state tags and you will be subject to arrest the second you cross into the state line. And yes local and state police do run non TX plates, especially in areas south Dallas where cars with OK tags are not very common. Why risk that over a $25 parking ticket?

Friend of mine from the FAA was in OKC for additional certification training (He lives in NYC). He has the NYC form of the Pike-Pass, and it billed him to his New York address.

Thanks for the responses.

A while back I got a PikePass and thought while I'm at it I'll get a NTTA TollTag for when we go down to Dallas for the OU/TX game. I'd only be using it maybe 2 times a year.
I brought it up to some friends and they said they go through and never pay.


Friend of mine from the FAA was in OKC for additional certification training (He lives in NYC). He has the NYC form of the Pike-Pass, and it billed him to his New York address.
If it works like this that would be sweet. I don't mind paying the toll, just don't want to stop and get behind someone digging around for that last quarter.

I'm a former Texan and still have a car wth Texas Tags (I will for another 3 weeks unitl I get my new car and will be registering it up here). When I go to my parents home in the Dallas suburbs I usually take Sam Rayburn Tollway (SH 121) which was recently built as a completely electronic only tollway. For me it works when I go under the readers. Since I don't have a TolllTag (equivalent of a PikePass) it just reads my plates and books it into a master computer. This is a STATE ONLY system. So if you have an OK tag you will not be booked into the system.

Now here's the kicker. I learned this from a family friend who is a state trooper. On tollways where there are frontage roads out of state drivers are expected to take these instead since theres no way to charge you. If you are caught on a tollway with frontage roads you can technically be pulled over and written a citation for "nonpayment of tolls". However, this is never enforced and I imagine if you were to take it to court they would probably just reduce the fine to the actually toll owed which is usually $3-10 depending on where you are and what time fo day.

IMO Oklahoma does tend to enforce nonpayment of tolls by out of state drivers much more aggressively, as they should since there's no excuse to not pay. I do know a guy at OU who was from Wichita Falls TX and would take the HE Bailey and bragged about taking the pikepass lane. He eventually got caught and slapped with a pretty big ticket. I've always tried to pay when I go on the Turner or Kirkpatrick because its the right thing to do, and I think I can take the hit from a 2 dollar toll. Don't be surprised in the not too distant future TX and OK do something similar to the EZ Tag multistate system up north.

As far as tickets, yeah don't even try it. They do put active warrants on out of state tags and you will be subject to arrest the second you cross into the state line. And yes local and state police do run non TX plates, especially in areas south Dallas where cars with OK tags are not very common. Why risk that over a $25 parking ticket?

I live at 121 & Custer, and it's been my experience (before I had the TX tags on 1 or more of our vehicles) that the bill will eventually find you, out of state or not. I think they wait, though, until the cost of mailing out such a bill is 'worth it'., i.e., if you pass through once a year, it might be a while before you see anything. Seems like when i finally received a bill at my OKC residence (back when I was going back and forth) it was around 10 to 15 dollars. It maybe be all 'in state' now, but that was how it worked for me.

^ this right here. They balance the cost of sending the bill to you on what the charges are. Yes, if you are out-of-state, you can ride for "free" but only to the extent that it is less than the cost of billing you. It's not just the bill and the postage, it's the time/manpower that goes on behind the scenes as well. They know what a cost per vehicle is for billing....just as we do. So for example, my once every couple years on the George Bush in far north Dallas doesn't get billed. But if you frequent the thing, say a couple times a year, you'll see a bill sent to you. They just add it up and then pop out the bill.

They make it hard on their out of state drivers, but I found this.




http://www.ntta.org/AboutUs/Projects/AllETC3.html

Out-of-state license plates are also recorded for invoicing. Out-of-state vehicle operators may call NTTA
Customer Service at 972.818.6882 (NTTA) and provide the license plate information to pay for tolls accrued prior to an invoice being sent.

The NTTA sends bills to out-of-state drivers under the same business rules as in-state customers. Sending out-of-state customers ZipCash bills does require an additional step where the NTTA uses an outside source to look of addresses of the registered owner of the vehicle. The NTTA uses all options available to charge everyone for their use of the toll road. If you travel on roads operated by the NTTA, expect to pay.

... Don't be surprised in the not too distant future TX and OK do something similar to the EZ Tag multistate system up north ....

When the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority was originally pitching the stickers they made it sound like they would have already had it set up to do that by the time the sticker system launched as a convenience feature for people traveling to Texas or Kansas and for use in metro parking garages.

I haven't been on a toll road in so long, I don't really know where the little white box is. That's gonna make it hard to return once they get around to asking for it. Oh well, it's gotta be around here somewhere.

When the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority was originally pitching the stickers they made it sound like they would have already had it set up to do that by the time the sticker system launched as a convenience feature for people traveling to Texas or Kansas and for use in metro parking garages.

I did find this on the pikepass website: https://www.pikepass.com/stickertags/faq.aspx

Will my PIKEPASS Sticker work on other electronic tolling systems?

Not at this time. We understand some customers want to be able to use their PIKEPASS in other states and we will continue to work to provide this option in the future. Some PIKEPASSes can, however, be used at the Tulsa Airport for parking. Call 1-800-745-3727 for more information on this valuable service.

I did find this on the pikepass website: https://www.pikepass.com/stickertags/faq.aspx

Will my PIKEPASS Sticker work on other electronic tolling systems?

Not at this time. We understand some customers want to be able to use their PIKEPASS in other states and we will continue to work to provide this option in the future. Some PIKEPASSes can, however, be used at the Tulsa Airport for parking. Call 1-800-745-3727 for more information on this valuable service.

Right that is what their FAQ page says now but when they were advocating paying the money to buy the equipment for the sticker readers along the entire length of the turnpikes a couple years ago at least a few times it was presented like TX & KS integration was a done deal and would have had the parking garages done by now, not just testing feasibility at one.

I don't think there are any consequences, most people are eventually billed wherever they live... and they won't spend too much trying to find the users that are seldom if they had trouble locating them. It's worth more to them to keep the traffic moving - has to do w/ the air quality and federal funds ;).

I don't think there are any consequences, most people are eventually billed wherever they live... and they won't spend too much trying to find the users that are seldom if they had trouble locating them. It's worth more to them to keep the traffic moving - has to do w/ the air quality and federal funds ;).

Honesty is always the best policy, stop and pay the darn toll fee.

rc..it doesn't work that way. On things like the George Bush, they've removed the toll booths alltogether and you don't have the option to stop. There are a places where they haven't taken them out, but they also aren't built like ours. They don't put signage up that says, exit right if you need to pay with cash....there's just an exit off the main stretch that looks like a real exit. So unless you know you have to exit to pay, you miss it totally. I went down half the stretch of the thing and passed 3 plazas like this a few years ago...one of which didn't even have any booths open. Another one had the exit blocked off. So it's not like people are intentionally driving by....it's not anything like what you see on an OK road for a toll plaza.

rc..it doesn't work that way. On things like the George Bush, they've removed the toll booths alltogether and you don't have the option to stop. There are a places where they haven't taken them out, but they also aren't built like ours. They don't put signage up that says, exit right if you need to pay with cash....there's just an exit off the main stretch that looks like a real exit. So unless you know you have to exit to pay, you miss it totally. I went down half the stretch of the thing and passed 3 plazas like this a few years ago...one of which didn't even have any booths open. Another one had the exit blocked off. So it's not like people are intentionally driving by....it's not anything like what you see on an OK road for a toll plaza.

I drive the Goerge bush toll Road at least every other week, and your correct, this section does not have toll booths, they do however take a picture of your vehicle/tag and mail an invoice to the registered owner, you in turn are expected (and should) mail said payment.

I drive the Goerge bush toll Road at least every other week, and your correct, this section does not have toll booths, they do however take a picture of your vehicle/tag and mail an invoice to the registered owner, you in turn are expected (and should) mail said payment.

That's what CO does as well. Whenever my daughter and her crew travel between wy and denver, a statement goes out for them the following month. no device in the car, no stickers, just decent cameras.

I was talking to our associate pastor yesterday and he was saying that he accidentally drove through a couple of toll plazas around the Austin area and about a month later he got a bill for like $4.

As long as there is no fine, additional fee, and it doesn't go on you record I think I'd rather get the invoice a month later than wait behind a line of cars waiting to pay cash.

I actually really like it.....once you get over the feeling that you're breaking the law. Here you know there's an OHP officer ready to pounce on you, so it always makes me feel a bit weird to drive through with no cash/tag. I think they have problems with vanity plates though. Since it's not laid out like a normal tag, maybe they don't know how to automatically process it because I've yet to get a bill. Granted I'm like a once every 3 years kind of user, so that could be it too.

But it's SOOOOO much better than what we do today. Plus how many other people have stopped at someone along the Turner and had to use a cash only coin machine and it not work right....ever? I've thrown my money in and of course it doesn't work right so I just drive through all the bells and sirens with a big "screw you" on my face.

Honesty is always the best policy, stop and pay the darn toll fee.

What I mean is that there are no stops - so you are billed one of 2 ways 1) by your NTTA tag (which also is good for parking at DFW or DAL) or 2) keep going - they will bill you ---- even the signs say 'keep moving we will bill you'. no harm no foul - the only 'fine' you might someday incur is if you go beyond any reasonable length of time in paying your bill once you get it and they give you plenty of time.

The Feds match them on some sort of Air Quality thing, so the big thing is to keep the cars moving, not standing still, not pumping exhaust into the air when there is no 'moving' going on as much as can be helped. Rush hour(s) still back things up, but not because you're paying a toll these days. There must be a lot of $$ at stake, because there is a big push to upgrade a lot of the major intersections and widen the highways and access roads where things back up or change even the merge/weave patterns vis the traffic.

So no worries if you're passing through, if you do it often, it does save some to get the tag, much like the Pikepass. The 2 tags live together on my windshield in harmony --- LOL.

Down here the fines only occur if you fail to pay the invoice mailed to you. There is always a story every few months about some person who owes $3,000 in tolls and fines because they used the toll roads for six months and never paid a bill. At one time I had a TollTag (worked in Dallas for 4 months and the office was right off the tollway) and a PikePass, once the roads went in down here I got a TxTag. After the TxTag because useable on the NTTA and HTCA roads I turned in the TollTag. So now I am down to the TxTag and PikePass. It will be nice if they can get the systems to work off one tag in multiple states like they have done in the Northeast.

Last fall my father-in-law and nephew came to Austin from West Texas last fall, they took a wrong turn and ended up on one of the toll roads. A couple of months later he got a bill ($12.00) in the mail thinking it was a ticket, he took it over to my brother-in-law and they ended up calling my wife and she told him no it's just a bill so he sent in a check. I know of no tickets anymore that are less than $100 unlike the $45 tickets that OKCPD used to hand out 25+ years ago.

i've blown thru them for years in texas with okie plates and texas plates and never have heard a peep.

i've blown thru them for years in texas with okie plates and texas plates and never have heard a peep.

IMHO, honesty is always the best policy.

rc - i think you missed the point. They're taking booths out...it's not as though you can stop to throw money out the window to a non-existent booth.

Rank speculation on my part, but I suspect that's inaccurate. Many, not all, toll gates have cameras that capture the image of the vehicle tag for cars that blow through without paying. While they may not take any action to enforce the citation if you don't pay, they may very well issue a bench warrant or something similar for failure to pay. The risk is that you get pulled over in Texas at some later date, the officer sees the warrant and takes you to the city jail. You post a bond, hire a lawyer at a substantial cost to advocate your "non-residents don't have to pay" defense, which may or may not be successful. The same is true for even a traditional defense of "you can't prove it was me driving that car". The other bad scenario is you visit Texas in the future, enjoy a great meal or event, only to walk out and find your car is gone. You call the police department to report it stolen, which is when the dispatcher informs you it wasn't stolen - it was towed for failure to pay a traffic or parking citation. More cost, more PIA.

I'll pay a sawbuck to drive on the toll road and a handful of quarters to plug the meter...

Not inaccurate. My assistant was just telling me about this last week. She was waiting for a bill and never got one. Called and they told her that TX doesn't have access to the database for OK license plates. They literally can't identify you.


Now, it's NOT a policy decision, I don't think. I believe they'd send us bills if they could, so this is likely to change as soon as they can find out where to send.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/transportation/20110717-top-10-scofflaws-owe-ntta-more-than-1.2-million-in-unpaid-tolls-fines.ece?action=reregister

Hmm, maybe we can ask the OK state offices to keep it this way...bwahahahaa.

I hate to revive an old thread, but just FYI, I got a bill yesterday from NTTA for tolls owed even though I have OK tags. I am down in Dallas at least once every 2 months to see my family. I really have no problem paying what's owed, but obviously they are now coming after out-of-state drivers. Just a warning if you are down there and want to hop on the one of the tollways to save time.

I hate to revive an old thread, but just FYI, I got a bill yesterday from NTTA for tolls owed even though I have OK tags. I am down in Dallas at least once every 2 months to see my family. I really have no problem paying what's owed, but obviously they are now coming after out-of-state drivers. Just a warning if you are down there and want to hop on the one of the tollways to save time.

have been in dallas several times in the last year and have used toll roads each time and i have yet to receive a bill

I go to Texas one time per year, max, for OU-Texas weekend. But when I first heard they were ditching the tollbooths on their tollways, about three or four years ago, I called the Texas TollTag folks and told them I just wanted to get a tag with a minimum value on it, which I figured would be something like $10 based on where I expected to drive. No intention here whatsoever of trying to "beat" the system. Happy to pay the proper fee for the nicer, faster road. They told me the smallest they'd do is a $50 tag!

Knowing that limits like that are entirely arbitrary, I tried to appeal to a higher level of common sense about the situation...only go through once a year, only use one highway (return a different way for unrelated reasons), might incur $4-$5 max tolls, it was stupid to hand them $50 in advance...."But you can share it among your cars, and move it to your rental car." And I tried again to explain to them that I was from out of state, not a business traveler, had zero intention of ever taking a rental car there, was at most a once-per-year visitor...No dice. Then, realizing I had to think like a bureaucrat, I asked "what happens if I don't get a tag?"

"They'll just snap a pic of your tag and send you a bill."

Great. And I'll be happy to pay that bill whenever it arrives. I think by now it *might* be $12.

The sooner they get these disparate state toll systems integrated or at least interoperable, the better off we'll be.

I hate to revive an old thread, but just FYI, I got a bill yesterday from NTTA for tolls owed even though I have OK tags. I am down in Dallas at least once every 2 months to see my family. I really have no problem paying what's owed, but obviously they are now coming after out-of-state drivers. Just a warning if you are down there and want to hop on the one of the tollways to save time.

Just out of curiosity, what was the total bill?

I traveled down the GB Turnpike at last year’s OU Texas game and never received a bill.
Texas won’t mail you a bill on your tolls if it cost them more money to process the bill than they would collect.
It’s a smart way of running government.

have been in dallas several times in the last year and have used toll roads each time and i have yet to receive a bill

If you are using toll roads that frequently I'd put your chances of getting a bill at better than 50/50. I recently learned a family friend in KS got a bill as well. Trust me its coming.


Just out of curiosity, what was the total bill?

$70, but thats including a $20 premium on ZipCash (vs if would have had a tolltag). These charges go back over a year. I think in your situation, you probably won't incur enough charges to get noticed; however, I didn't think I would be either, especially considering they have 26,000 drivers that owe at least $500 or more.

I do have a pikepass. I really wish OK, TX, LA, and KS would get together and do something similar to the EZ Pass multistate system.

When we closed on the house in Austin we had come in on the 183 toll road and still had the TxTag but now had Colorado plates (which I had updated on the TxTag website). While we were there I terminated the account and took the motorcycle transponder back. They said the account would remain active for a week and then be closed and deposit refunded. When we left we took the toll road with the trailer out of town, a month late we get a bill from TxTag here in Colorado with the right address but the wrong name. When I got the plates for my new motorcycle I checked with Arapahoe County on the name on my wife's plates and it was correct. So the databases that Texas and other states may be using don't seem to be completely correct.

Do if you're driving on the tx tolls once a year going from 35 to Friso, you're probably not going to get hit. If you drive down frequently, they're gonna bill you.

I've been on the toll a few times over the past two years with an OK tag. Finally got billed today. $12.80 for basically two trips. Was told out-of-staters didn't get billed so I used the toll roads at my leisure. Will definitely be paying this and not having to worry in the future since OTA - Pike Pass and NTTA are integrating their systems on Aug. 10, 2014. Finally.

I've been on the toll a few times over the past two years with an OK tag. Finally got billed today. $12.80 for basically two trips. Was told out-of-staters didn't get billed so I used the toll roads at my leisure. Will definitely be paying this and not having to worry in the future since OTA - Pike Pass and NTTA are integrating their systems on Aug. 10, 2014. Finally.

I got a bill last month for a trip on the GBT from as far back as 2011!

You would think that there would be a "time limit" on how far back they could bill, or more importantly how far back you are obligated to pay.

I read a long time ago that Texas was going to start utilizing tag scanners and just bill motorists at the end of the month. But maybe that was just for vehicles with Texas plates.

Back in 2011, I made a short run on the turnpikes there (from Dallas up to IKEA and back). Never got a bill. In May 2013, somewhat emboldened by that experience, I drove considerably more turnpike miles in the area. Exactly a year later, I received a bill for $8.55. I'm not sure what the cutoff is, but I'm guessing it has to do with the amount you run up vs. the amount of time/research it takes the NTTA to find your name & address based on your plate.

I read a long time ago that Texas was going to start utilizing tag scanners and just bill motorists at the end of the month. But maybe that was just for vehicles with Texas plates.
Nope, when we were down in Austin for our house closing (May 2012) we had already switched to Colorado plates and took the 45 toll road out of town and got a bill in the mail a couple of months later. We turned in the TxTag transponder for the bike and closed the account with them the day before.

so, who else has gotten a bill from the dallas north tollway in the mail? apparently 240,000 oklahomans will...
Oklahoma drivers back-billed for using North Texas roads; NTTA sends out thousands of toll fee bills - KJRH.com (http://www.kjrh.com/news/problem-solvers/oklahoma-drivers-back-billed-for-using-north-texas-roads-ntta-sends-out-thousands-of-toll-fee-bills)

I haven't received one but if I do. I'm not going to be outraged, like the people in the article, about paying to drive on a road I knew was a toll road.

well I should get a bill as I have driven on it several times since they changed to the "no toll booth" system.
however the first time I did drive on it that the booths were removed I called them when I got home.
I was told that if my vehicle didn't have a significant amount tolled to it within a month that they just don't bill it.
so they may have not wanted to be giving that information if now they are going back and sending bills.
I will pay it if I get it as I had intended to pay the day I got on the road. but its just a bit odd to send bills that old out at this point.

Same thing happened to me when I called a few years ago after driving it. I was told if you had an out-of-state tag you basically got a prescribed number of free trips before they would bother to track you down and bill you.

got my bill yesterday:wink:. . .$9.59. . . one trip Oct '12 and one trip Apr '13. Has a picture of my tag.

I got this email from the OK Pike Pass on 7/15/14.

87678768

Got the bill from NTTA for a couple of trip's we made in my wife's car. Almost $30. Does anyone know if Pikepass users get the same discount as a TollTag? The bills says it would have been $10 cheaper with a tolltag.

I wonder if whoever bought my old car(With a lot of Dallas trips) is going to get my bill.

So I got a bill for over 30 bucks for a tag that is not on either my wifes or mines vehicle. After arguing with the NTTA for 30 min that this isn't my problem, I have no control on someone who owned my house in the past and Im not responsible for tracking them down, I came across an interesting point.

So consider that both my wife and I had cars that are now sold that had been driven in texas in 2012. Since we sold the cars, we have moved. The NTTA told me they will send the invoice to whatever the last registered house is for a tag. If you dont pay, they send you to collections and put out a notice for impoundment of your vehicle. I told her I dont have all my old license plates memorized or written down anywhere and she told me I would have to request information from the OK tag agency and then provide proof of sale and documentation that I no longer own the cars then I could pay the bill to keep the bill from going to collections.

So bascially I have owned any car since 2012 that has been in dallas, you have to find the tag number and proactively call the NTTA to pay your bill. If you dont, they will send you to collections, even though they have no idea where you are and you may never have seen a bill, they only have a tag image, make/model and whatever address the state gives them.

This just doesnt seem correct. How can I be punished for a bill I have never been presented with? In 2012/2013, the NTTA did not charge OK drivers and did not have a way to pay the toll at the exit, so its not like we knew at the time that we would have a charge.