How to avoid bogus E-ZPass violations in NJ

🔴 New law should end bogus E-ZPass violations
🔴 Lawmaker calls it "massive win for NJ drivers"
🔴 How you could still get a violation in the mail

It is one of the most infuriating things that can happen to an E-ZPass user in New Jersey: the bogus toll violation.

Not only do you get charged for a toll that should have been paid using your transponder, but you get hit with a $50 administrative fee.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority has said they will often do a "courtesy check" to see if the vehicle involved has a valid E-ZPass account, but not always. Almost never, if ever, claims state Sen. Declan O'Scanlon.

Now, they have no choice.

Legislation signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy forces the Turnpike Authority to cross-check every single violation with their database of E-ZPass users.

If you are found to have a valid E-ZPass account in good standing, you would be billed the cost of the toll, but be spared a bill in the mail with a $50 administrative fee.

It covers the Turnpike, as well as the Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway. It would not cover out-of-state toll violations.

The change was championed by O'Scanlon after he, like so many other New Jersey E-ZPass users, got bogus violations in the mail. He called the new law "a massive win for New Jersey drivers."

"Whatever the expense is sending out these ridiculous, unwarranted notifications, it should stop," O'Scanlon said, "Come into the modern world. Have your computer systems cross-check each other."

O'Scanlon says that while the point is not for New Jerseyans to drive around without their registered transponders, they should not be penalized if they happen to forget the device on occasion, or if it malfunctions.

Drivers have some responsibility

In order to avoid getting a toll violation in the mail and the $50 fee that goes with it, E-ZPass users have to make sure their accounts are in order.

That includes:

⬛ Making sure your account is linked to a valid form of payment, such as a credit or debit card, or have a cash balance for replenishment

⬛ Checking to make sure your license plate information is up-to-date. All vehicle information on your account must be current

If those conditions are not met, you can be sent a violation and would be subject to the toll plus the $50 administrative fee.

Want to avoid paying tolls?  Check out this route to get to the Holland Tunnel without paying tolls.

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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