by cmsellers » Tue Oct 29, 2019 6:10 pm
This really should be a minor announce, but it's pissing me off all out of proportion to the relatively minor cost, possibly because it involves the coercive power of the state.
Any rate, I make it a point to never, ever use toll roads if I have any other option. When I moved to Austin, my father took a bunch of toll roads without telling me, and since I didn't check my mail regularly, I accumulated a bunch of late fees on them as well, but since then I hadn't had to deal with the Texas toll road authority.
A few months ago, I went to Corpus Christi, and the 183 toll road weaves back and forth across the old, free, 183. You have to, IIRC, exit right, right, left, right in order to not end up on the toll road. But, I thought I managed it, and I did.
However, I went to my mail yesterday and found a notice from the toll authority which included a late charge. I never got the initial statement. I initially assumed this was 183, but then I saw the notice said that this authority only covers three highways in the Austin area: 45, 130, and Mopac. I never go anywhere near 45 and 130 and definitely never take the toll lane on Mopac, so I called them.
She said that I was on 130 between Lockhart and Seguin, and there's photographic evidence. I cannot for the life of me think what I might have been doing on that stretch of road; it's not on the way to San Antonio or Corpus Christi. But I checked, and there's photographs of my license plate, complete with the bend. I have no idea what I was doing there, but what I am sure of is two things:
1. I never, ever, ever knowingly use toll roads, and I have tolls on avoidance on Google Maps and Waze, so whatever I was doing, if I went through a toll it was clearly the result of badly marked signage.
2. I went through my old mail again, and don't see the thing from TXTag. I often get mail for my neighbors, so my best guess is that my first statement got delivered to one of my neighbors. It's a government monopoly, however, and they refuse to waive the late fee. I mean, what am I gonna do? Not use toll roads? I already do that and still ended up with a toll invoice.