New Jersey law will protect EZ Pass customers from bogus and harassing violations and fines

It has happened to all of us. You’re an EZ Pass customer, but you get a citation in the mail saying you didn’t pay for an EZ pass toll. That ends up with sometimes hours of back and forth with EZ Pass to prove the problem was their equipment and not you. Sometimes they waive the fees, sometimes, they don’t. It’s one of the pleasures of doing business and traveling in New Jersey.

Now, thanks to a law signed into effect this week, the law is now on the side of the customer in New Jersey.

“In an effort to prevent erroneous EZ-Pass fines, legislation sponsored by Senator Gordon Johnson which would require the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the South Jersey Transportation Authority to check the E-ZPass database prior to issuing an E-ZPass violation was signed into law,” NJ Senate Democrat spokeswoman Emma Antwi said today.

“Currently, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and the South Jersey Transportation Authority are not required by law to check whether a vehicle owner has a valid E-ZPass account before issuing a notice of violation,” said Senator Johnson (D-Bergen). “While the New Jersey Turnpike Authority claims to have its contractors check for a valid account prior to issuing a fine, many E-ZPass customers still claim that they are often charged violation fees. By requiring both entities to check before issuing a fine, residents will no longer be charged unnecessary fees and will not have to deal with the inconvenience of contesting those fees.”

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According to the law, as long as the account holder has up-to-date and accurate account information, they will not be liable for a violation that was incurred and would instead only pay the toll amount.