When a driver registers to use the system, one payment option includes a credit-card payment that is automatically deducted each time the motorist uses the Fast Lane. If the account runs out before the Turnpike folks get a check in the mail, drivers are treated like traffic violators. The camera records each Fast Lane pass after an account is exhausted. That's what happened to Antonio J. Conchinha of Ludlow. Conchinha says he mailed the check for the cost overrun, but it took the authority seven days to process it.
People have to be careful of how much is in their account.
We are telling people they should switch to a credit card or automatic deposit. Since the transponder works at fast lanes in other states, a long trip could easily bankrupt an account. At the very least, it seems as though a payment warning should be in the large print on Fast Lane application forms. Sen. Brian P. Lees, R-East Longmeadow, who recently received a warning when a sensor in Newton did not record his transponder, says dozens of constituents have stories like Conchinha's. There's certainly a lot of money to be made under the Pike's current penalty system.