Drivers, if you plan to drive your RV through Colorado this summer, listen up! The Centennial State is cracking down on toll-weaving, and it could cost you more than you think.
Toll-weaving?
First off, let’s clear up what this actually is. According to Colorado’s Department of Transportation, toll-weaving is when a driver weaves in and out of express toll lanes, crossing over double, solid lines.
The crackdown
Colorado is saying “enough is enough” and is stepping up its game to catch toll-weavers. The state has started using new technology (via BLISSWAY technology) to nab the offending drivers. Cameras along the roadway can spot your car as you weave in and out, and if you cross solid lines, you’re looking at a hefty fine.
How much?
So, what happens if you get caught? It’s not pretty. A base fine of $75 is issued for each offense. That means CDOT charges $75 every single time a driver crosses the double white line. If the fine is not paid within 20 days, that fine is doubled to $150.
So far, Colorado has issued almost $4 million in fines, with BLISSWAY’s cameras capturing data from several different angles of the front and rear of each vehicle.
Why the crackdown on toll-weaving now?
You might be wondering why the state is coming down so hard on toll-weaving. Well, it’s all about safety. Weaving in and out of lanes can cause accidents—sometimes deadly ones. Since the crackdown went into effect, violations have dropped by 60%.
Where will the money go?
The money collected from the toll-weaving fees will reportedly go toward road maintenance and improvements, along with educational ads encouraging safe and lawful driving.
##RVT1163b
Woohoo, someones actually enforcing some vehicle laws !!
Forget about enforcing the laws….make new ones!
Thank you, Gail! 🙂 DC installed some kind of poles, maybe 3-, 4-feet tall and spaced every 30-50 (?) feet apart to separate the toll lanes from the regular lanes of the I-495 beltway around DC. They mark the entrance to the toll lanes and continue for a few hundred feet before giving way to jersey walls. I guess there must have been a similar problem in DC before the posts were installed. Such weaving likely occurs at speed in excess of 60 mph, so very likely dangerous to drive a slalom course at that speed, especially with interlopers attempting the same but possibly exactly out of synch. 🤔😯🙁 Thanks again, have a great weekend, and safe travels! 🙂
We ran into that in Dallas many years ago in a rental…never driven in a HOV lane with those and we weren’t sure how we would escape to get to our exit! We got out and stayed in the regular flow of traffic.
Not sure I understand what “toll weaving” is. Are we talking about folks trying to avoid paying tolls, or just trying to “butt” in line to get ahead of others? Or just those crossing a double white line?
Most likely the latter, Tommy. Those lanes would tend to be less congested and offer the most impatient an opportunity to gain a few car lengths in their urgent effort to reach their destination. I wonder, too, if those who do this accelerate to significantly higher speeds than the adjacent lane, causing heavy braking when they regain a regular traffic lane? I doubt that this behavior is welcomed by those being passed in this manner, especially the last one passed. That, too, can lead to dangerous driving as a means to convey that distaste. Have a great weekend and safe travels! 🙂
I think it is both Tommy. People swerving into the HOV lane just before the Toll markers/cameras/pay points to avoid the toll and then back into regular traffic lanes after passing the check points.
As well, the hurryup and wait drivers trying to get a 1 minute advantage every 10 miles or so.
Same fine for 2 issues covered by 1 rule.
There have been some pretty nasty accidents in Florida. Everyone but me (and few others) breaks the speed limit by an immense margin and don’t slam on their brakes till almost at the toll booth/stopsign/red light. Now think of the fact that the people in the lane 2 lanes to the left there’s 1 less car in the que and suddenly this car swerves in front of traffic in the1st left lane who may be texting or looking at google maps or reaching for change-plus someone in the3rd lane to the left may’ve noticed 1 less car in the que on their right lane and they step on the gas to swerveR just as the hypothetical first driver is reaching it and BANG!!! 2 cars colliding as they merge together
Avoid Colorado…problem solved.
Not familiar with roads that have both toll and nontoll lanes. Please explain.
I’m assuming express lanes for high occupancy vehicles? I know in SLC there is a lane on the left that you pay to drive in to get to places quicker…although the traffic in it seems to move the same as the other 4 lanes but I’ve never been there on a weekday during rush hour. And then there is the issue of crossing over the other 4 lanes to get to the exit….
Poor people drive in the right lanes for free. If you pay the fee you get to drive in the “Express” lane. What we pay in gas tax, tire excise tax, car tag tax, car sales tax, etc. is not enough to pay for widening the “Public” roads so they built a toll, express lane to “ease” congestion for the wealthy. One toll lane when we needed two more “free” lanes.
I95 in Dade and Broward counties have about maxxed out available widening space there are places where it’s 14 lanes wide- on the main highway, not counting exit lanes
In Florida sometimes when a toll road is put in and there’s very little way to go w/o using a non toll road, reaching the first exit (say in a couple hundred yards) and totally denying a free exit would cause gridlock, the first exit will be free. Happens rarely, only in severely congested areas