M4 Toll Evasion - how to report

IsThisOneFree · 20-01-2013 7:58pm #1

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, I'm 99% sure that somebody tailgated me through the M4 automated (ie, credit card/exact change) toll last week. Anybody have any ideas where/how I can report it ?? I already looked on nra.ie and the eurolink websites, but I can't find any info there on them.

monkeypants · 20-01-2013 8:00pm

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, I'm 99% sure that somebody tailgated me through the M4 automated (ie, credit card/exact change) toll last week. Anybody have any ideas where/how I can report it ??

Do you have the reg and the time it happened?

IsThisOneFree · 20-01-2013 8:01pm

Wow, quick reply. Yup, I sure do

drunkmonkey · 20-01-2013 8:05pm

99% isn't sure enough, let it go if your not sure.

coylemj · 20-01-2013 8:08pm

If anyone tried to tailgate me I would come to a complete stop just before the barrier (even if it was up) and tell them to get the fcuk off my tail. You're supposed to leave I think 50m clearance so there's no ifs and buts about it. Well before I enter the lane I make sure the guy behind me isn't up to any tricks.

IsThisOneFree · 20-01-2013 8:25pm

The car went through the toll far too quickly for the barrier to have gone down and back up and for the driver to have paid. I can't say I'm 100% sure because I wasn't looking in my rear-view mirror the entire time so didn't see them do it. I don't mean any offence, but my question is where/how to report it - not *if* I should report it. It infuriates me that those of us who pay our way are crippled by rising costs because a small minority don't want to pay their fair share. If they did indeed pay their toll, then I'm sure CCTV will vindicate them.

liam7831 · 20-01-2013 8:28pm

I say fair play him/her. Shur it aint costing you anything

MugMugs · 20-01-2013 8:28pm

How do you known their tag wasn't read too? Would the barrier not remain up for both vehicles to pass?

166man · 20-01-2013 8:32pm

liam7831 wrote: »

I say fair play him/her. Shur it aint costing you anything

It's the principle.

pred racer · 20-01-2013 8:34pm

MugMugs wrote: »

How do you known their tag wasn't read too? Would the barrier not remain up for both vehicles to pass?

Yes it would, once your tag is read it stays open if you are anywhere near the car in front.

MugMugs · 20-01-2013 8:37pm

pred racer wrote: »

Yes it would, once your tag is read it stays open if you are anywhere near the car in front.

So its credible to assume that the rogue motorist was just a bit close but paid with his own tag?

Stheno · 20-01-2013 8:37pm

MugMugs wrote: »

So its credible to assume that the rogue motorist was just a bit close but paid with his own tag?

Yep

MugMugs · 20-01-2013 8:38pm

Stheno wrote: »

Yep

We should all wear tweed jackets and smoke pipes

tu2j2 · 20-01-2013 8:39pm

Do you mean the express lane that you don't stop in or one of the one's where you throw in the change?

Your making a big assumption that didn't pay.

Surely you could try the number or email on this page if your that concerned http://www.eurolink-m4.ie/contact_us.html

I doubt they have a dedicated line for reporting people cheating tolls!

pred racer · 20-01-2013 8:40pm

Stheno wrote: »

Yep

^^
what she said!

liam7831 · 20-01-2013 8:41pm

Live & let live

IsThisOneFree · 20-01-2013 8:43pm

@liam7831: Fare evasion leads to rising costs for those who do pay their way. What happened was essentially thieft ..... if you're happy with that, then fine. Come back to this thread sometime after you've been mugged and let us all know if you've changed your mind

@MugMugs, pred_racer & Stheno: if you read my original post again, you'll see that I never mentioned anything about the tag lane. this happened in the automated payment lane, where the barrier obviously goes down between each car.

Can anybody please answer my original question ?

GerardKeating · 20-01-2013 8:47pm

It id most likley that they caught in themselves. They have CCTV of the lanes and booths

Stheno · 20-01-2013 8:47pm

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

@liam7831: Fare evasion leads to rising costs for those who do pay their way. What happened was essentially thieft ..... if you're happy with that, then fine. Come back to this thread sometime after you've been mugged and let us all know if you've changed your mind

@MugMugs, pred_racer & Stheno: if you read my original post again, you'll see that I never mentioned anything about the tag lane. this happened in the automated payment lane, where the barrier obviously goes down between each car.

Can anybody please answer my original question ?

I've had the barrier stay up in automated lanes too when it's reading tags

pred racer · 20-01-2013 8:48pm

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

@liam7831: Fare evasion leads to rising costs for those who do pay their way. What happened was essentially thieft ..... if you're happy with that, then fine. Come back to this thread sometime after you've been mugged and let us all know if you've changed your mind

@MugMugs, pred_racer & Stheno: if you read my original post again, you'll see that I never mentioned anything about the tag lane. this happened in the automated payment lane, where the barrier obviously goes down between each car.

Can anybody please answer my original question ?

Your tag can be read by any lane! You dont have to use the express lane, and if the barrier is up when your tag is read, It stays up!

MugMugs · 20-01-2013 8:48pm

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

@liam7831: Fare evasion leads to rising costs for those who do pay their way. What happened was essentially thieft ..... if you're happy with that, then fine. Come back to this thread sometime after you've been mugged and let us all know if you've changed your mind

@MugMugs, pred_racer & Stheno: if you read my original post again, you'll see that I never mentioned anything about the tag lane. this happened in the automated payment lane, where the barrier obviously goes down between each car.

Can anybody please answer my original question ?

M3 cashier lane has stayed up when I was behind another vehicle after being read.

pred racer · 20-01-2013 8:49pm

Stheno wrote: »

I've had the barrier stay up in automated lanes too when it's reading tags

pred racer wrote: »

Your tag can be read by any lane! You dont have to use the express lane, and if the barrier is up when your tag is read, It stays up!

Doh.......beaten again:pac:

Stheno · 20-01-2013 8:52pm

pred racer wrote: »

Doh.......beaten again:pac:

That's your advanced years working against you

pred racer · 20-01-2013 8:56pm

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

@liam7831: Fare evasion leads to rising costs for those who do pay their way. What happened was essentially thieft ..... if you're happy with that, then fine. Come back to this thread sometime after you've been mugged and let us all know if you've changed your mind

@MugMugs, pred_racer & Stheno: if you read my original post again, you'll see that I never mentioned anything about the tag lane. this happened in the automated payment lane, where the barrier obviously goes down between each car.

Can anybody please answer my original question ?

Stheno wrote: »

I've had the barrier stay up in automated lanes too when it's reading tags

pred racer wrote: »

Your tag can be read by any lane! You dont have to use the express lane, and if the barrier is up when your tag is read, It stays up!

MugMugs wrote: »

M3 cashier lane has stayed up when I was behind another vehicle after being read.

Im sure there's an apology coming soon:p

Stheno wrote: »

That's your advanced years working against you

Thats enough outta you 'Gimpy'

Stheno · 20-01-2013 8:58pm

pred racer wrote: »

Im sure there's an apology coming soon:p

Thats enough outta you 'Gimpy'

I wouldn't expect one to be honest, the barrier stays up as the tags seem to be read much further back than e.g. the coin basket.

And I'm probably older than you anyway :P

liam7831 · 20-01-2013 9:00pm

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

@liam7831: Fare evasion leads to rising costs for those who do pay their way. What happened was essentially thieft ..... if you're happy with that, then fine. Come back to this thread sometime after you've been mugged and let us all know if you've changed your mind

Get over yourself fella, its a PPP road

ironclaw · 20-01-2013 9:00pm

GerardKeating wrote: »

It id most likley that they caught in themselves. They have CCTV of the lanes and booths

Exactly, they have a serious amount of CCTV. Very specialised kit for low light / moving ANPR. I'd leave it go as they'll chase it themselves if they didn't pay.

IsThisOneFree · 20-01-2013 9:01pm

GerardKeating wrote: »

It id most likley that they caught in themselves. They have CCTV of the lanes and booths

Yup, but are they actively reviewed ? I imagine they're just reviewed if there's a problem ?

Didn't know you could use the tags on any lane, so maybe I stand corrected. Where does it read the tag though ? If it reads the tag on entry into the queue, how does it know the position of the car in the queue ? I would have thought you'd have to stop at the barrier for it to read the tag, as it does on the eastlink (for example)

Stheno · 20-01-2013 9:03pm

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

Yup, but are they actively reviewed ? I imagine they're just reviewed if there's a problem ?

Didn't know you could use the tags on any lane, so maybe I stand corrected. Where does it read the tag though ? If it reads the tag on entry into the queue, how does it know the position of the car in the queue ? I would have thought you'd have to stop at the barrier for it to read the tag, as it does on the eastlink (for example)

On the M1 and at the port tunnel, it reads my tag about two metres back from the barrier, the barrier is up before I hit the coin basket

MugMugs · 20-01-2013 9:04pm

liam7831 wrote: »

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

@liam7831: Fare evasion leads to rising costs for those who do pay their way. What happened was essentially thieft ..... if you're happy with that, then fine. Come back to this thread sometime after you've been mugged and let us all know if you've changed your mind

Get over yourself fella, its a PPP road

Correct and the state subsidise them if targets aren't met!

IsThisOneFree · 20-01-2013 9:07pm

@liam7831: PPP is irrelevant - the toll is there for everybody, not just for those who feel like paying it.

@ironclaw: Do they really have APNR etc ? I would have thought if they did, they would have introduced some barrier free tolling ? If they really do actively review CCTV then fair enough, if they didn't pay, they'll get caught either way !!

liam7831 · 20-01-2013 9:11pm

MugMugs wrote: »

liam7831 wrote: »

Correct and the state subsidise them if targets aren't met!

Yes correct & the M1 & M4 are profitable so..........

ironclaw · 20-01-2013 9:15pm

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

@ironclaw: Do they really have APNR etc ?

They do indeed. When you pay, your receipt will have your reg on it. Same applies if you use the tag, it checks your reg against the tag. As such if your using someone else's tag it will be flagged. Why they don't use 'barrier-less' is beyond me. I suppose they just had the money back in the day to build large toll booths. That and you never have serious traffic e.g. M50

IsThisOneFree · 20-01-2013 9:28pm

hmm, never requested a receipt so never knew that. I always just assumed there was no APNR because of the fact that there was no barrier free toll. Shame they don't convert the express lane as it would be pretty handy for those who travel through it a lot but don't have tags. Anyway, in that case I'll just assume that he'll have gotten caught one way or another !!

@liam7831: subsidy & profitability are still irrelevant - the luas is profitable but they still policy that for fare evaders. subsidy comes from the government which ultimately comes from the tax payer. Like I said, tolls are for everybody, not just for those who feel like paying it. If 10% cheat their way through without paying, it means that the other 90% have to cover their cost

MugMugs · 20-01-2013 9:30pm

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

hmm, never requested a receipt so never knew that. I always just assumed there was no APNR because of the fact that there was no barrier free toll. Shame they don't convert the express lane as it would be pretty handy for those who travel through it a lot but don't have tags. Anyway, in that case I'll just assume that he'll have gotten caught one way or another !!

@liam7831 & MugsMug: subsidy & profitability are still irrelevant - the luas is profitable but they still policy that for fare evaders. subsidy comes from the government which ultimately comes from the tax payer. Like I said, tolls are for everybody, not just for those who feel like paying it. If 10% cheat their way through without paying, it means that the other 90% have to cover their cost

You're implying I am defending evasion. Read my post fully and in context next time please.

IsThisOneFree · 20-01-2013 9:37pm

MugMugs wrote: »

You're implying I am defending evasion. Read my post fully and in context next time please.

apologies, got my posts mixed up. I've modified my original post

knucklehead6 · 20-01-2013 9:42pm

I was going through the automated toll in Limerick a while back. My tag was read but the barrier stayed down. When I queried this with the operator she said it was because the car behind me was too close and was trying to get through on my 'read'.

IsThisOneFree · 20-01-2013 9:47pm

ha ha .... sounds like the tolls aren't as "basic" as I had presumed they were :-) Maybe I'll just have a bit more faith in the system after all !!!

newmug · 20-01-2013 9:49pm

I couldn't give a fiddlers about those tolls. Those roads were a complete white elephant anyway, and should never have been built. Noel Dempsey was just feathering his own nest, THATS what you're paying for.

Stheno · 20-01-2013 9:49pm

IsThisOneFree wrote: »

ha ha .... sounds like the tolls aren't as "basic" as I had presumed they were :-) Maybe I'll just have a bit more faith in the system after all !!!

I know someone who works in the IT department that supports a few of the toll roads, they have an incredibly sophisticated set up.

markpb · 20-01-2013 9:51pm

ironclaw wrote: »

They do indeed. When you pay, your receipt will have your reg on it. Same applies if you use the tag, it checks your reg against the tag. As such if your using someone else's tag it will be flagged. Why they don't use 'barrier-less' is beyond me. I suppose they just had the money back in the day to build large toll booths. That and you never have serious traffic e.g. M50

Barrier-free tolls are very expensive to install (I think the m50 cost tens of millions), very labour intensive to operate (call centre plus staff to review unreadable or dubious number plates), require staff and solicitors to chase unpaid debts and will can't handle foreign reg'd cars very well so the collection rate will be much lower.

As you say, it solved a particular problem for the m50 and would be nice on some of the other motorways but the costs probably vastly outweigh the benefits.

Stheno · 20-01-2013 9:58pm

markpb wrote: »

Barrier-free tolls are very expensive to install (I think the m50 cost tens of millions), very labour intensive to operate (call centre plus staff to review unreadable or dubious number plates), require staff and solicitors to chase unpaid debts and will can't handle foreign reg'd cars very well so the collection rate will be much lower.

As you say, it solved a particular problem for the m50 and would be nice on some of the other motorways but the costs probably vastly outweigh the benefits.

I'd imagine the volume of traffic on most of the other toll roads compared to the M50 would also make it impractical to put in as they are not as busy?

IsThisOneFree · 20-01-2013 9:59pm

newmug wrote: »

I couldn't give a fiddlers about those tolls. Those roads were a complete white elephant anyway, and should never have been built

personally I completely disagree newmug, but that's a whole other discussion

If you don't agree with the tolls, then feel free to not use the motorway

@markpb: actually, what I meant was that if the express lane already has APNR, it would be good for those of us without tags to be able to just fly thru upon positive recognition of our number plates. I would have thought they have to employ a lot of those people anyway for various different reasons ? Although I do agree the M50 is expensive to operate etc, and I'm sure there's more to it that I haven't considered

IsThisOneFree · 20-01-2013 10:00pm

hmmm ... in hindsight, I guess using the words "barrier free" is slightly mis-leading in portraying my point given that even the express lanes have barriers

blackwhite · 21-01-2013 9:50am

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=m4+toll+contact+us

Try the above if you really want to get in contact with them OP.

I had someone try to skip through there last weekend - this time in the express lane.

Sunday evening around 6.30pm. I pulled into the express lane, and as I passed the tag reader I saw rear running lights suddenly light up to the left of the barrier. Some c*nt had parked up beside the barrier waiting for someone with a tag to activate it.
The barrier stayed down so the gormless c*nt sat there blocking the lane, and I had to sit waiting behind them, with another two cars arriving behind me as well.
After about 30 seconds of all three of us leaning on the horn they fooked off out the escape route. Once they had gone the barrier came up straight away! Guess someone must have been watching the cameras

M4 Toll Evasion - how to report

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