Did you know your eTag battery can go flat?

When this happens, it does not register at the Toll Booth.

Then the Toll Operator issues you with a Toll Infringement Notice. They charge you the cost of the unpaid toll plus $1.10 administration plus another charge of $10.

Given you may make multiple trips with a ‘flat battery’ your costs will soon skyrocket. This is exacerbated due to the fact that the toll operator waits a couple of weeks to issue the notice. You could be up for hundreds of dollars.

A morally and unethical aspect of this situation is that the RMS and the Toll Operator can see that you have a ‘low battery’, but they do not advise you. RMS advised that you need to listen to the beep which is different if the battery is low (or no beep I guess if the battery is dead flat).

I recently received a couple of notices for two days for around $ydney. I argued that the eTag with a low battery was’not fit for the purpose that it was provided for‘. The Toll Operator agreed to waive the extra fees and only charge for the outstanding tolls.

If you travel with a trailer or caravan you should list the trailer on your eTag account as when a tag is not detected the camera takes a shot of the rear of the vehicle. If you list the trailer the toll charge will go to your account (presumably without a ‘fine’).