Oklahoma - Get your act together

[Rain Man]

What's the deal with those toll roads? I was driving along and all of a sudden my road announced that it was turning into a toll road. Whatever - that's rude, but I can deal with it.

But here's the thing that annoys me. There's a sign that says, "Exact Coins Required". That's it. That's the extent of the instructions.

First off, I live in the 21st century, so I generally don't have coinage in my pocket at all. Occasionally I may have a few if I just bought something with cash, which in itself seldom occurs.

But second, and most importantly, what exact coinage do I need? I'm more likely to have a quarter in my pocket than to have 88 cents. Is the fee 50 cents or 32 cents or 79 cents? This is really important information to provide to the traveling motorist.

With no other option available to me, I veered off on the alternate route and drove the backwoods for an hour, which was probably more interesting and fun. But come on, Oklahoma. Give me a chance to use a credit card, or at least give me a change machine or something. Things like this are why people choose to vacation instead in California or Hawaii.

(I may have posted about this the last time I was in Oklahoma, but if so, it's still not fixed.)

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

Damn really.....Where you been? This is nothing new. It was this way a decade ago.
People are suppose to plan their trip and be aware of what is along the way.

I had no idea that I was required to carry coinage in Oklahoma. They need to have signs at the border and all of the major airports telling me this.

[Flying High D]

Some people make it sound so easy.

[DanT]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I drive frequently in California, and they had a decent system that allowed you to log onto a web site and pay. That must have worked too well, because they the last time I was there, they switched to a system where you cannot pay it and get a $250 fine and then spend three weeks going back and forth with the different organizations that run the tolls trying to explain that there's no way to pay now when you're using a rental car.

If the California toll roads take FasTrak, it may be worthwhile to open an account with them. You'll get a toll tag (about the size of a fat wallet) and you can then add rental car vehicles to the account, at least in theory. https://www.bayareafastrak.org/en/gu...sRentals.shtml

I have a FasTrak account, but I've never tried to to use it in a rental car. I would guess that it would work OK.

I rented a car this week at the Denver airport, to get back and forth from Westminster for a scientific conference, and hadn't thought about toll roads as an issue until after I was on the road, when I encountered some toll lanes along the way. Fortunately, it turned out that the non-toll lanes were fine.

Denver seems like a great place to live, at least the little bit of it I've seen.

[Chief Roundup]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I had no idea that I was required to carry coinage in Oklahoma. They need to have signs at the border and all of the major airports telling me this.

States do not put signs up telling you the differences in their laws or how they do things compared to any other states. You are expected to do research before you enter.
Could you imagine the amount of signage it would take to list each states or even just the surrounding states differences?
I know and understand that somethings are ridiculous.

[Chief Roundup]

https://turnpikeinfo.com/toll-paymen...state=oklahoma

Without the violation code, you will not be able to pay your missed toll online for Oklahoma. To speak to someone in the toll violations center, call 877-774-9569.

It took me all of 1 minute to do a little research and find out how to square it away.
If a person is traveling they should do this before they make their trip as to know what to expect.
When I was traveling across the country I made sure that I knew and planned my trip according to what was along the way.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

https://turnpikeinfo.com/toll-paymen...state=oklahoma

Without the violation code, you will not be able to pay your missed toll online for Oklahoma. To speak to someone in the toll violations center, call 877-774-9569.

It took me all of 1 minute to do a little research and find out how to square it away.
If a person is traveling they should do this before they make their trip as to know what to expect.
When I was traveling across the country I made sure that I knew and planned my trip according to what was along the way.

Literally nobody wants to be in Oklahoma. You'd think they'd be a little more accommodating when someone actually had to enter that ****hole.

[Chief Roundup]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Literally nobody wants to be in Oklahoma. You'd think they'd be a little more accommodating when someone actually had to enter that ****hole.

Yeah I agree but Oklahoma, Native American tribes, really don't want us there either unless maybe it is to gamble in their casinos.

[oldman]

Originally Posted by Flying High D

It costs $16 to drive from Altus, Ok to Big Cabin, Ok.

What coins did you use? Asking for Rainm--- I mean a friend.

[Flying High D]

Exact coinage, of course. Duh dar dar

[Flying High D]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

https://turnpikeinfo.com/toll-paymen...state=oklahoma

Without the violation code, you will not be able to pay your missed toll online for Oklahoma. To speak to someone in the toll violations center, call 877-774-9569.

It took me all of 1 minute to do a little research and find out how to square it away.
If a person is traveling they should do this before they make their trip as to know what to expect.
When I was traveling across the country I made sure that I knew and planned my trip according to what was along the way.

Did you learn anything about elderly homeless women hitchhiking in San Diego? Asking for Kelle I mean a Bikers for Jesus group member.

[TIED5573]

Is k tags work on OK and Ted, too.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Literally nobody wants to be in Oklahoma. You'd think they'd be a little more accommodating when someone actually had to enter that ****hole.

Now that I think about it, I was headed out of Oklahoma. Maybe they only make it hard on people who are trying to leave.

[Naptown Chief]

We passed through OK when we moved from San Diego to Annapolis. All I can remember of it and Texas was the stench of shit and death.

[RedRaider56]

In Tx, there are at least 3 entities that manage toll roads in different parts of the state. The good news is that you can get a toll tag that works on all the toll roads. Your account charges $50 to your credit card and the toll gets subtracted each time you go through a toll booth. Once you get down to $10, they charge your card $40 to get the balance back up to $50.

If you don't have a toll tag, you roll through and you are sent a bill in the mail. Toll fees are usually a $1 or $2 higher than if you had a tag to cover processing fees. It is pretty much a hassle free system

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

https://turnpikeinfo.com/toll-paymen...state=oklahoma

Without the violation code, you will not be able to pay your missed toll online for Oklahoma. To speak to someone in the toll violations center, call 877-774-9569.

It took me all of 1 minute to do a little research and find out how to square it away.
If a person is traveling they should do this before they make their trip as to know what to expect.
When I was traveling across the country I made sure that I knew and planned my trip according to what was along the way.

Wait, are you saying you literally researched the laws of every state you knew you'd be traveling through? I find that hard to believe. How about the various city and county ordinances?

Sure, it makes sense to have a feel for any major differences in laws, but it's pretty unusual for a state to have a system that would cause a lot of headache for people just because they didn't do research before they chose to enter. In Kansas, you take a ticket at the toll road entrance and pay at the exit - credit cards accepted. In Colorado, it's all done by license plate - they'll just send you a bill. Those are both vastly more tourist-friendly than a system that requires people carry cash in exact change for an amount they don't know of until they're there.