Toll-road fees cross the line

Re “Didn’t pay tolls? That’ll be $334,000 in penalties,” March 18

The Times reports on motorists suing toll-road owners for excessive fees. I too believe the fees for not paying tolls are excessive, but I have a different complaint. It is easy to get onto a toll road by accident if one is not familiar with the area. Twice I accidentally passed a toll booth and had to pay steep fines.

The last time that happened, I realized my mistake in time but discovered at the toll booth that the only way to pay was with coins. Fortunately I had just enough coins; otherwise I would have been stuck with another fine. They should provide other methods of payment, such as paper bills, credit or debit cards or an invoice card that allows a person to mail the toll. But perhaps such methods would deprive the toll agencies of a major source of revenue.

ALVIN TANNER

Irvine