How do you use your ETC card, do you keep it in the card reader? I just took a mountain road that was not a toll road but when i passed above a tunnel (which is paid) the ETC system beeped. Could it be that i was charged because the beacon thought i was in the tunnel? Do you only insert it when you know you're gonna use a toll road? Are there any risks of not leaving it in?
by photoinduced
13 comments
I leave mine in the reader but I have not had issues with it beeping when it should not. Or maybe I just don’t pay attention 😅
Never had that issue before. Yes, it stays inserted. Only risk is someone stealing your card. But thats extremely rare.
You don’t have to keep it inserted if you are worried about it. Most readers I’ve had seem to know when they are near a toll gate and go nuts if they card is not inserted. Not sure if they all do that or not though. And not going to have a good time the first time you forget to push it back in before going through the toll gate.
I leave it in the reader at all times. ETC checkpoints are not only at toll booths, and not only to charge you – some of these are used to determine if you have taken a certain route that a discount applies to, for example
There’s no risk in taking it out. I leave mine in all the time. The only time I’ve had problems is mine got gunky for some reason and I had to take it out and wash the contacts off with IPA.
Thanks all, it probably wasn’t a misread then
I remove mine every time I buy a new car.
Edit: which means, I removed it once.
I’ve passed a lot of points over the years where if you are in close proximity to a etc that you are not passing through it messages you. I’ve never been charged for a route I didn’t take. I leave my etc card in all the time
My wife is afraid someone will try to steal it, so we take it out, and only put it in when we know we’re going on the toll roads.
The only time I ever remove mine is when it’s expired and need to swap it out
I only put mine in the reader when I’m going on toll roads. I live out in the inaka though and the mechanic / auto shop owner recommended removing it when not in use to avoid temptation of theft. The reader is right on my dash though, in plain view. I’ve had readers that are more hidden in the past and I would probably leave the card in more often in that situation.
I like to keep it inserted as much as possible.
I remove mine regularly in the summer. The heat inside a car has been known to damage the card and replacing it is a nuisance.