Will this Slovenian tollway mistake cost us four hundred bucks?
August 3, 2013 11:54 AM Subscribe
We have been driving around Croatia in a rental car for the last few days. Today we took it to Slovenia, and stupidly took it on the expressway. When we got on the expressway there were no tollbooths, so we didn't think about it until we got off, and there were tollbooths, and we had no ticket. However, there was no barrier when we exited, and the booth appeared to be unmanned. On our way back, there WAS a tollbooth on the entrance ramp, and we asked the guy what was up. He said we needed a vignette (15 euro, which we paid) and said if we didn't have a vignette there would be a 300 euro fine. After we pulled away, we realized that of course, we'd probably already incurred it. Now what??
We are from Chicago and used to tollways - plus Croatia is full of them - but man, there was no signage or anything suggesting that we had to buy a sticker or incur a massive fine.(Also, I guess you have to buy these stickers at a post office or grocery store or something, since there aren't tollbooths on the way onto the highway, for the most part.) Also we have no idea how likely this is to be enforced - are there cameras?
In Chicago, if you miss a toll, there's a 7-day grace period. Please tell me Slovenia has this!! Googling suggests that if you are pulled over for lacking a vignette, you can pay 150€ to make it all go away, which we would happily do to save ourselves a couple hundred dollars, but we can't figure out if there is a way to do it after the fact.
(Moreover, we did buy the vignette on the same day - is that any kind of defense? Will there be an opportunity to dispute the fine? I suspect we can't use "dumb Americans are dumb", but what about "we rectified the situation as soon as we could"?)
Also...it's a rental car. How will that be handled?
I realize this is too many questions, but I am confused and distressed about our Slovenian day trip costing us 400 extra dollars. If you know anything about the Slovenian tollway system, please help us!!
We are from Chicago and used to tollways - plus Croatia is full of them - but man, there was no signage or anything suggesting that we had to buy a sticker or incur a massive fine.(Also, I guess you have to buy these stickers at a post office or grocery store or something, since there aren't tollbooths on the way onto the highway, for the most part.) Also we have no idea how likely this is to be enforced - are there cameras?
In Chicago, if you miss a toll, there's a 7-day grace period. Please tell me Slovenia has this!! Googling suggests that if you are pulled over for lacking a vignette, you can pay 150€ to make it all go away, which we would happily do to save ourselves a couple hundred dollars, but we can't figure out if there is a way to do it after the fact.
(Moreover, we did buy the vignette on the same day - is that any kind of defense? Will there be an opportunity to dispute the fine? I suspect we can't use "dumb Americans are dumb", but what about "we rectified the situation as soon as we could"?)
Also...it's a rental car. How will that be handled?
I realize this is too many questions, but I am confused and distressed about our Slovenian day trip costing us 400 extra dollars. If you know anything about the Slovenian tollway system, please help us!!
Check your rental car agreement. lharmon is right that the fine will be sent on to you, but frequently it will also come with an additional fine from the rental car company.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 12:13 PM on August 3, 2013
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 12:13 PM on August 3, 2013
Best answer: Just googling around, I can't find an explicit statement, but reading between the lines, I think you would have been fined on the spot. Consider the State Department's advice for Slovenia and the motorway company FAQ, question 4 in particular (Slovenia privatised the motorways, apparently).
posted by hoyland at 12:19 PM on August 3, 2013
posted by hoyland at 12:19 PM on August 3, 2013
Is it possible to call the rental car company when they open to ask them how to handle it? You are probably not the first foreign renter to have this situation.
That being said, I've racked up tickets from automated cameras while driving in Germany (sorry, it's just too much fun). Each time it happens I get a note from the car agency letting me know that I've earned a ticket and they will be forwarding the actual violation notice once they get it. And then it never arrives. My German counterparts believe that the hassle of collecting from a foreigner who has left the country isn't worth the effort.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:24 PM on August 3, 2013
That being said, I've racked up tickets from automated cameras while driving in Germany (sorry, it's just too much fun). Each time it happens I get a note from the car agency letting me know that I've earned a ticket and they will be forwarding the actual violation notice once they get it. And then it never arrives. My German counterparts believe that the hassle of collecting from a foreigner who has left the country isn't worth the effort.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:24 PM on August 3, 2013
On this site, it seems to imply that there are not cameras and vignettes are enforced only by toll operators, police, customs, etc. So, similar to vehicle registration in the States - you only get a ticket if they pull you over.
posted by melissasaurus at 2:18 PM on August 3, 2013
posted by melissasaurus at 2:18 PM on August 3, 2013
Austria is similar, they have no automated enforcement mechanism for the Vignettes, but you will get a ticket if you get stopped/pulled over.
posted by wcfields at 8:39 PM on August 3, 2013
posted by wcfields at 8:39 PM on August 3, 2013
Best answer: unless you were stopped by 'vignette patrol' and issued a ticket, there will be no fine.
btw, there are signs pointing out rules of the road, including vignette use on highways, after border crossings.
posted by gakiko at 2:53 AM on August 7, 2013
btw, there are signs pointing out rules of the road, including vignette use on highways, after border crossings.
posted by gakiko at 2:53 AM on August 7, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks everybody. We did not receive a fine.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 2:44 PM on August 21, 2013
posted by goodbyewaffles at 2:44 PM on August 21, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by lharmon at 12:03 PM on August 3, 2013