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Some Wisconsin drivers have a reason to be honking mad at Illinois.
A glitch in the Illinois tollway system’s enforcement efforts resulted in an unknown number of Wisconsin drivers being incorrectly fined by the neighboring state.
Officials at the Wisconsin Bureau of Vehicle Services knew something was up when complaint calls went from zero to about 15 a day in the past two months.
The complaints, bureau director Anna Biermeier said, are the same: I don’t deserve this ticket!
Some have a right to be angry.
It turns out there was a problem with a new computer system used to check vehicles traveling on the Illinois tollway using the I-PASS system — which allows drivers to pay tolls automatically from a pre-existing account using a windshield-mounted transponder.
I-PASS users travel in special lanes that generally move along faster than those where drivers must throw change into a bucket or hand over money to a worker.
Until it was corrected earlier this month, the new Illinois computer system allowed Wisconsin drivers signing up for the I-PASS to identify their vehicle as a “passenger” car. But Wisconsin records listed the license plates as an “auto.”
The glitch only affected drivers who used the I-PASS lanes but from whom no payment was received, tollway spokeswoman Joelle McGinnis said.
When Illinois’ tollway enforcement system tried to cross-check the Wisconsin records with the I-PASS database, the car did not match even though the owner had a working I-PASS, McGinnis said. Because it looked like the driver did not have an I-PASS, a fine was issued, she said.
McGinnis did not know how many of the 10,000 violation notices that go out each month were incorrectly sent to Wisconsin drivers. The registration glitch was unique to the state and started with the new computer system, McGinnis said.
The problem was corrected earlier this month, she said.
“It is a little surprising that they didn’t create their program correctly,” Biermeier said.
Adding to the problem is the fact that because of the changeover in computer systems, no notices — including valid ones — were sent for roughly a year, between the summer of 2006 and August. Out-of-state violation notices didn’t start being mailed until a couple of months ago, the same time Wisconsin officials noticed the uptick in complaints.
Because of the backlog, some incorrect notices may still be on their way to Wisconsin drivers, McGinnis said. The backlog won’t be exhausted until the end of the year, she said.
Violation notices are sent when a driver compiles three within a two-year period. Normally the notices go out within a month of third violation, but due to the backlog older ones are just now being sent, McGinnis said.
About half of the callers who complain have been billed correctly, Wisconsin’s Biermeier said. But the glitch explains problems that many callers were having, she said.
There are other reasons why people get incorrect violation notices: unclear photos lead to misidentification of vehicles; properly registered vehicles are not identified when they use the I-PASS; a new vehicle has not been registered on the I-PASS system; and credit card information hasn’t been updated.
Anyone who gets a notice and thinks it is in error needs to first contact the Illinois tollway at the number on the bill they receive, McGinnis said.
But for now, the Illinois problem is keeping Wisconsin busy. Biermeier said her staff is in daily contact with Illinois trying to work out problems, resulting in longer waits for others who call the bureau.
