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Do toll fees have to be indicated ahead of time in the United States to be enforceable?

By indication, I mean some type of road sign. By "ahead of time," I mean early enough on the road to allow drivers to choose an alternative route.

If the answer is state specific, I am mostly interested for in the states of California, Florida, and Massachusetts.

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    Some parts of the US, including Massachusetts, have turnpikes where the tolls are set between every pair of exits (with variable pricing for vehicles of different sizes). There's no practical way all the possible tolls can be presented on a single sign, yet they don't seem to have a problem making drivers pay up.
    – Zach Lipton
    Commented Jul 21, 2018 at 21:57
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    Factors may also include whether the roadway is owned by a State or other public entity, if it's privately operated on behalf of a public entity (BOT), or purely private.
    – user71659
    Commented Jul 21, 2018 at 21:57
  • Saying "this a toll road, T&C on website, free exit in X distance" would be more than enough, and I would be very surprised if this isn't what they do now. @ZachLipton
    – user4657
    Commented Jul 21, 2018 at 23:09
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    @Nij For public roadways, the T&Cs are simply written into law.
    – user71659
    Commented Jul 21, 2018 at 23:21
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    @Nij Yes, there's almost always at least a sign that says "toll," or "last exit before toll" or similar, but the question (context for it over here) is asking whether the actual cost of the toll has to be posted for the toll to be legally enforceable.
    – Zach Lipton
    Commented Jul 21, 2018 at 23:22

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In California, the law for public bridges and highways appears to be as follows (emphasis mine):

CA St & Hwy Code § 30843 (2017)

Any person who operates a motor vehicle over a toll bridge or toll highway crossing and the approaches thereto constructed or acquired by any bridge and highway district, at the entrance to which appropriate signs have been erected to notify traffic that it is entering upon a toll bridge crossing or its approaches and is subject to the payment of tolls beyond the sign, is guilty of a misdemeanor in each of the following cases:

(a) If the person refuses to pay the tolls.

(b) If the person turns, or attempts to turn, the vehicle around in the bridge, approach, or toll plaza where signs have been erected forbidding the turning.

(c) If the person refuses to pass through the toll gates after having come within the area where signs have been erected notifying traffic that it is entering the area where toll is collectible or where vehicles may not turn around and where vehicles are required to pass through the toll gates for the purpose of collecting tolls.

So it appears the "last exit before toll" signs are sufficient. It doesn't say anything about posting the actual cost of the tolls.

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  • My experience is that it's often just the single word "TOLL" appearing on a sign.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Commented Jul 23, 2018 at 19:00

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