The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is planning to implement stricter measures for vehicles that do not have a FASTag on their front windshields. This includes charging defaulters twice the toll amount. The FASTag system is a part of the Indian governments initiative to promote electronic toll collection, aiming to reduce traffic congestion and enhance transparency.Under this new regulation, vehicles without a valid FASTag will be penalized by being charged double the toll fee. This move is expected to encourage more vehicle owners to adopt the FASTag system, thereby facilitating smoother and faster toll transactions on highways.According to the sources, the move by NHAI has come to cut the unnecessary delays at the toll plazas causing inconvenience to fellow National Highway users.Aim of NHAIThe initiative aligns with the NHAIs broader goal to modernize and streamline toll collection processes across the countrys extensive highway network. By enforcing this rule, the NHAI aims to ensure better compliance with the electronic toll collection system, ultimately leading to improved efficiency and reduced wait times at toll plazas.As per sources, the statement of NHAI says that all User Fee plazas will have prominent notices posting information about the penalties to the drivers to the consequences of entering a toll lane without a front windshield-mounted FASTag. In order to help with the correct documentation of the fee levied and the presence of vehicles in the toll lane, CCTV video capturing the Vehicle Registration Number (VRN) at the fee plaza will also be captured for vehicles without a FASTag.The objective of NHAI is to implement standard operating procedures for attaching the FASTag to the front windshield from the inside of the designated vehicle, in compliance with existing regulations. Additionally, according to the announcement, any FASTag that is not correctly attached to the designated vehicle is ineligible to conduct Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) transactions at a User Fee Plaza and will have to pay the double toll fee as well as can be duly blacklisted.In addition to this, the issuer banks have also directed the users to ensure the fixation of the FASTag to the assigned vehicle on the front windshield at the time of issuance at the various Point-of-Sale. According to NHAI, this move will ensure a smooth and hassle-free journey to all the users.
