Although electronic toll collection (ETC) is now widely accepted across much of the world, ETC vendors could do much more to adapt their products and services to meet critical legal and institutional requirements. Successful use of ETC may depend more on the legal and institutional environment of the system than on the choice of system. Typical institutional issues include the following. The vehicle licensing department may not be allowed or able to provide vehicle ownership information to the toll authority. If the toll authority can identify a violating vehicle's owner, it may not be allowed to post a ticket. There may be no method for enforcing toll violations by leased or rented vehicles. Important financial issues include fines that are too low to deter drivers or cover collection costs, shortage of funds for law enforcement, and failure to assign fines to the toll authority. Another problem is lack of public or legislative support for ETC in some places. In 1995, the US State of California amended its law on toll evasion to make it a civil rather than a criminal offence. ETC vendors can help toll collectors to add value to their products. Public support for an ETC project can be made more likely by thinking in advance about creative ways to ensure drivers' privacy.
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