Local

Woman hopes other drivers will learn from her more than $1,300 mistake

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A woman says she is one of several drivers facing thousands of dollars in fines for driving in toll lanes near metro Atlanta.

But -- she tells Channel 2's Carl Willis -- she had a peach pass.

The woman, who doesn't want to be identified for the sake of privacy, calls this highway robbery.

"I believe it's outrageous. The amount of people with the amount of money that the tolls are making," she said.

She says she had a lost or stolen credit card on file for her peach pass from August to December 2015. The woman says she received a notice to update her card information but claims she never received notice about the dozens of lane violations and the $25 fine attached to each one.

TRENDING STORIES:

Two months ago, she got a bill for more than $1,300 and she was told she was one of lucky ones.

"The judge told me your amount is pretty low. I've seen it where it was $50,000," she recalled.

When Lewis spoke to the State Road and Tollway Authority, they told him it's up to customers to have current credit card information on file and that it's also on customers to contact the authority as soon as possible to try and reduce the fine.

This woman says she learned it was too late in a packed courtroom Monday morning with dozens of other desperate drivers.

"There are a lot of people who are dealing with this and they can't afford this hefty amount," she said.

The tollroad authority says they send out multiple notifications before fines go to collections or the court.

Some drives say the first notice that caught their attention was the notice to be in court.