ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 7 - New data from three of the largest toll agencies in the U.S. demonstrates that the number of traffic accidents at open road tolling (ORT) plazas is significantly less than that at traditional toll plazas. Data from Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE), Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA), and the Texas Turnpike Authority (TTA) Division of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) show that conversion to ORT reduces tolling location accidents by over 60 percent.

At traditional toll plazas, vehicles must slow down and pay tolls with either cash or via a transponder. At ORT plazas, vehicles travel at highway speeds under overhead gantries that collect the tolls electronically.

Over the past several years, FTE has been converting a number of existing traditional toll lanes to ORT lanes. At the seven toll plazas that now have ORT (reflecting about 174 million transactions per year), accidents have decreased by an average of 62 percent.

Since 2003, OOCEA has also been converting toll lanes to ORT and in 2008 processed over 120 million transactions through converted ORT plazas. The data shows that accidents at these converted plazas have decreased on average, by over 80 percent compared to the number of accidents that occurred at the traditional toll plazas.

TTA's Central Texas Turnpike System processed about 99 million toll transactions in FY2007 and 2008 combined. Slightly more than half of the tolling transactions were through an ORT gantry location, and the other half were through a traditional plaza where tolls are collected in either stopped or slow-down conditions. In 2007 and 2008, there were a total of 96 accidents at the traditional toll plazas, but none at the ORT lanes.

"Most of the accidents at toll plazas involve vehicles colliding with some part of the toll plaza infrastructure-guardrails, bollards, attenuators, barriers, or light posts," said Michael J. Davis, PE, PBS&J national tolls senior group manager. "ORT lanes are 'open' for good reason. There are no such obstructions for vehicles to hit."

Some accidents involve vehicles rear-ending the slowed or stopped vehicles in front. ORT collects tolls as the vehicles pass under the gantries at highway speeds. There are no slow-downs to cause such traffic irregularities.

For more information about PBS&J's toll services and experience, please see www.pbsj.com/tolls. Mike Davis can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 407.806.4401.

PBS&J ( www.pbsj.com) is an employee-owned company that provides infrastructure planning, engineering, construction management, architecture, and program management services to public and private clients. The firm is ranked by Engineering News-Record as 30th among the nation's top consulting firms. PBS&J has nearly 3,900 employees and more than 80 offices across the United States and abroad.

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