Toll-road technology will soon be out of date

TOLL-COLLECTION technology on new Irish roads will be outdated before the roads are even built under European Commission plans to standardise systems throughout the EU.

The commission wants all toll roads to have automated booths using the same technology so motorists can buy a pass or create a payment account in any member state.

Ireland’s only two toll roads, the East Link and West Link in Dublin, and the automated booths that will come into operation on the new Drogheda bypass next year use microwave technology, which would not be compatible with the rest of the EU network.