Can Temporary License Plates Use ETC Lanes?
4 Answers
As long as you have an ETC device installed, you can use ETC lanes. The ETC system automatically charges by recognizing the vehicle's ETC electronic tag, deducting the balance from the tag. This process is largely unrelated to whether the vehicle is using temporary license plates. ETC Charging Principle: Highways have one or more ETC lanes. Through dedicated short-range microwave communication between the vehicle's electronic tag (installed on the windshield) and the ETC lane's microwave antenna, the system connects with banking networks for backend settlement. This allows vehicles to pass through toll stations without stopping, following a "pass first, charge later" principle. Benefits of Installing ETC: Time-saving: Eliminates waiting in queues; Eco-friendly: Reduces noise and exhaust emissions by avoiding stops at toll booths; Cost-efficient: Minimizes vehicle wear and fuel consumption by reducing frequent starts and stops; Improved efficiency: ETC lanes can theoretically process vehicles 2-3 times faster than traditional methods, making them more advanced and efficient. Compared to license plate payment, ETC technology is more mature and advantageous. Additional Policy Support: The State Council's "13th Five-Year Plan for Modern Integrated Transportation System Development" explicitly states goals to achieve widespread ETC adoption by 2020, including 50% usage rate for road passenger vehicles. Future Possibilities: Beyond increasing ETC convenience and passenger vehicle usage, future plans include expanding ETC to trucks and integrating ETC systems with smart transportation technologies like vehicle-to-vehicle communication and vehicle-road coordination, offering comprehensive travel services and more application scenarios. ETC Usage Notes: ETC has an 8-meter sensing range. To avoid incorrect charges for the vehicle ahead (due to ETC device failure or absence), maintain a 10-meter distance. The ETC lane recognizes vehicles at speeds up to 20km/h. Exceeding this speed may result in failed charges. Tampering with or moving the OBU device, or having a loose/detached ETC tag, can deactivate it. Visit the issuing bank or highway office for reactivation if not caused intentionally. Insufficient balance on debit-linked ETC cards may cause charge failures. Follow staff directions to use manual MTC lanes with cash or card payments. Thick or modified windshields, especially post-accident replacements, may interfere with ETC signal reception.
I just bought a new car last time with temporary license plates still on, and I wondered if I could take a shortcut through the ETC lane to save time. So I actually tried it once, but got stuck there because it wasn't recognized—almost got honked to death by the cars behind me! Later, I asked my mechanic buddy, and he told me that ETC needs to be linked to a formal license plate number. Temporary plates don't have this feature, so of course the system couldn't scan them and let me through. Now I get it—I'll just have to queue honestly in the manual lane and pay with cash or scan a QR code until I get my formal plates and can set up an ETC device. No point causing unnecessary trouble.
Hey, a friend asked the same question last week, and I told him straight up not to take the risk! Temporary license plates simply don't work with ETC because electronic toll collection relies entirely on cameras recognizing license plates, and temporary plates aren't registered in the system—it's bound to fail. If you try to force your way through, you'll either end up with a failed toll charge or get chased down for fines, which is a huge hassle! It's much safer to use the manual lane. Just be patient and wait for your official plates to arrive before installing the ETC tag—easy and safe.
Having driven for twenty years, I've seen many new car owners with temporary license plates trying to take shortcuts. Let me give you a piece of advice: don't mess with ETC! The system doesn't recognize temporary plates, and forcing your way through will only cause traffic jams and delays, affecting others. Just queue up in the manual lane—it's simple and efficient.
