What to Do When There's Insufficient Balance in ETC?
2 Answers
If there's insufficient balance in your ETC account, you can follow the guidance of on-site staff to proceed through the manual MTC lane using cash or card payment. ETC Usage Precautions: The ETC transaction sensing range is 8 meters. When the vehicle in front stops, to prevent issues such as a malfunctioning ETC device or no ETC device at all, maintain a distance of more than 10 meters from the vehicle ahead to avoid automatic fee deduction for the preceding vehicle. The recognized speed for ETC lane passage is 20 km/h. Driving too fast may prevent the system from reading your vehicle's device information, leading to failed fee deductions. Unauthorized removal or movement of the OBU device, or if the ETC electronic tag falls off or becomes loose, will render the electronic tag invalid. You can take it to the bank where you applied for the ETC card or the highway service office for inspection. If the loosening or detachment is not due to human intervention, reactivation is usually sufficient. When using a debit card linked to ETC, insufficient balance can also cause fee deduction failures. Follow the guidance of on-site staff to proceed through the manual MTC lane using cash or card payment. Thick car windshields may cause poor signal reception. This is particularly relevant for vehicles that have had their windshields replaced after an accident or for those with modified front windshields.
If my ETC balance runs low on the highway, my biggest concern is safety. I remember last time I was driving, when passing through the toll station, it alerted me about insufficient funds. I quickly turned on the hazard lights and pulled over to the emergency lane to avoid being rear-ended. After getting out of the car to check my balance on the mobile app, I realized I indeed had no money left. At that point, I directly went to the manual toll lane to pay in cash, which was hassle-free. I recommend installing a highway toll app or using Alipay for quick top-ups—it only takes a few minutes. Additionally, checking your account balance before setting off is a good habit, so you don’t end up panicking like I did. For the future, linking a bank card for automatic deductions is the safest bet, so you don’t have to keep worrying about it. The key point is that handling the situation safely to avoid accidents is more important than anything else.
