Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a vehicle based toll and road usage accommodation and handling system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on March 9th, 2023, published on September 12th, 2024, and assigned serial number 0302176.
The Ford Authority Take
Back in July 2022, a Ford patent was published outlining an idea for a smart toll application system that would be capable of communicating with roadside toll units and relaying how much a toll costs to the driver, as well as automatically charging the toll electronically. Currently, this sort of thing is possible with RFID stickers or toll boxes that must be placed in the windshield, or even license plate readers in some states, but that tech would rely solely on vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) communications instead.
Now, this newly published patent presents us with an idea for a vehicle based toll and road usage accommodation and handling system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, too. The concept here is similar in that users wouldn’t have to have a sticker or toll box in their vehicle, nor would the toll system have to rely on license plate readers, but in this case, the system would utilize map data to provide a more comprehensive way of analyzing those routes versus others, as well as automatically charging tolls.
The system would determine the most efficient route and give users options in terms of taking or avoiding toll roads, as is the case with current navigation systems. The system would also be able to show the user differences in terms of time and cost, helping them to make a more informed decision in that regard, too. If the user decides to take the toll road, the system would then pay the toll automatically and display the pertinent information on the vehicle’s screen, giving the user more information in that regard, too.
Comment
Absolutely not. Once this type of system is embedded into the vehicle, we are going to start getting charged for all kinds of stupid things that were previously free. For its immediate application, it will get abused. Just like everything else in life when dealing with businesses, errors are always against you and in their favor. Are you going to stop the car and argue about the 50 cent overcharge? Nope, you’ll just keep driving and these businesses know it. Further, this is a money-hungry government’s dream. You can get charged tolls for driving anywhere! Governments can designate any road as a toll road and you will automatically get charged. Mileage fees for the environment. Congestion fees for commuting to work. A scenic route upcharge. Your driving patterns can be altered by charging you high rates on roads government cronies want you to avoid. Businesses can bribe/make campaign contributions to officials to funnel traffic in their direction.
Connected vehicles were, are, and will continue to be a bad, bad, bad idea.