India’s FASTag system was designed to make our highways faster, not harder. Introduced as a seamless solution for digital tolling, FASTags promised shorter queues, smoother rides, and less fuel wasted in traffic. But as enforcement gets stricter and glitches remain unresolved, consumers are starting to pay the price, not just in tolls, but in frustration. From Delhi to Pune, drivers are being penalized for so-called “improper” FASTag usage. That includes loosely affixed stickers, low readability, or slight placement errors, issues often caused by heat, wear and tear, or curved windshields, not by any ill intent. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has warned that such vehicles could be banned from using FASTag lanes altogether.

This raises an important question: Should commuters be punished for technical flaws in a system they were encouraged an then forced, to adopt? The transition to digital tolling was never optional for consumers.........

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