David Zurschmeide, 39, slammed his motorcycle into the back of a tractor-trailer whose driver was waiting for change in a cash lane at the Cypress Creek toll plaza on Florida's Turnpike in July 2008.

He died a day later from his injuries.

Accidents like this once were far more common at toll plazas than they are now.

And there should be even fewer in the years ahead as toll booths on Florida's Turnpike go the way of full-service gas stations. The reason: open-road tolling, where transponder-equipped vehicles travel at full speed beneath an overhead antenna that automatically deducts tolls from their accounts.

In a project that is already under way, Turnpike officials are spending almost $58 million to install the overhead equipment on the 47-mile Turnpike Extension between Miramar and Florida City.

By February 2011, all cash collection on the Turnpike's southernmost stretch will end, and crews will begin tearing down every toll booth. Toll plazas between the Golden Glades and Interstate 595 will be converted the next year. Eventually, the entire Turnpike will be free of toll booths.

Don't fret if you don't have SunPass. Drivers without transponders will get billed later.

Proponents cite three reasons for the push to eliminate cash collection: improving safety; eliminating bottlenecks; and reducing the cost of collecting tolls.

Since late 2007, the crash rate has dropped 58 percent at six plazas where some toll booths and cash lanes were replaced with open-road tolling.

The National Transportation Safety Board in 2006 called for toll plazas nationwide to be revamped to reduce the risk of rear-end collisions.

That recommendation came after a chain-reaction crash at an Illinois toll plaza killed eight people. While a trucker's excessive speed and inattention to slowing traffic caused the crash, the safety board concluded that the crash might have been avoided if the old-style toll plaza had had open-road tolling.

Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Jorge Delahoz said driver error is usually to blame, not toll plaza design.

Florida's Turnpike began the march toward a cashless toll road in 1998 when it introduced SunPass. Now that eight out of 10 rush hour drivers pay tolls electronically, officials say it's time to eliminate toll booths entirely.

`TOLL BY PLATE'

Called ``Toll by Plate,'' overhead cameras will capture license plates, and drivers without transponders will get a bill and pay a higher toll -- 25 cents higher than SunPass customers at each plaza.

Drivers who don't have SunPass will have two ways to pay tolls:

They can set up a prepaid account by providing their license plate number and a payment option, either a credit or debit card, or cash, check or money order deposits. Every time they drive through a toll plaza, their account will be debited.

Or, they can wait until they get a bill in the mail and then pay it. Those who wait will be charged an additional processing fee.

By next summer, almost 5,000 payment centers will be set up around the state in supermarkets and other retail outlets where drivers will be able to pay their bills with cash or a credit card or replenish their SunPass accounts.

Drivers who ignore a bill will be treated the same as motorists who miss tolls now. If left to linger too long, the unpaid toll could turn into a fine of more than $100 plus three points on the violator's driver's license. About 93 percent of all drivers who get an unpaid toll notice settle the matter before it goes to court.

In the past year, Turnpike officials have stepped up efforts to locate violators by checking multiple databases, not just relying on license plate records -- which might not be accurate if the drivers' address on file isn't current.

``We're always going to have a certain percentage of drivers that will try to evade paying a toll,'' said Jennifer Olson, the turnpike's deputy executive director.

Out-of-state drivers also will be able to use the Toll by Plate program, and Olson said she doesn't expect major problems because only 4 percent of the turnpike's drivers come from outside Florida.

The benefits could be huge to the Turnpike's bottom line. It means lower payroll costs because no attendants are needed. The all-electronic toll plazas don't require large tracts of land. In Miami-Dade County, an upcoming widening project is expected to cost $60 million less than it would have if toll booths had been included.

E-TOLLS' BENEFITS

Officials say no cash booths also means fewer delays and less congestion for commuters, and reduced pollution from cars waiting in line.

That alone makes it a worthwhile endeavor, said FHP Lt. Delahoz.

``It's a ripple effect. Anytime traffic has to stop, it backs up and you feel the effect for miles,'' he said. ``With open-road tolling you will notice a huge difference. Drivers will really appreciate it.''

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