Toll collection has a long and varied history in the UK. Variable message signs have a huge role to play in its future. Look at any historical map of a European country and it will strike you how frequently reference is made to toll roads and bridges. In Britain, many a picturesque roadside dwelling named Tollgate Cottage or Turnpike House accurately describes the former commercial use of the premises to collect tolls from travellers. As records in local magistrate's courts reveal, disputes' about the toll to be charged or use of the road or bridge were regular occurrences. Drovers bringing animals to market had to pay tolls based on fractions of a penny per animal or by the dozen or by the score, so it is easy to see how confusing and time consuming it could have been to count a flock of several hundred sheep or geese and charge the correct toll. The main complaint was that the toll charge had changed without warning and the drover had not known. All travellers complained if the road was closed and they only found out when joining the traffic jam at the tollgate. Those who incurred the cost of staying at an inn overnight tried to claim against the toll operator, but were usually rebutted because the toll operator accepted no consequential loss.
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