EZ-PASS Question

[Kims Robot]

In NY there are several types of EZ Pass Accounts. The one most people use is the $25 one described above. I think you pay $10 for the tag deposit, and then get charged according to your tolls. You pay the same as people going through the other tolls, but its MUCH more convenient.

I drive the NY state thruway every single day (for nearly 60miles a day), so I signed up for the "thruway plan" which for $80 lets me drive the first 30 miles of every trip free (or if I just get off/on every 30 miles the whole trip is free! lol) and after that I pay a reduced rate.

But to answer the above question, yes, every single tollbooth you pass through is logged and can be tracked easily online.

And I MUCH prefer to pay for the thruway. I think in total with all the traveling I do (drive to CT and Ohio frequently), I pay $180/year... thats not a lot for 90% of my drive being really good roads and incredibly well plowed in the winter!

[Mike Betts]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

...And BTW, I think it was Raytheon Corp that invented/designed the technology for the EZ pass. They had one demand: under no circumstance can the pass be used to issue speeding, traffic or parking tickets. They did not want that dark cloud over their company - so you dont have to worry about getting tickets in the mail because your EZ pass flagged you for speeding.

Ken,

Up until a few months ago, I would have agreed that issuance of speeding tickets using EZ pass is an urban myth. Now I'm not so sure.

It is my understanding that they are using EZ pass to issue speeding tickets on the NJ Turnpike. The ticket is mailed to you and assumes that you know who was driving the car. However (since they can not prove who was driving), they do not assess points... Just fines.

I have an old college buddy in NJ who has a "need for speed" and he claims to have been nailed twice in this manner.

Mike

[KenWittlief]

in some states if you speed through the toll booth the equipment will photograph your license plates and you will get a ticket in the mail.

Any thruway that has toll cards and toll booths could issue speeding tickets based on the time stamp from when and where you entered the highway, to where you exited

there would be no reason to single out EZpass users, if thats what they wanted to do - in fact, if you paid the toll in person, the collector could ask for your drivers license and hand you the ticket right there, or tell you to pull over to the side where a trooper is waiting.

[Madison]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

The NY state thruway was only suppose to have tolls for 20 years, to pay for its construction. When the 20 year anniversary finally came (a few years ago) the state decided they like our money too much, so they made the tolls permanant, and to show they were serious, they raised them a short time after.

Well, the toll does help to, y'know, keep the road from completely falling apart. It's not a bad trade.

Out here in the west, the concept of a toll road is completely foreign to these people. It's strange.