Speed Limit Drops Approaching Toll Booths

[nwi_navigator_1181]

Good day to all.

In my state (more specifically, on the Indiana Toll Road), it is a practice to drop the speed limit as you get closer to the mainline toll barrier. For example, the speed limit on the Eastbound Toll Road goes from 55 east of the Lake Station ramp (exit 21) to 45 at the one mile ticket advisory, then to 40 within the half-mile. It's not entirely uniform, but the idea is the same. The Chicago Skyway does the same thing (going as low as 35 before the toll booth), and the Illinois Tollway Authority used to do it along Interstates 88 and 90 before converting to Open Road Tolling.

The question is: does your state use a similar practice, or does it use a different technique to warn drivers to slow down and prepare for a full stop (like a series of mainline rumble strips with shorter intervals the closer you get to the gate - a practice I personally prefer)?

I thank you for your responses.

[vdeane]

The Thruway has no speed limit decreases at the following:
-Yonkers (55 mph)
-Tappan Zee (55 mph)
-Woodbury (65 mph)
-Ripley (65 mph)
-New Rochelle (55 mph/50 trucks)
-Buffalo (former; 55 mph)
-Black Rock (former; 55 mph)
-Cannan (65 mph)

The following are at the edges of a speed limit reduction from 65 mph to 55 mph; of these, the only one I suspect of causing the decrease is Spring Valley:
-Spring Valley
-Williamsville
-Lackawanna
-Tonawanda
-Niagara

There are no speed limit reductions on freeways that end at the Thruway either.

I've seen rumble strips at Williamsville and I-490's eastern end, but their use is inconsistent.

[tradephoric]

Toll roads should be renamed "slow" roads.  There's nothing efficient about driving zero miles per hour when stopped at a toll booth. 

[cpzilliacus]

Toll roads should be renamed "slow" roads.  There's nothing efficient about driving zero miles per hour when stopped at a toll booth. 

Hence open-road or cashless tolling.

[tradephoric]

Hence open-road or cashless tolling.

E‑ZPass ETC transponders do not work on all toll roads in the United States. Currently, the E-ZPass electronic toll-collection system (as well as the other ETC systems that are part of the E‑ZPass network) are not compatible with Florida systems (including SunPass and E‑Pass), California's FasTrak, Kansas's K‑Tag, Oklahoma's Pikepass, Texas's TxTag, Puerto Rico's AutoExpreso, Georgia's Peach Pass and Cruise Card, or other ETC systems outside of E‑ZPass operating regions.

My question is, do you have 17 transponders in your car for every toll you might encounter in America?  Even if you have a transponder, are you able to blow through at 70 MPH for every toll you encounter?

[InterstateNG]

Even if you have a transponder, are you able to blow through at 70 MPH for every toll you encounter?

Yes I am.  Sometimes at speeds even greater than 70 mph.

Now go take care of your efficiency boner before it totally gets killed, troll.

[tradephoric]

I'm making some legitimate points and you just resort to calling me a troll.  At least the "troll" remark was original.

[seicer]

Well, well, well. Someone is really against any form of tolling, and is basing their decision based on faulty logic or reasoning.

With my EZ-Pass transponder, I am able to travel on the majority of the toll roads in the United States with no problem. For other facilities, I can either be billed (pay by mail), throw change into a basket, wave my credit card in front of a reader, or pay money to an attendant. It's a long road to open-road tolling, but Texas is showing us how it can be done and at lesser expense to the taxpayer.

[Jim]

I don't remember the specific numbers, but the reduced the speed limits as they are posted in both directions on the Mass Pike approaching the West Stockbridge tolls (Exit 1) are unreasonably low for most road/traffic conditions.  Traffic is generally still flowing at or close to 65 well beyond the point where traffic is supposed to slow to something like 35.  I'd be interested in knowing what tolerance is generally given for speed enforcement in that area.  In light traffic and good weather, I do not see much of a reason to slow down below about 55 until the last 1/4 mile or so before the toll barrier.

I don't recall if these limits were changed in response to a famous truck crash from several years ago:

http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1999/Truck-Rams-Mass-Highway-Tollbooths/id-2c4d4191de6585689fc1b493af26bd57

[tradephoric]

Well, well, well. Someone is really against any form of tolling, and is basing their decision based on faulty logic or reasoning.

Who here has said they are against any form of tolling?

[1995hoo]

The speed limit through the E-ZPass Only lanes at the main toll plaza on the Dulles Toll Road is 35 mph. I regularly see people going through those lanes at 65 mph, and if I slow even to 50 mph I'm invariably tailgated. I'm wary of going too fast there–I've seen people stopping in those lanes looking for the exact-change basket and the last thing I want is to slam into a stopped car.

As far as ETC, I have both an E-ZPass and a SunPass Mini in my primary car and an E-ZPass in Ms1995hoo's. While they won't work everywhere, the only tollbooths we've encountered in the past five years where they wouldn't (not counting the Disney World tollbooth, where we didn't have to pay anyway) were the Cobequid Pass in Nova Scotia and the Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami (and I read the latter now takes SunPass). We simply don't drive to the states that use other systems–or, when we do (North Carolina and Georgia), we haven't used their toll roads.

[cpzilliacus]

Hence open-road or cashless tolling.

E‑ZPass ETC transponders do not work on all toll roads in the United States. Currently, the E-ZPass electronic toll-collection system (as well as the other ETC systems that are part of the E‑ZPass network) are not compatible with Florida systems (including SunPass and E‑Pass), California's FasTrak, Kansas's K‑Tag, Oklahoma's Pikepass, Texas's TxTag, Puerto Rico's AutoExpreso, Georgia's Peach Pass and Cruise Card, or other ETC systems outside of E‑ZPass operating regions.

My question is, do you have 17 transponders in your car for every toll you might encounter in America?  Even if you have a transponder, are you able to blow through at 70 MPH for every toll you encounter?

Simple - I don't generally drive on toll roads outside of the E-ZPass Group states.

The MAP-21 law, passed by Congress last year, mandates that the toll systems across the country become interoperable. See TOLLROADSnews report here.

From TOLLROADSnews (with emphasis added):

Interoperability within 4 years

Electronic tolling on all  interstates  and other federal-aid highways must provide for interoperability by mid-2016 as provided in a mercifully short provision of the Act:

SEC. 1512. TOLLING.

(a) AMENDMENT TO TOLLING PROVISION.–Section 129(a) of title
23, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) ELECTRONIC TOLL COLLECTION INTEROPERABILITY REQUIREMENTS.–Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, all toll facilities on the Federal-aid highways shall implement technologies or business practices that provide for the interoperability of electronic toll collection programs.

[MASTERNC]

PA Turnpike drops speed limits around toll booths from 65 to 55, even when there is open road tolling available.  Technically, the NB I-476 E-ZPass lanes at Mid County are supposed to be 35 MPH, but there is no regulatory sign posted (only an advisory speed on a lane shift sign).

[Brandon]

Toll roads should be renamed "slow" roads.  There's nothing efficient about driving zero miles per hour when stopped at a toll booth. 

Not when I can fly through at 70-75 mph in the ORT lanes on the tollway.

ISTHA used to slow people down before a toll plaza for a couple of years before converting the entire system to ORT.  Now, there are no speed limit changes for the toll plazas.

[SSOWorld]

Toll roads should be renamed "slow" roads.  There's nothing efficient about driving zero miles per hour when stopped at a toll booth. 

Not when I can fly through at 70-75 mph in the ORT lanes on the tollway.

ISTHA used to slow people down before a toll plaza for a couple of years before converting the entire system to ORT.  Now, there are no speed limit changes for the toll plazas.

at least they tried to.

[Brandon]

Toll roads should be renamed "slow" roads.  There's nothing efficient about driving zero miles per hour when stopped at a toll booth. 

Not when I can fly through at 70-75 mph in the ORT lanes on the tollway.

ISTHA used to slow people down before a toll plaza for a couple of years before converting the entire system to ORT.  Now, there are no speed limit changes for the toll plazas.

at least they tried to.

I'll give you that.  If ISTHA ever did an 85th percentile based off a speed study, most of the toll system would have 70-75mph limits.

[jeffandnicole]

NJ does not reduce speed limits approaching a toll plaza.

Completely opposite is the DRBA (Delaware Memorial Bridge). They reduce their limit to 20 mph nearly a 1/2 mile prior to the toll plaza.  Compare that to school zones in Delaware, which reduce their limit to 20 mph a few hundred feet prior to a school.  Who should be better protected, children or adults?

Even if you have a transponder, are you able to blow through at 70 MPH for every toll you encounter?

Many roads with 65 mph speed limits have 65 mph speed limits in their ORT plaza as well.  I'm sure the same is true on roads with 70 mph limits.

And that's just the speed limit - not the actual speed of traffic. So yes, transponders can be read at high speeds.

[1995hoo]

....

Many roads with 65 mph speed limits have 65 mph speed limits in their ORT plaza as well.  I'm sure the same is true on roads with 70 mph limits.

And that's just the speed limit - not the actual speed of traffic. So yes, transponders can be read at high speeds.

The Virginia State Police tested E-ZPass transponders through the ORT lanes on VA-895 prior to that road opening and they worked at least as fast as 100 mph. They never stated the top speed at which they tested them and I suppose I understand the reasons for that!

[cpzilliacus]

NJ does not reduce speed limits approaching a toll plaza.

Completely opposite is the DRBA (Delaware Memorial Bridge). They reduce their limit to 20 mph nearly a 1/2 mile prior to the toll plaza.  Compare that to school zones in Delaware, which reduce their limit to 20 mph a few hundred feet prior to a school.  Who should be better protected, children or adults?

Even if you have a transponder, are you able to blow through at 70 MPH for every toll you encounter?

Many roads with 65 mph speed limits have 65 mph speed limits in their ORT plaza as well.  I'm sure the same is true on roads with 70 mph limits.

And that's just the speed limit - not the actual speed of traffic. So yes, transponders can be read at high speeds.

I've only been on Va. 895 once, and I recall that it has a "modern" cashless/cash  toll plaza, with high-speed ORT lanes down the middle.  Unlike the aged Va. 267 (Dulles Toll Road) plaza.

[seicer]

I think when I was on TX 130 in Austin, Texas last year, I blew through the open-road tolls at 80 MPH.

[Dr Frankenstein]

I think A-30 drops to 70 km/h (~45 mph) then 50 km/h (~30 mph) approaching the toll booths. The rest of the highway is posted at 100 km/h (~60 mph).

[vdeane]

Even if you have a transponder, are you able to blow through at 70 MPH for every toll you encounter?

Yes I am.  Sometimes at speeds even greater than 70 mph.

Try that on some of the toll roads out east.  You'd probably get someone killed at the booths if you tried that.  At the ones with gate arms you'd even damage your car.

[SidS1045]

I don't remember the specific numbers, but the reduced the speed limits as they are posted in both directions on the Mass Pike approaching the West Stockbridge tolls (Exit 1) are unreasonably low for most road/traffic conditions.  Traffic is generally still flowing at or close to 65 well beyond the point where traffic is supposed to slow to something like 35.  I'd be interested in knowing what tolerance is generally given for speed enforcement in that area.  In light traffic and good weather, I do not see much of a reason to slow down below about 55 until the last 1/4 mile or so before the toll barrier.

I don't recall if these limits were changed in response to a famous truck crash from several years ago:

http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1999/Truck-Rams-Mass-Highway-Tollbooths/id-2c4d4191de6585689fc1b493af26bd57

No, the MassPike speed limits near toll plazas were always that show, long before that crash.  They usually start with "Speed Limit 40" about 1/2 mile out, then "Speed Limit 30" within 1/4 mile.  The limit through E-ZPass lanes in MA is 15.

[jeffandnicole]

Even if you have a transponder, are you able to blow through at 70 MPH for every toll you encounter?

Yes I am.  Sometimes at speeds even greater than 70 mph.

Try that on some of the toll roads out east.  You'd probably get someone killed at the booths if you tried that.  At the ones with gate arms you'd even damage your car.

Many of the toll roads out east have open road tolling, which is what we're referring to here - not traditional lanes with EZ Pass.

And many, many people go thru at speeds above 75 mph safely.

[myosh_tino]

Out here in California (San Francisco Bay Area to be exact), speed limits are reduced right at the toll plazas of the 7 state-owned toll bridges.  Speed limits on the approaches are 55-65 MPH but right at the toll plaza, there are small 5 MPH speed limit signs for the cash lanes and 25 MPH signs for the FasTrak lanes.

Google Maps Streetview examples...
http://www.google.com/maps?ll=37.618056,-122.152259&spn=0.001668,0.001725&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=37.618012,-122.152395&panoid=4ZU0g-cdFk0_OyCA4Tf1hA&cbp=12,252.54,,0,-4.9

http://www.google.com/maps?ll=37.618055,-122.152258&spn=0.000417,0.000431&t=h&z=21&layer=c&cbll=37.618055,-122.152258&panoid=sCrKJ3ed3WtUWiX9U8B6vw&cbp=12,217.48,,2,-1.89

The only exception to this is the Benicia Bridge (I-680) toll plaza which features open-road tolling lanes for FasTrak users.  While the cash lanes still have the 5 MPH speed limit signs, the limit on the open-road tolling lanes remain at 65 MPH which is the limit for I-680 as it approaches the toll plaza.

With all of that said, I don't think I've ever seen or heard of anyone getting a speeding ticket because of the 5 MPH limit at a toll plaza because....
1. They're already preparing to stop to pay the toll in cash
2. FasTrak users at a conventional toll plaza move into the FasTrak only lanes which have a 25 MPH limit.
3. Drivers naturally slow down at the toll plaza because the lane is pretty narrow.