Atlantic City Expressway to go after people with $200+ toll violations

[SteveG1988]

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/19261133/new-jersey-going-after-atlantic-city-expressway-toll-cheats

Once you rack up 200 bucks in unpaid tolls, you will be given a notice of registration suspension

[signalman]

So, in theory, one could clinch the ACE and blow through all the tolls and drive on unscathed?  (Note that I don't condone this, nor would I try it.)  This is how I interpret that short article though.

[jeffandnicole]

No, not at all.  If you go thru the tolls without paying, you are sent a violation notice for the toll and a $50 fine, and are expected to pay up.

If you rack up $200, then you are added to the list.  Note...this list is public information, and could wind up in the newspaper or other publicly seen material.  Now, your family, friends and employers will know you are a toll evader.  The $200 you owe could wind up being hard to pay if your company doesn't enjoy seeing their employees names in the paper as someone who is effectively stealing.

[SteveG1988]

So, in theory, one could clinch the ACE and blow through all the tolls and drive on unscathed?  (Note that I don't condone this, nor would I try it.)  This is how I interpret that short article though.

It is amazing what people will do to skip a 3.75 toll for a car.

[signalman]

It doesn't really surprise me.  People try to steal a $1.50 soda at my work all the time

Galaxy S3

[ZLoth]

It is amazing what people will do to skip a 3.75 toll for a car.

No kidding. About a year ago, I was traveling from Sacramento to San Jose on the I-680. To my left, a smeghead was barreling down the car pool/express lane, and when he approached the electronic gantry, he pulled right, across two sets of double-lines, to skip the toll, and then pulled back left afterward. I really hoped the CHP would catch this turd.

[SteveG1988]

It is amazing what people will do to skip a 3.75 toll for a car.

No kidding. About a year ago, I was traveling from Sacramento to San Jose on the I-680. To my left, a smeghead was barreling down the car pool/express lane, and when he approached the electronic gantry, he pulled right, across two sets of double-lines, to skip the toll, and then pulled back left afterward. I really hoped the CHP would catch this turd.

[jeffandnicole]

So, in theory, one could clinch the ACE and blow through all the tolls and drive on unscathed?  (Note that I don't condone this, nor would I try it.)  This is how I interpret that short article though.

It is amazing what people will do to skip a 3.75 toll for a car.

I had one memorable guy on the NJ Turnpike trying to get out of a toll. His car was loaded with crap.  'Clergy' signs, documents, placards, and other stuff that he could use to escape paying. I think he tried giving me a story or two as well.  He was obviously a con man, and probably stuck that stuff in his windows all the time while parking to escape the parking meter charges as well.

His toll?  A whole $1.00, from Interchange 3 - 1.  And he could've used parallel I-295 and escaped the toll completely, no excuses need.

[cpzilliacus]

I had one memorable guy on the NJ Turnpike trying to get out of a toll. His car was loaded with crap.  'Clergy' signs, documents, placards, and other stuff that he could use to escape paying. I think he tried giving me a story or two as well.  He was obviously a con man, and probably stuck that stuff in his windows all the time while parking to escape the parking meter charges as well.

His toll?  A whole $1.00, from Interchange 3 - 1.  And he could've used parallel I-295 and escaped the toll completely, no excuses need.

Please don't tell me that members of the clergy can get away with not paying tolls on the N.J. Turnpike.

[jeffandnicole]

I had one memorable guy on the NJ Turnpike trying to get out of a toll. His car was loaded with crap.  'Clergy' signs, documents, placards, and other stuff that he could use to escape paying. I think he tried giving me a story or two as well.  He was obviously a con man, and probably stuck that stuff in his windows all the time while parking to escape the parking meter charges as well.

His toll?  A whole $1.00, from Interchange 3 - 1.  And he could've used parallel I-295 and escaped the toll completely, no excuses need.

Please don't tell me that members of the clergy can get away with not paying tolls on the N.J. Turnpike.

NO ONE gets away without paying a toll.  Well, the only ones that do are those on official duty with the NJ Turnpike.  Even cops, fire, ambulances, etc have to pay, and they seek reimbursement from their employers.  If they were on official business, they would be issued a pass or would receive a specific ticket that authorized them to be on the Turnpike.  Today most would them have EZ Passes anyway so it's not a big deal, but back before EZ Pass was popular they would have to get a receipt or have that special pass, which extremely few people had (Sunoco trucks had them, but I can't really recall anyone else from the outside).  This particular guy obviously was trying to find something to keep him from paying, as if he had a stack of coupons and was sitting there at the register trying to find a valid one.

[hbelkins]

This reminds me of a guy with whom I participate on a Kentucky sports mailing list. He's an atheist but he has a priest outfit, complete with collar. He wears it to sporting events to curry special favor, including ticket upgrades.

[cpzilliacus]

Please don't tell me that members of the clergy can get away with not paying tolls on the N.J. Turnpike.

NO ONE gets away without paying a toll.  Well, the only ones that do are those on official duty with the NJ Turnpike.  Even cops, fire, ambulances, etc have to pay, and they seek reimbursement from their employers.  If they were on official business, they would be issued a pass or would receive a specific ticket that authorized them to be on the Turnpike.  Today most would them have EZ Passes anyway so it's not a big deal, but back before EZ Pass was popular they would have to get a receipt or have that special pass, which extremely few people had (Sunoco trucks had them, but I can't really recall anyone else from the outside).  This particular guy obviously was trying to find something to keep him from paying, as if he had a stack of coupons and was sitting there at the register trying to find a valid one.

In Maryland at least, local and state government-owned vehicles can have a non-revenue (in Maryland the case is usually orange) E-ZPass transponder (since Md. 200 opened, every county government-owned  vehicle in Montgomery County seems to have one).  Many vehicles with Maryland state government registration plates have long had an orange transponder. 

Regarding Sunoco, it makes sense to me that whatever petroleum company is delivering product to the Turnpike service stations would be granted free passage, though now it presumably makes more sense for them to have a transponder, and then the owner of the tank trucks and the Turnpike Authority can settle-up later. 

I recall reading in Looking for America on the New Jersey Turnpike that (at least back then when the book was written, long before anyone heard of E-ZPass) that the Turnpike Authority had well-defined procedures for handling patrons that had no cash.

[NJRoadfan]

The NJ Turnpike Authority has a program for law enforcement vehicles where the plates are registered and tolls automatically deducted every month. The official policy is to blow through the E-ZPass lane and they sort out the billing based on plate. It saves the hassle of having to maintain a fleet of transponders or deal with violations.

[SteveG1988]

Please don't tell me that members of the clergy can get away with not paying tolls on the N.J. Turnpike.

NO ONE gets away without paying a toll.  Well, the only ones that do are those on official duty with the NJ Turnpike.  Even cops, fire, ambulances, etc have to pay, and they seek reimbursement from their employers.  If they were on official business, they would be issued a pass or would receive a specific ticket that authorized them to be on the Turnpike.  Today most would them have EZ Passes anyway so it's not a big deal, but back before EZ Pass was popular they would have to get a receipt or have that special pass, which extremely few people had (Sunoco trucks had them, but I can't really recall anyone else from the outside).  This particular guy obviously was trying to find something to keep him from paying, as if he had a stack of coupons and was sitting there at the register trying to find a valid one.

In Maryland at least, local and state government-owned vehicles can have a non-revenue (in Maryland the case is usually orange) E-ZPass transponder (since Md. 200 opened, every county government-owned  vehicle in Montgomery County seems to have one).  Many vehicles with Maryland state government registration plates have long had an orange transponder. 

Regarding Sunoco, it makes sense to me that whatever petroleum company is delivering product to the Turnpike service stations would be granted free passage, though now it presumably makes more sense for them to have a transponder, and then the owner of the tank trucks and the Turnpike Authority can settle-up later. 

I recall reading in Looking for America on the New Jersey Turnpike that (at least back then when the book was written, long before anyone heard of E-ZPass) that the Turnpike Authority had well-defined procedures for handling patrons that had no cash.

The PA Turnpike has well defined procedures for it, you get given a promissory note at the end of the road and pay it later.