Paying cash on Florida toll road causes problems?

matlack · Feb 28, 2011

Actually, I was relieved when I realized the Cashier was writing down my plate number as initially I thought she was running off with my 100 dollar bill when she exited the booth. LOL.

matlack said:
Back in the mid 90's, I once paid a toll on the NY Thruway with a $100 dollar bill.
The collector actually got out of the booth and wrote down my license plate number before giving me change and a receipt.

We always carry a roll of quarters for toll roads that are automated and only accept exact change or transponders like the one east of Denver CO.

When using EZ Pass on the WV Turnpike the Class and Amount Paid will flash up on the screen for about 2 seconds just before it changes to "EZ Pass Paid".
I noticed that the amount seemed high and at the next Toll Plaza I asked the operator about it;
Turns out that the owner's truck (C two axle straight) transponder was set as a class 8 instead of a class 5, resulting in overpaying for tolls.

The Cashier was able to correct that toll which saved over $3 right then, and the PrePass / EZ Pass transponder had to be exchanged later for a correctly classified one.

bobwg · Mar 1, 2011

AMonger said:
Ah, I knew the fascists would arrive at some point. It doesn't matter whose boots you lick, just so you're tasting boot, does it?

There's the "I vas chust following ze ordnung" line. Had to come out at some point. If they unlawfully detain me, it's the individual collector who's more at fault than the supervisor.

As I pointed out, virtually every cashier in the country has one of those validation markers, and there are other means of verifying currency as well.

I have no objection to them taking down my plate number. In fact, if they're not going to take common sense measures like the marker, that would be the thing to do--the license plate that's in plain sight, of which you have no reasonable expectation of privacy. My name, driver's license or other ID--they can kiss my @$$ before they'll get that.

As for big bills, I'd have no objection to them not taking bills larger than a $20, as long as it's posted conspicuously before the entrance to the turnpike.

But do use punctuation. Please.

If they take the measures I've outlined, they can protect themselves without resorting to false detention. Every toll taker that does this should be placed under arrest.

No I am not a facists but you are a ? ok nevermind I will be civil on here.
Lets see does the company that makes the marker give you a written gaurantee that the pen will always work???

layoutshooter · Mar 1, 2011

I think that one of the biggest problems with taking your CDL to get the info is that now that person has your name, address, height, weight and date of birth. I understand that they are doing this because of counterfeit bills. How do I know that toll taker is not going to do something "fishy" with all the info that they have access to? So many of them don't even speak English. How do I know that they themselves are not "counterfeit"? Lack of trust goes both ways.

chefdennis · Mar 1, 2011

I didn't want to hi-jack Amongers thread with the politics of this isue, so I posted this article in the "soapbox"...take a look at this article :

http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/soapbox/46535-your-cash-no-good-roads.html#post425123

jjoerger · Mar 1, 2011

SunPass, as well as all the others, collects a lot of interest on the money you deposit into you account. We have around $50 on our 2 Sunpass accounts that has been there for at least a year. Multiply that by a few million account holders and pretty soon your talking real money.

greg334 · Mar 1, 2011

Just get over it and pay in pennies.

AMonger · Mar 2, 2011

bobwg said:
No I am not a facists but you are a ? ok nevermind I will be civil on here.
Lets see does the company that makes the marker give you a written gaurantee that the pen will always work???

Couldn't tell you. But almost every company in the country that takes cash trusts them, and bills in the US are made to a uniform standard, so in theory, it should work every time. If it doesn't, it would certainly be at a statistically insignificant rate, and if the toll road and Burger King and KMart started seeing these bills that are fooling detection methods, the Secret Service would be all over it.

But that's really not the issue. That a business runs a risk when they take cash doesn't entitle them to unlawfully detain anyone for paying in a medium that the government calls "legal tender for all debts, public and private." In your posts, you seem to be very willing, even eager, to intrude on individual rights for the slightest of reasons. Rights don't work that way. We have laws against unlawful detention. A guard or a business can detain you under very limited circumstances. Paying in cash surely isn't one of them.

This goes back to the rights versus privileges thing. You write a check at a grocery store, and they want to see your ID. That's because they're extending you a privilege--leaving the store with merchandise without giving them cash. That's not the case here. The toll road isn't entitled to any more information on users than is readily visible, like the plate.

greg334 · Mar 3, 2011

Amonger, do not forget that we have laws that say that they have to take US currency. If they refuse to take say a $50 bill and can make change, they have to take it. The only legit reason for not accepting large bills is the lack of change to complete the transaction.