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bay bridge toll

HappyHighwayman said:
I have the transponder. I keep it in my jacket pocket, and when I remember, I velcro it to my moto's dashboard before crossing the bridge. If it's in my pocket, it never gets detected.

When it is taped to my dash, sometimes it is detected and sometimes it isn't.

When the flash goes off to indicate it wasn't detected, I noted from going over my billing statement it figured out it was me less than half the time, even though my bike is registered...so I assume they have issues with motorcycles, perhaps because it doesn't have a front license plate?

In the end, might as well get the Fastrack and keep it on you.
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The cameras read my plate every damn time and I've crossed the Dumbarton, BB and GGB over the past few weeks.

Bike Plate is registered with Fastrak but transponder is with the car.

Where am I going wrong?? :thumbdown

I'd love a free bridge crossing!

_
 
Gabe said:
Either way, this has been an interesting discussion, and I now know more about the Fastrak system than I did before. I also discovered there are at least 3 entities involved (BATA, Caltrans and Fastrak) as well as the CHP, so no single person has all the answers here.
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I agree, I was just sittin back watching the discussions fly, but have definitrly learned a little. Am I going to put the transponder in my pocket? Nope! I have been getting away with this for 2 years. I cross the bridge an avg 3 times a week (including winter). I am absolutly sure that any fines I get from here on out, I will end up on top. I have saved some $$$:party
 
HappyHighwayman said:
If it's in my pocket, it never gets detected.
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I keep mine there too, but it gets detected about half the time. All my vehicles are registered so I get charged either way.

HappyHighwayman said:
In the end, might as well get the Fastrack and keep it on you.
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I keep it on me, I pay the toll. There's better ways to save money in IMHO...
 
Aeroslash said:
The cameras read my plate every damn time and I've crossed the Dumbarton, BB and GGB over the past few weeks.

Bike Plate is registered with Fastrak but transponder is with the car.

Where am I going wrong?? :thumbdown

I'd love a free bridge crossing!

_
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I didn't even notice until I checked for fun, and boom...it clearly missed me a lot of the time. My GF at the time lived in Moraga so I was regularly riding back at all different times. Not sure what causes it.
 
Kornholio said:
The plate reader doesn't read your plate instantly if you don't have a transponder. A human does that later. If you don't have a transponder, an enforcement beacon is illuminated letting anyone who is watching know that the vehicle that just passed through effectively did not pay the toll at the moment they passed through. Some systems are different and flash a green light when a vehicle passes through that pays the toll as opposed to a red one for not paying.

They look something like this...

exhibit11.jpg


All major toll collection systems have this system. In fact, most metering lights in California also have this system so that the traffic enforcement officers can see who's running the metering lights.

As with any other traffic violation though, it's the officer's discretion on whether or not they want to stop you to determine if you're really a toll cheat or if you just forgot or misplaced your toll transponder or maybe the battery is dead or something. YMMV
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I don't think this is true. My transponder in my car doesn't work. Never has. Doesn't work in many of my friends cars either. Nobody has ever been cited or even pulled over. I tend to think the guys getting pulled over blasted through the toll booths or did something more than slow down and roll through without a transponder.
 
ElectricPrunes said:
I don't think this is true. My transponder in my car doesn't work. Never has. Doesn't work in many of my friends cars either. Nobody has ever been cited or even pulled over. I tend to think the guys getting pulled over blasted through the toll booths or did something more than slow down and roll through without a transponder.
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I'll tell you how my happened. You decide.

I'm rolling down Highway 241 (toll road) in my company car on my way back to San Diego. I passed through the FastTrak area, since I normally have my FastTrak, but I had forgotten to put the thing in my company car. I had already registered the plate in the system though so I figured no big deal...I'll just get billed later when they review the photo.

Nope.

About 1/8th of a mile in front of the toll station (you don't slow at all for them down here) a CHP motor pulled out from the side of the freeway and started in right behind me. I got lit up almost immediately and figured I must have been speeding or something...so I pull to the shoulder. He walks up, greets me and asks the standard questions:

"License, registration and proof of insurance. Do you know why I stopped you today?"

"Actually no I really don't."

"Toll evasion."

"Because I don't have my tag? I thought it could just read my plate if the tag wasn't in the car?"

"Yes it can. But the vehicle code still says you're required to have the transponder in the car any time you use a FastTrak lane anywhere in the state."

"Really? I was totally unaware of that. How did you even know I didn't have the tag?"

He then turns and points back at the railings over the the toll area...

"See those lights there? They tell us whether your tag was read or not. If your tag isn't read and there isn't an obvious sign of a tag in the window, it looks like you're a toll evader. That's why you were stopped."

He then ran my information, comes back and wrote me for not having the tag in the vehicle. :|

I went to court to have my day in front of the magistrate and the officer didn't show up. Done deal. However you can bet your ass I always have my transponder now. I use the Orange County Toll Roads and the HOT lanes in SD county regularly. It's just not worth another hassle.
 
mean dad said:
It is also illegal to exceed the speed limit on any highway, or to drive at any speed that is unsafe for the conditions. :twofinger

OP, I don't carry my transponder, I have all plates registered to my account.
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^^^^^ This
 
MikeyRocks said:
Wow, never heard of anyone getting ticketed for this before, sorry it happened to you but glad it got dismissed. How much was the citation?
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$240...plus any court fees that would've come up I'm sure. He wrote me for CVC 22302(c) which doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever. Maybe that's why he didn't show up.
 
I just googled that CVC exactly as you wrote it and the only things that came up was a hilarious thread on calguns full of misinformation and this precious line:

"i have one of the new harleys that have a folding license plate," :lol yeah, because those come stock. :rofl

At any rate, their thread says that particular CVC is failure to pay toll. Why wouldn't that make sense?

Sorry to hear about your ticket. Sounds like the cops in SoCal are a bit overzealous. Also, unconfirmed hearsay leads me to believe that HOT lanes in SoCal are patrolled more strictly than bridges up here.
 
psychocandy said:
I just googled that CVC exactly as you wrote it and the only things that came up was a hilarious thread on calguns full of misinformation and this precious line:

"i have one of the new harleys that have a folding license plate," :lol yeah, because those come stock. :rofl

At any rate, their thread says that particular CVC is failure to pay toll. Why wouldn't that make sense?

Sorry to hear about your ticket. Sounds like the cops in SoCal are a bit overzealous. Also, unconfirmed hearsay leads me to believe that HOT lanes in SoCal are patrolled more strictly than bridges up here.
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Well this didn't occur in the HOT lanes, it was on a straight-up toll road. But yes, I do see far more enforcement down here than up there.

And the reason I say it doesn't make sense is because the section that he cited me for, 22302(c) only applies with toll charging systems that do accept plate reading as a way to pay and you don't have money, a transponder or plates on the vehicle. I had plates...and they were registered with SANDAG (San Diego's FastTrak provider). Of course, there's probably no way for him to know that on the spot.
 
since when has the bay bridge not had trolls? I thought it always had trolls.
 
ElectricPrunes said:
I don't think this is true. My transponder in my car doesn't work. Never has. Doesn't work in many of my friends cars either. Nobody has ever been cited or even pulled over. I tend to think the guys getting pulled over blasted through the toll booths or did something more than slow down and roll through without a transponder.
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Some cars need external FasTrak because of metal oxide windshields. You may apply and not know it.
 
Gabe said:
If they really wanted us to use them, they'd have small ones for mounting under the tail plastic or on the license plate.
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We used to gave the plate mounted ones on our work vehicles. They got rid of them all a couple years ago and now we get charged by our plates. YMMV.
 
Killroy1999 said:
Some cars need external FasTrak because of metal oxide windshields. You may apply and not know it.
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I had the external license plate one and it didn't work. It's got nothing to do with the window. The transponders just suck.

And if the law is you must display the fast trak pass whether you have one or not, how does any motorcyclist display theirs?
 
Last March I was commuting across the Bay Bridge every workday for 3 months. I had the transponder in my tankbag. I quickly realized that if I accelerated "briskly" through the plaza, no charges. For months I wasn't charged. And, my butt was covered as I had the sender.

I have since used that same tactic on the Carquinez, Benicia and Antioch bridges with the same results.
 
Christ, let's not let the CalTrans or the bridge authority or whoever know ALL our secrets!
 
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