Tolls, Pay by plate (from another forum)

Mortimer Brewster wrote:

If you decide to do this I'd advise writing down the number of the toll plaza. You'll need that info when paying online and it's much easier than looking it up.

Never had to myself. I'm in IL often enough so I have a transponder.

Really don't matter to me, I just tossed that in for some 'icing'. In the last 40 years (and that includes 35 years of over the road commercial driving, I have never received a ticket for anything and that includes numerous DOT checks.

I make sure my 'stuff' is right, all the time.

The last 5 years of my commercial driving job, I spent it as a Safety and Compliance officer for a large private company, the same one I retired from. Was an interesting job that has too much travel involved. I did accident investigations, drive compliance, log book violations and equipment safety checks and i wrote up quite a few drivers for not following DOT and company rules. I wasn't a nice person, just did my job.

Far as license plate covers in Ohio on non-commercial vehicles, I have no idea about local or State laws concerning them.

Like everything else however, California seems to take everything to the extreme. Why I don't live there and never wanted to.

SidecarFlip wrote:
Not sure it's commonplace but around here people run 'prismatic' license plate coverts on their license plates because Toledo is festooned with stoplight cameras and they use handheld speed cams too.

The 'prismatic' plate covers only allow you to see the plate numbers when looking straight on the plate. Looking from the side, the numbers/letters are unreadable, real popular around here.

There was an incident not too long ago where a cop with a handheld speed cam issued 175 speeding tickets for a school zone in 3 hours at 125 bucks each. Turned out that the cop wasn't even in the school zone and was shooting cars that weren't in the 25 zone at all. The Chief of Police had to make a public apology and nullify all the citations and those that paid, got their money back....

Photo blocker plate cover....
www.ontrackcorp.com/original-protector.cfm?id=03

I don't have one but they are available and legal.

Actually, license plate covers are illegal in many states. Some state motor vehicle codes are somewhat open to interpretation (the license plate must not be "obscured" or "illegible"), others are very cut and dried. Illinois (mentioned above in this thread) law, for instance, is very specific: "A person may not operate any motor vehicle that is equipped with registration plate covers.".

Law enforcement officers may write tickets for license plate covers in most states if the cover causes them any difficulty in seeing the plate. Obstructing a registration plate is illegal almost everywhere.

When I was shopping around for the 'best deal' on an EZPass, I partially filled out the Illinois Tollway app but didn't complete it (after discovering that the MASS Pass was less (up to 5 transponders at no charge) and a lesser amount in escrow to cover tolls.

About 2 weeks after I failed to compete the Illinois app, I got a nasty letter via e-mail from Illinois telling me I would be fined if I used their IPASS lanes without THEIR transponder. I already the MASS Pass transponders at that time. I chuckled and deleted their nasty gram.

There seems to be no standardization of transponder fees or escrow amounts. The MassPass was the least expensive going in, at least when I got mine last year, it was.

I do know one thing, I prefer a transponder in Illinois. The toll booth employees around Chicago are very rude people.

Thinking back, I remember going on a hunting trip to NM and getting on the Will Rodgers turnpike and getting to the first unattended toll booth and not having any change to toss into the collection basket. They don't take 50 dollar bills... Has to drive around the gate to the tune of sirens and bells and did that twice. When we got to the last toll booth a pretty young lass was there and I explained I had no change and never expected a toll road in the first place. She let me pay the entire toll there and deleted my criminal activities at the other toll booths. In Chicago, I would have been incarcerated.

towpro wrote:
in PA they are before and after the actual old ticket booth, as well as up high. I can take a picture tomorrow if you want.

The overheads are the ones I always saw. Usually lit up at night.

Must have been that Illinois didn't have the ground mounted cameras (at least when I went through the EZ pass lanes years ago.

I have pay by plate. My plate is on the Tc because you can't even see my bumper unless you are on your hands and knees and crawl under the Tc.

in PA they are before and after the actual old ticket booth, as well as up high. I can take a picture tomorrow if you want.

The mass turnpike took out the toll booths so there is no camera there. The overhead cameras are on the pike nowhere near an exit.

Campfire Time wrote:

At least with IL, if you don't have an iPass you can go on the website site and pay the tolls online up to 7 days after you drive through.

If you decide to do this I'd advise writing down the number of the toll plaza. You'll need that info when paying online and it's much easier than looking it up.

IL reads the rear plate. I know this because a relative got a ticket in the mail with a photo of the rear plate.

That said I've been told by people as long as your plate is registered in the system the toll charge is still applied to your account. I can not find anything "official" to confirm this.

At least with IL, if you don't have an iPass you can go on the website site and pay the tolls online up to 7 days after you drive through.