Not just tolls: E-Z Pass keeping an eye on speeders
Not just tolls: E-Z Pass keeping an eye on speeders
By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY 2:28 p.m. EST December 19,
2014
Warning to motorists: Don't speed in the toll lanes. E-Z
Pass is watching.
Several states, including New York, Maryland and
Pennsylvania, say they monitor speeds through the fast pass toll lanes and will
suspend your E-Z Pass for multiple speeding violations.
In all, five of the 15 E-Z Pass states have some kind of
rules on the books for breaking the speed limit in the convenience lanes.
"You can lose your E-Z Pass privileges if you speed
through E-Z Pass lanes," says Dan Weiller, director of communications for
the New York State Thruway Authority. "You get a couple of warnings. We
don't have the power to give a ticket, but we do have to power to revoke your
E-Z Pass, which we will."
He and tolling officials in several other states say the
issue is the safety of human toll collectors. "At most toll barriers, we
have a mix of E-Z Pass lanes and standard toll lanes," Weiller says.
On Maryland toll roads, drivers' speed is monitored in
the free-flowing toll lanes, which have a 30 mph speed limit, says Becky
Freeberger, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Transportation Authority. "If
we clock you at 12 mph more than that, we will send you a warning, saying slow
down," she says. "It's not a ticket." If a driver gets a second
such notice within six months, their E-Z Pass account can be suspended for up
to 60 days.
In Pennsylvania, a warning usually suffices for
lead-footed drivers, says Carl DeFebo, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania
Turnpike Commission. "If a collector spots an E-Z Pass customer blasting
through at a high rate of speed, they'll get a license plate," he says. "We
do have the ability to send a warning letter to the customer, and that has
proven effective. If the customer doesn't heed the warning we have the ability
to suspend their E-Z Pass privileges but we haven't done that recently."
DeFebo notes that while states can collect tolls using
transponders based in other states, they don't yet have the ability to access
the account information of out-of-state drivers. "We don't have the
ability to send a warning letter to those customers," he says. "As
far as I know there is no reciprocity (with other states) on this issue."
That's one reason the state is slow to suspend E-Z Pass
accounts, he says. "It would be like letting others get off the hook but
going after our own customers."
West Virginia can suspend the accounts of E-Z Pass
customers who repeatedly speed but rarely does so, says Etta Keeney, customer
services supervisor with West Virginia Parkways Authority.
"If they're over a certain speed, they receive an
informational letter, like a warning, please slow down for your safety and
ours," she says. "If they continue to speed, if it's like a habitual
problem, we can take their privileges."
In Rhode Island lasers are used to monitor speeds in E-Z
Pass lanes on the Newport Bridge, also known as the Claiborne Pell Bridge, the
state's only tolled facility, says Jim Swanberg, director of plaza operations,
safety and security for the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority. He says
drivers can be "disqualified" for speeding after getting a warning.
Police enforce speed limits on E-Z Pass toll roads, and
some states say they don't gather any information on motorists' speed.
In Virginia, E-Z Pass account holders sign a customer
agreement to abide by the speed limit through toll plazas, says Tamara
Rollison, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation.
"There is no consequence spelled out if someone breaks the speed limit
regarding their E-Z Pass usage," she says. "The expectation is you
obey the law."
On North Carolina's Quick Pass toll roads, which also
accept E-Z Pass accounts, driver speeds are not monitored, says Steve Abbott, a
spokesman with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The state's
toll roads, which opened in 2011, were the first in the nation to be built
without toll booths, he says. "It's all transponders or (billing) by
mail," Abbott says. "If you drive it at 20 mph or 70 mph, it doesn't
note the speed of the vehicle," he says.
Speeding and the other E-Z Pass states:
Delaware. "We don't monitor speeds with the E-Z Pass
system," says Mike Williams, chief of communications with the state
Division of Motor Vehicles. "Speeding is a law enforcement issue in
Delaware.
Maine. Speeds are not monitored, says Erin Courtney, a
spokeswoman with the Maine Turnpike Authority.
Massachusetts. E-Z Pass does not monitor drivers' speeds
on toll roads nor as they drive through toll plazas; drivers don't lose E-Z
Pass privileges for speeding through toll plazas, says Amanda Richard, deputy
press secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
New Hampshire. "New Hampshire Turnpike System
presently does not use the E-Z Pass equipment in the toll plazas or open road
toll lanes to collect speed data and enforce speeds through the plaza or toll
zone, nor do we suspend E-Z Pass privileges," says Christopher Waszczuk,
administrator of the New Hampshire Bureau of Turnpikes. "The state police
is used to legally enforce the speed limit in locations susceptible to
speeding."
New Jersey. The E-Z Pass equipment at toll plazas on the
New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway records the speed of vehicles
coming through, says Thomas Feeney, a spokesman for the New Jersey Turnpike
Authority. "But we don't issue tickets or suspend privileges," he
says.
Ohio. "We do not monitor speed using E-Z Pass,"
says Adam Greenslade, spokesman for the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure
Commission. "Also, as far as speeding at our toll plazas is concerned, we
have a completely gated system. Therefore, even E-Z Pass users are required to
slow down enough to give the gate time to open."
Information for E-Z Pass in Indiana and I-PASS in
Illinois was not available.
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