Big brother getting bigger or a great idea?

[vc1111]

I heard that the Pennsylvania turnpike is now arranging for the issue of speeding violations...at the toll booth.

Yesterday a man reported to the local media that he got a ticket when he arrived at the toll booth to turn in his voucher ticket and pay the appropriate toll.

On the Pennsylvania turnpike. you take a paper voucher out of a machine when you get on and then give it to the toll booth worker when you get off, so that they know how far you've traveled and how much you owe.

The toll booth worker put his turnpike voucher through the computer, collected his money and then said, "That officer over there wants to talk to you. Take this voucher to him."

The officer ran the time and travel numbers from the voucher through his computer and advised him that he'd averaged 77 miles per hour (speed limit is 65 or less, depending on the zone you travel through on the turnpike). He then issued a speeding citation.

The ticket will cost him $250 unless he can think of a way to "fight" it.

[Fieldmouse]

Well I guess I'll need to budget for speeding tickets then or avoid timed toll roads.

[Fieldmouse]

Problem solved, All I need to do is loose the ticket and pay the max amount!!!!

[hillbillyhunter1]

Although that idea seems kind of like a good one, from a law enforcement standpoint..afterall, if they can do the math, they can figure it out..even in Pennsylvania[8D]

However, just imagine where that kind of idea could lead. All these cars with these "onstar" computers or "easy passes". They could theoretically track you between any two fixed points no matter how short the intervaland mail you a ticket and they could put those "fixed points" all over the place.(I know, I know,this is where you were going VC,just had to make sure everyone else understood)One more reason for me to dislike anything that sends a signal from my vehicle to somewheres else...won't have it.

In the meantime, this is just one more reason why the Pennsylvania Turnpike is the worst road in the United States.

[Red Lion]

The notion is BS! This is America! I can see if someone is speeding through a school zone or residential area, but a closed highway??? There is the unwritten, but very truerule about "its only wrong if you get caught!" I do not mean that for serious crimes, but come, on speeding on a highway where I am sure it was not a safety hazard.......ridiculous stuff gus! What is next, a chip in the ole hinder to keep eye (brown one ) out for C02 emisions and then charging us individually for global warming/ozone depletion?

[BigTiny]

There's a way to beat the ticket, but it will take going to court and wasting at least half a day 2 or 3 times. First, in order to give you a ticket, an officer must see you speeding and be able to measure your speed with an approved and calibrated device. Are the clocks on the tollway synchronized? Did the officer know they were synched when he wrote the ticket? Who is listed as the affiant on the ticket? The toll booth operator or the officer? That's just off the top of my head. Good luck.

[kdvollmer]

Hey guys, do your homework. I amremember reading that newer cars (sorry, I don't remember the year it started) have something similar to a "black box" like an airplane. It is for Insurance companies and Police to use more specifically after an accident. Not sure if this is all cars or what. Might have been just a rumor, or a new concept idea, but I am almost certain that this technology is out there.

[boysda]

sounds a little strange. I've heard that story resurface in various forms over the last three years, but could never verify it. turnpike folks denied the practice last time i talked to them.

as a foil for debate, I guess i'm ok with the practice, so long as they stick to ticketing people from Ohio.

[kevin1]

It's their road and therefore their rules. Speed averaging is just as reliable in most cases as timed observation, if you cross a given distance in less than a certain interval you pretty much have to be speeding. Radar and laser speed traps use the same principle, just over a much shorter distance.

[falcon]

Another fine nanny state invention. Got to keep those sheeple in line.