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Toll crossings on bike during comute hours with fastrak?

maxandgrinch said:
I think you can get a $160 citation for not having the transponder on-board - it's considered toll evasion, because of the potential of the photo being bad. LEO input?
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can we get some real answers here regarding this?
do you need to have the transponder on your bike if it's already registered with a fastrak account?
 
kooshball said:
can we get some real answers here regarding this?
do you need to have the transponder on your bike if it's already registered with a fastrak account?
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:rolleyes

23302. (a) It is unlawful for a person to fail to pay tolls or other charges on any vehicular crossing or toll highway. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), (c), or (d), it is prima facie evidence of a violation of this section for a person to enter upon any vehicular crossing without either lawful money of the United States in the person's immediate possession in an amount sufficient to pay the prescribed tolls or other charges due from that person or a transponder or other electronic toll payment device associated with a valid Automatic Vehicle Identification account with a balance sufficient to pay those tolls. If a transponder or other electronic toll payment device is used to pay tolls or other charges due, the device shall be located in, or on the vehicle in a location so as to be visible for the purpose of enforcement at all times when the vehicle is located on the vehicular crossing or toll highway. Where required by the operator of a vehicular crossing or toll highway, this requirement applies even if the operator offers free travel or nontoll accounts to certain classes of users.

(b) For vehicular crossings and toll highways that use electronic toll collection as the only method of paying tolls or other charges, it is prima facie evidence of a violation of this section for a person to enter the vehicular crossing or toll highway without a transponder or other electronic toll payment device associated with a valid Automatic Vehicle Identification account with a balance sufficient to pay those tolls.

(c) For vehicular crossings and toll highways where the issuing agency, as defined in Section 40250, permits pay-by-plate payment of tolls and other charges in accordance with policies adopted by the issuing agency, it is prima facie evidence of a violation of this section for a person to enter the vehicular crossing or toll highway without at least one of the following:
(1) Lawful money of the United States in the person's immediate possession in an amount sufficient to pay the prescribed tolls or other charges due from that person.
(2) A transponder or other electronic toll payment device associated with a valid Automatic Vehicle Identification account with a balance sufficient to pay those tolls.
(3) Valid vehicle license plates properly attached pursuant to Section 4850.5 or 5200 to the vehicle in which that person enters onto the vehicular crossing or toll highway.

(d) For vehicular crossings and toll highways where the issuing agency, as defined in Section 40250, permits pay-by-plate payment of tolls and other charges in accordance with policies adopted by the issuing agency, and where electronic toll collection is the only other method of paying tolls or other charges, it is prima facie evidence of a violation of this section for a person to enter the vehicular crossing or toll highway without either a transponder or other electronic toll payment device associated with a valid Automatic Vehicle Identification account with a balance sufficient to pay those tolls or valid vehicle license plates properly attached to the vehicle pursuant to Section 4850.5 or 5200 in which that person enters onto the vehicular crossing or toll highway.

(e) As used in this article, "pay-by-plate toll payment" means an issuing agency's use of on-road vehicle license plate identification recognition technology to accept payment of tolls in accordance with policies adopted by the issuing agency.

(f) This section does not require an issuing agency to offer pay-by-plate toll processing as a method for paying tolls.
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They're all the same fine. $154 base + lots of fees.
 
ScottRNelson said:
I'm still not convinced that I need to get a Fastrack device. And I'm really not interested in discussing it further.
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Gotcha, didn't realize you didn't have a Fastrak. Crossing the bridge once every few months is a good reason not to have a Fastrak, but the convenience of having one is the tits.

Wasn't aware that not carrying the transponder was considered unlawful, I guess I'll start carrying it in my leathers. The transponder doesn't get set off if it's covered by leather does it? I'll have to test this out one of these days, I'll post back w/ results... :laughing
 
MikeyRocks said:
Wasn't aware that not carrying the transponder was considered unlawful, I guess I'll start carrying it in my leathers.
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Paragraph (a) not only requires the transponder be in/on the vehicle, but that it is visible. :party
 
kooshball said:
can we get some real answers here regarding this?
do you need to have the transponder on your bike if it's already registered with a fastrak account?
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I had some spare time at work two years ago, and called the Oaklamd CHP about this. The watch commander said there was no way he or anyone else would write a ticket for it. This was two years ago, maybe things have changed.

He suggested carrying a copy of your last invoice from fastrak instead. Maybe it's time to call again.
 
Traq said:
(c) For vehicular crossings and toll highways where the issuing agency, as defined in Section 40250, permits pay-by-plate payment of tolls and other charges in accordance with policies adopted by the issuing agency, it is prima facie evidence of a violation of this section for a person to enter the vehicular crossing or toll highway without at least one of the following:
(1) Lawful money of the United States in the person's immediate possession in an amount sufficient to pay the prescribed tolls or other charges due from that person.
(2) A transponder or other electronic toll payment device associated with a valid Automatic Vehicle Identification account with a balance sufficient to pay those tolls.
(3) Valid vehicle license plates properly attached pursuant to Section 4850.5 or 5200 to the vehicle in which that person enters onto the vehicular crossing or toll highway.[/QUOTE]

This section seems like it would apply to all the bay area bridges, except maybe the GGB.
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Traq said:
Paragraph (a) not only requires the transponder be in/on the vehicle, but that it is visible. :party
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I just love it when the website editor doesn't actually research the law and makes stuff up! :banana
4839970428_516dae7cb7_o.jpg


The image came from here on the FasTrak site
 
I cross the Bay and Carquinez bridges each day on my commute. My bike plates are registered to my Fastrak account and I never carry my toll tag. Prior to the carpool toll, I saw a thread here on BARF where members were saying that the cameras frequently fail to properly ID their plates and they were being charged for only a fraction of their toll crossings. I just checked my account and saw that, between July 1st and July 23rd, I think I made the round trip 15 times (30 total tolls) and was charged for only 11 tolls. If this is the normal rate, I'm saving about $60 each month by not carrying my toll tag. In nearly two years, I've never been stopped for not carrying a toll tag and - as someone else said in this thread - it's unlikely that a cop would ever do it. So, speaking strictly economically, I would have to get a $160 citation for this every third month to make me want to carry my toll tag.

Now that I think of it, there are probably things you can do to reduce their chance of getting a good plate image. The cameras must be timed with a certain speed range in mind. Bikes can really breeze through those gates faster than cars and maybe they can beat the camera. A rider could probably also try to cross at the very edge of the lane, near the divider, with the hope that the camera only images the center of the lane where a car plate would have to be. Finally, I've heard of a product you can spray on your plate that doesn't change its visibility to the eye but it is very glossy and reflects under the flash from the traffic cameras in a way the prevents flash-photographs of the plate numbers.
 
I commute across the San Mateo on my commute daily. I have my tags registered with the FastTrak but I too never carry mine on the bike. I will have to look it up and see how often it gets charged.
 
Traq said:
I've seen people with transponders stuck on their windscreens. Not something I would do, but it's not impossible to comply with the letter of the law.
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Let's see you stick one on the "windscreen" of my Honda here:
XRLatCarnegie.jpg
 
akacastle said:
I agree, as far as I know you have to have fasttrak to even carpool now, am I correct?
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On bridges that don't have manned carpool lanes. On bridges with manned carpool lanes you need to stop and pay cash.

There's not much of a reason to not have a Fastrak for me...so $20-30 sits there on the account not earning 0.01 cents worth of interest a year...the convenience of not dealing with paying tolls once or twice a year when I cross a bridge is outweighed by that inconvenience.
 
LOL I just checked my FastTrak and they catch about 1 out of 4 crossings from my license plate :)
 
Bravnik said:
I commute across the San Mateo on my commute daily. I have my tags registered with the FastTrak but I too never carry mine on the bike. I will have to look it up and see how often it gets charged.
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If the bike is picked up by the sensors, you'll be charged by the license plate and it's listed that way on the bill. Otherwise, it's listed by the FasTrak tag id.
No tag, no sensor pick-up, free ride that day.
 
Wow... Never even got a Fastrak for my car, but apparently I may be able to save some money with one for my bike if the plate doesn't always get read! Good info... signing up now!
 
Traq said:
On bridges that don't have manned carpool lanes. On bridges with manned carpool lanes you need to stop and pay cash.

There's not much of a reason to not have a Fastrak for me...so $20-30 sits there on the account not earning 0.01 cents worth of interest a year...the convenience of not dealing with paying tolls once or twice a year when I cross a bridge is outweighed by that inconvenience.
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You cannot pay cash in carpool lane period.
 
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