Posted on 01/10/2015 9:59:17 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Thousands of E-ZPass users have been clocked speeding through Maryland toll facilities in recent years, prompting warnings — but not repercussions — from the Maryland Transportation Authority. lRelated Ex-mayoral aide accused of trying to help firm get camera contract
The agency began recording the speed of E-ZPass drivers in 2002, though there are no signs at toll facilities indicating that speeds are being monitored. Drivers are informed in the terms and conditions of their E-ZPass contracts.
Maryland law empowers the MdTA to revoke a driver's E-ZPass transponder for 60 days after a second speeding violation within a six-month period — and such suspensions used to occur. In the first half of 2005, for instance, 100 customers received a two-month suspension, according to officials at the time.
However, the MdTA's current policy is to mail warnings — at a cost of about $1 each — to users who have been caught speeding but not to revoke passes, said MdTA spokeswoman Rebecca Freeberger.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
Recently I met one of the co-founders of a company that wrote the software that reads the license plates for toll booth plazas and soon for speeding cameras. I jokingly told him, “so you’re the guy everyone hates, eh?” and that’s when he mentioned they were working on programming for the speeding cameras now. I could tell it never occurred to him or concerned him that the system could be abused for profit. Obviously it’s just a gravy train for him and his partner. That’s one of the things that’s wrong with this country right now. People just don’t stop to think about the consequences of their actions when they’re developing technology that the Feds could abuse. All many of them seem to care about is getting rich and don’t seem to realize they’re selling their souls for 30 pieces of silver.
Such a shame. Well get it while it’s good but not one tear or bellyache when they use your own technology against you, your friends, or families.
I’m guessing they won’t revoke ez-passes because then they wouldn’t make money.
Please note this is an entirely different thing from the EZ-Pass “nightmare” of recording timestamps at the toll stations to prove speeding between them.
From what I can discern in the several reports I have read this is a record of the radar records of speeds approaching the toll stations. The speed limits there are typically 15 mph, I believe, as I have encountered these many times along I-80 between Illinois and NJ.
Many of these display your speed on a sign as you approach. It seems to be a very low limit, and I practically cause pileups by slowing down to 30 mph at one entrance to I-88 in Illinois that I frequent.
So I think it’s these toll booths that are at issue, and not the open road tolling, and I believe this is stated in some of the current round of news reports.
I never speed through the ez-pass booths. First, I want to make sure the thing reads my machine. Second, the ones that have tolls are narrow, and some have gates and I wouldn’t want to hit the gate if it didn’t go up. And third, some are around other manned toll booths, and sometimes those people walk around and I wouldn’t want to hit them. And fourth, you never know when someone else is going to slam on their brakes at the ez-pass toll because they need to pay.
What I worry about is the toll roads ticketing you because you make it to where you exit too quickly from the time you entered.
“What I worry about is the toll roads ticketing you because you make it to where you exit too quickly from the time you entered.”
Here in Northern California the Toll folks came out and said that “in order to better understand traffic patterns,” they were going to start “tracking” each RFID transponder “anonymously” to “gather data.” But they sent out antistat bags for each transponder and said that if you didn’t want yours tracked, you could keep it in the bag and only take it out when you needed to pay a toll. So that’s what we do. The other benefit is that it isn’t plastered on the windshield where it’s just another invitation to a thief. You can get AS bags at any electronics store.
What I am interested in knowing about is any “semi-legal means” of obscuring your license place from the readers. I have seen sprays which are applied to the surface of the plate that are supposed to blind the cameras (which use strobe lights to facilitate image capture), but allow your plate to be readily seen by the naked eye. Anybody out there know anything?
Some years ago one of the time stamps at one of the entrances/exits that I used was incorrect, enough so that my speed worked out to 140MPH in one direction and 35MPH in the other. I joked that when the state needed the money badly enough, I expected a large box of tickets, half for speeding and the other half for obstructing traffic, would show up in the mail.
I think it is a matter of time before ticketing based on average speed comes to pass; here in NJ they said they wouldn’t use EZ Pass for law enforcement, and soon afterwards used it to catch some murderers of a restaurant owner along the Hudson River.
They caught them because they didn’t realize the owner’s car had an EZ Pass that was sending signals as it passed through regular tolls between NJ and the Bronx.
“All many of them seem to care about is getting rich and don’t seem to realize they’re selling their souls for 30 pieces of silver.”
Privacy, security, and freedom need to be ENFORCED via laws based on our Constitution - in a country of 320 million people, you will ALWAYS find people to do the dirty work.
For example, if DHS wanted to build Nazi-style ovens to apply the “final solution” to the Tea Party, there would be contractors lining up the door for the work. Some might be driven due to political reasons, others just for the money. Don’t forget, in the 1990s, one of our top aerospace firms (Loral) essentially gave China the technology to build multi-stage nukes...because there was some money in it.
But, I agree, it’s sad this has to be the case.
“So I think it’s these toll booths that are at issue, and not the open road tolling, and I believe this is stated in some of the current round of news reports.”
Agree...they’re keeping their powder dry for that. They, obviously have that data, and could strike at any moment with it. And if they really wanted to have fun, they could start reading transponders on freeways and sidestreets, for the purpose of ticketing (they already read them on all Houston freeways).
The first step if figuring out where the data is going, how long it’s stored, who has access, etc. We’re not even there yet.
The nongated lanes in Virginia were tested past 100 mph. For the gated ones, a former colleague determined that 30 mph was the max speed to have the gate go up in time. I tried 30 but would always go slower (chickened out). One time I entered about 25 in my pickup and it didn't read my pass. The gate hit the front of hood and flew out of the way mangled. I stopped a little ways after, but nobody was around so I kept going.
Some years ago I got a speeding ticket in my BOAT for getting from the lock at Seneca Falls, NY to the lock at Waterloo, NY, on the canal faster than I should have.
Apparently the lock keepers call ahead with the you left.
Well 2 can play at their game.
I recently got a bogus parking ticket in some county
that I never go to. It was documented at 5:10. But
since I travel through the tunnel it shows that I was
not there. Should be interesting to see the outsome
of “dueling bureaucrat tracking devices”. They want their
cake and eat to. I hope they choke...
If you are using when you enter and leave the system...you are being tracked.
They have been using this information, in its aggregate, ever since they issued these things.
Anyone who believes otherwise is naive.
So how are the authorities going to prove “who” was driving the car when EZ Pass clocks the speeding vehicle?
We have EZ TAG here in Houston for the toll roads. Their advertising says”Let us introduce you to that thing on the right” and then shows a pic of a gas pedal. There is no enforcement of the speed limits on the toll roads around Houston. . Between 80 and 90 is the norm.
Yo can always just get your EZPass tag from another state! It works everywhere.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.