Where do folks think that they get the information on the freeways for the signs that tell you how many minutes to major exits/interchanges? They have to be calculating off of the toll tags to see how long it takes for specific cars to cover the distance, and then posting it to the electronic boards in near real time.
They are also used for checking for expired tags (1st hand knowledge) and as an aide in searching for stolen vehicles.
If they are saying that they are only used for toll purposes, they are lying.
“Where do folks think that they get the information on the freeways for the signs that tell you how many minutes to major exits/interchanges? They have to be calculating off of the toll tags to see how long it takes for specific cars to cover the distance, and then posting it to the electronic boards in near real time.”
In Californicator land, that data comes from our fast pass card/chips in a package and maybe other sources like our ever present cell phones.
I suspect that’s actually done using ordinary traffic cameras.
Oh, those 2 million dollar signs that inform drivers that the next exit is 12 minutes away? Yeah, you gotta have those. An absolute must...
I have never heard any other claim that these figures referred to "specific cars". That would not even be that helpful because highway conditions are constantly changing. The figures are determined/estimated by monitoring traffic flow everywhere along the highway at the same time.