Man Jailed 3 Days Over 50 Cent Toll

Chuck · #1 09-15-2007, 10:46 AM

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news...94/detail.html

Guess they would have to pry the money from his cold dead hands.

ILAveo · #2 09-15-2007, 10:59 AM

He made it sound like for him jail was just a sleep over. Maybe the cooking and company at home isn't all that good--he didn't even tell his wife

.

hobbit · #3 09-15-2007, 03:28 PM

If he *had* paid money for them, there should have at least
been some sort of redemption mechanism for unused tokens.
.
_H*

Shiba3420 · #4 09-15-2007, 04:00 PM

I hate stories like this because you never know the details. If the tokens were bought with a contract that said they will, or even might, expire then he has nothing to complain about, although it is annoying. If there was no such limitation, then a class action lawsuite is appropriate to reinstate all tokens until they are used up. But we don't know which situation it was.

My favorite variation on this type of story was the lawyer who was sent a ticket for not putting money in the automated toll machine in IL. Despite the fact that the machines are known to mess up & not always accept the money, he was held responsible & had to pay the ticket. Now days, most people have switched to I-Pass anyway.

SSixty · #5 09-15-2007, 04:08 PM

Here is an example of where the punishment fit the crime. Serves him right!

Just Kidding. Can you imagine if he would have paid the $150 fine for a $0.50 toll?! Seems like the state has found a little money-making loophole. Just keep phasing in and out different tokens. Tollbooth: "Sorry, we don't accept those tokens anymore. Those were only good yesterday. Would you like to buy some NEW tokens?"

Chuck · #6 09-15-2007, 05:11 PM

An easy solution to the tokens - tolltags.

2TonJellyBean · #7 09-15-2007, 07:37 PM

I was expecting to be arrested once when attempting to take the Bee line tollway across Florida. It was during a motorcycle trip eons ago. I was doing a long tour and had come back from California across northern Mexico and some southern states to Orlando and then wanted to go across to Cape Canaveral.

Tolls really suck on a motorcycle (full stop, gloves off, fish change) and if there were many booths or the price was crazy I wasn't going to take a toll road because of the PITA factor. I saw a sign saying Toll Information Ahead. When I got there it was a 50c toll booth. I asked the attendant how many toll booths there are in total going across. She didn't know. How far to the next one? She didn't know. Total cost to the Cape? She didn't know. Fine... I'm turning around. Sorry sir you can't that's a xx dollar fine. So I'm like listen the sign said toll information ahead and you don't have any information. She finally conceded after about a solid 10 minutes of this exchange and said okay you can turn around.

So that meant that I hit the toll booth going the other way. That attended wanted her 50c and was also telling me that I was now liable for an xx dollar fine. So I explained what it is I wanted to know that the other booth attendant couldn't answer. Well... turns out she couldn't either. She had no clue, was threatening me about having done an illegal U turn and I'm saying I had the other's permission and she's threatening to call her manager, fine me for the U turn and all I could think of was good, call the manager... at least the manager will know.

So she arrives all huffy, I patiently ask her and remind her of the fact that I was seriously expecting toll information and so far neither booth could answer any of my very basic toll related questions. She claimed to have no way of finding out, had never traveled down the highway (it didn't dawn on her to ask anyone coming across from the other side). She was adamant about her fifty cents and every now and then would threaten to call the state troopers to which I'd respond "Please do".

Since this was the 3rd time I was having this silly conversation with toll personnel who had no clue about the tolls on that road and had now wasted a half hour on these clueless "toll officials", I was sticking to my guns and actually became insistent that she actually call the trooper.

The Trooper shows up and most likely noticed my plates were from Ontario. He listened politely while I explained why he was called, and then he talks to the manager. He comes back genuinely embarrassed that he doesn't know the information himself nor why these wacky women would even be charging me a toll but very nicely asked if I wouldn't mind paying these ladies (and I had the impression he'd have paid it for me at this point if I wasn't going to) and very nicely gave me the address of the state official in charge of tolls for Florida if I wanted to write and complain about it.

They got my 50 cents, and the reputation of Floridians was sullied (except the Trooper) until I ended up marrying one. ;-)

Shiba3420 · #8 09-15-2007, 08:11 PM

So this guy cost the state what... $0.50 + (3 X ($???.??)).

Would have been cheaper for the state to pony up 2 quarters, ignore him, and save 3 days of jail costs.

navroan · #9 09-15-2007, 09:04 PM

Just as mentioned, so instead of just losing the 50 cents, the state is instead wasting taxpayer money (that is money that could have been used for road maintenance ;p) on feeding and housing this guy for 3 days.

I would just say 'glad I don't pay taxes for that state', but since all states receive federal highway funds, I have a right to complain.

Your tax dollars at work.

johnf514 · #10 09-17-2007, 08:52 AM

I think it's fantastic that this guy stuck to his guns. Sure, you can call him an old fuddy that doesn't have anything else better to do with his time, but his generation comes from values and principles that have been all but forgotten in our fast-paced world. The state of Mass. are getting slammed for jailing a senior citizen over 50 cents - what a public relations fiasco.