Motorists illegally detained at Florida tolls - for using large bills!

Motorists illegally detained at Florida tolls - for using large bills!

www.wtsp.com

Tampa, Florida --Meet Joel Chandler, who just paid his $1.00 toll on the Polk Parkway with a $100 bill, he is not allowed to leave unless he provides personal info to the toll taker. The toll taker tells Chandler this is what happens when they get large bills. She says this is what they have to do.

Chandler says to the toll taker, "So I'm being detained?" She says yes sir.

It is a policy the Florida Turnpike authority instituted for people who paid with $20, $50 or $100 bills. After it happened once, Chandler kept testing the system and taped his encounters as he went through the to

(visit the link for the full news article)

WOW!

This is another one of those stories that just boggles the mind people.

So, it would appear, allegedly, that the Department of Transportation is running a SECRET policy of wanting personal information and DETAINING folks (if they refuse to GIVE said info) using anything but SMALL bills on toll booths, and denying such policies exist when confronted on the issue.

Straight out of Nazi germany. Sig Hiel!

Thankfully, SO FAR this type of practice is highly illegal, so me thinks someone is going to be getting the pants sued off them soon...

www.wtsp.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I've always thought toll roads were a joke anyway. It probably cost more to maintain a toll stop than what they make in money. There surely must be a different way to do this. And to be detained because of a $100 bill, haven't they ever heard of the markers they use to see if they are counterfeit.

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


I will agree this practice is illegal, egregious, overly intrusive and cannot be warranted. But, will NOT agree with you RE: the "Nazi Germany" references...knee-jerk much?? Point is, "Nazism" is a silly claim and analogy to make, as this is merely ONE state bureaucracy....not an entire Nation's governmental policy.

Would tend to think it is a misguided (as in, really, really stupid idea) attempt implemented by some low-IQ paper-pusher who thinks it's going to somehow "identify" potential drug traffickers or something.....(as if they, the criminals, are too "stooopid" to realize they need to get change for their ill-gotten C-notes, before passing them in places like toll booths, for foxes' sake!!).

[Toll Ahead):

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b879611fa669.jpg[/atsimg]

reply to post by DimensionalDetective

Chandler says 87 percent of the times toll takers took the time to fill out the form as to why they stopped someone. It was a racial description like, young black male, young black male, young Hispanic male. Although FDOT refused to comment because the Department expects to be sued, internal e-mail justify the program because of counterfeit bills. However, in a 2 and a half year period the DOT got $16,000 in counterfeit bills, while at the same time it collected close to $2 billion in tolls ($1,523,825,404).

The Department also spent $32,000 on forms used to catch the $16,000 in funny money. The department also says in e-mails, the program will help law enforcement catch counterfeiters.

I had to read the article, it's hard to convince a Canadian that a $20 bill is large, it's still a small bill.

Also, counterfeit should be easy to tell, the people collecting them should be trained in spotting them. With a Cdn bill, if you rub in on a piece of paper, if the ink comes off, it should be real, and then there is also all the other security features too. The USD must have similar features, I would think, and toll takers should be trained in spotting the phonies.

An excuse for racial profiling, and info grabbing, for sure.

It's funny how CA seems to initiate the more liberal laws in the country, while on the opposite side of the country FL seems to institute the most Draconian and restrictive laws. Not that CA is perfect by any stretch, but I wouldn't live in FL on a dare.

IN AUSTIN TEXAS theres soomany toll roads that some people are already in debt in the thousands of dollars with the pay by mail system.ITS just agravatting just to try and go in the vecinity of your own house you have to pay 1.50 or .50 just to turnaround in some spots!!!!!!

That is insane. For a 50$ bill or a 100$, MAYBE... but for 20$ ? Are you freaking kidding me?

And even for the 50$ and 100$ bill I would have refused to give them personal info. Who the hell do they think they are ?

I'm the toll booth guy, I RULE OVER YOU!

Hmmm... no you're not, you power hungry freak!

I would have left and given them the finger.

Thank goodness there are no toll roads in Michigan with the exception of the Mackinaw Bridge. The only experience I have had with tolls was on my way to California in the middle of the night there was a toll bridge in Indiana just south of the Michigan border, I think it was twenty cents and of course I had no change, smallest I had was a twenty dollar bill, so turned around got off the freeway and went to a gas station to get some change, by the way the toll booth was closed so no one there to get change from, driving from Michigan to San Francisco Bay area there are no other tolls, but was prepared just in case.

I have been on a toll road in Florida driving from Citris County to Tampa airport to pick up my son, it cost me around $11.00 to make about an eighty mile trip, on my way back I decided forget them and went over to U.S. 19 to drive back.

Originally posted by DimensionalDetective
Sig Hiel!

Uhm....it's Sieg heil. BTW, this is not Nazi Germany tactics. A person going through a toll booth is suppose to have proper change. This is not the law. It's common sense. Expecting change from the operators at a toll booth just ties up traffic.

My personal belief about tolls roads is they shouldn't exist in the first place. Road taxes are suppose to covert he building and maintenance of all public roads. Toll roads is just another example of how tax dollars are wasted and more than likely lining the pockets of the officials that's in charge of overseeing the revenue.

I like the toll roads where you slow down enough and throw change into a funnel and immediately accelerate. By the time you're up to speed, the traffic gate is out of the way allowing you to pass. There is no need for human intervention on any toll road if we have to have them. Just carry the right change or choose a different route.

reply to post by Intelearthling


LOL, apologies for mis-spelling a barbaric scum-bag group's obedient catch-phrase.

And no, not having "correct change" in ANY way warrants folks being stopped, detained, and grilled for their personal info, just to travel from point A, to point B, which IS like Nazi Germany---"Your papers please." In a truely FREE society, this type of crap should NEVER happen---Period.

At least Floridians can still travel without big brother knowing where they are (assuming they don't pay with a $100 bill). Here in Dallas, all the tolls are automated. The toll plazas take a pic of your license plate and the tollway authority send you a bill...so, basically they are gathering travel information on anyone who uses the toll roads.

P.S., I can imagine, in the not too distant future, that they will start measuring the time it takes you to travel from toll plaza A to toll plaza B and calculate your speed, then issue automated speeding tickets through the mail.

reply to post by Aggie Man


Yeah, the problem is they *DON'T* send you the bill... They bill you, but apparently, it is your responsibility to go to their web site to see what you owe. I remember a case last year of some guy who ended up with a bill for several hundred dollars from NTTS because he never received a bill.

I kept my tolltag. I keep it in a closed case except for the rare times I decide to use the tollway for expediancy or convenience. I don't really trust the "Keep moving, we'll bill you" concept.

And the average speed concept was discussed, I believe, but the state legislature considered it unconstitutional.. memory is a bit foggy on that, though, so I might be wrong.

Originally posted by rogerstigers
reply to post by Aggie Man

 

Yeah, the problem is they *DON'T* send you the bill... They bill you, but apparently, it is your responsibility to go to their web site to see what you owe. I remember a case last year of some guy who ended up with a bill for several hundred dollars from NTTS because he never received a bill.

I kept my tolltag. I keep it in a closed case except for the rare times I decide to use the tollway for expediancy or convenience. I don't really trust the "Keep moving, we'll bill you" concept.

And the average speed concept was discussed, I believe, but the state legislature considered it unconstitutional.. memory is a bit foggy on that, though, so I might be wrong.

edit on 3-5-2011 by rogerstigers because: (no reason given)

Yeah, I kept my prepaid toll tag too. It is cheaper than the zip-cash (pay by mail) method anyway. I get drawn into the conveinence of the toll roads, as I live right off George Bush tollway in Plano; although, I have gone back to using 75 & 635 a lot more in my travels to Dallas....and usually it's faster too.

Also, One would think that if these damn red light cameras are allowed, then the average speed concept would be too.

Originally posted by Aggie Man
At least Floridians can still travel without big brother knowing where they are

No, there's still cameras every 2 or 3 hundred yards in many major metro areas. For instance, there's no way to leave ATL on a major road without being tracked via camera.

As for the OP, this is disgusting. And not much different than the fact that they can detain you and confiscate your car and cash if you're found to be in possession of large amounts of money during a traffic stop.

www.thenewspaper.com...

www.fff.org...

I would have told them that if they're not willing to accept legal currency without infringing on "reasonable search rights" guaranteed in the Consitutution of The United States, then I don't need to pay.

Originally posted by Aggie Man
Also, One would think that if these damn red light cameras are allowed, then the average speed concept would be too.

Except they can't prove it is YOU driving... for the toll the car gets billed, but for speeding it is the driver... so they would need a picture of the driver as well

Originally posted by DimensionalDetective
reply to post by Intelearthling

 

LOL, apologies for mis-spelling a barbaric scum-bag group's obedient catch-phrase.

And no, not having "correct change" in ANY way warrants folks being stopped, detained, and grilled for their personal info, just to travel from point A, to point B, which IS like Nazi Germany---"Your papers please." In a truely FREE society, this type of crap should NEVER happen---Period.

Hey! I send typos on a regular basis so I have no room to talk.

I only read the first part of the article awhile ago. I believe what's happening here is that toll officers are making up policies to deter the passing along of counterfeit bills.

While what toll officers are doing is illegal, I can understand why they're wanting information on people passing large bills. They don't have the time to check the bill for authenticity and then they've got to count out change. It's a toll road and the toll booth is already causing some traffic congestion. Just think if a large percentage of commuters passed large bills on a daily basis. The toll booths would be more or less targets for robbers. Like I said, automated toll booths would be the answer if we must have toll roads.

I'll agree that this is wrong. FInd the officers and reprimand them and have studies on how to avoid this. Signs like "Correct change only" would prompt people to carry more ones and quarters. Spend the $100 bills at a strip bar.

Edit: In a truly free society, we wouldn't need toll roads. Taxes and fees are already killing us.

Originally posted by kosmicjack
No, there's still cameras every 2 or 3 hundred yards in many major metro areas. For instance, there's no way to leave ATL on a major road without being tracked via camera.

Yes, we have those cameras here in Dallas too; although, when I look at the traffic cams on the internet the resolution seems too poor to read license plates...but who knows their true capability.

Originally posted by zorgon

Originally posted by Aggie Man
Also, One would think that if these damn red light cameras are allowed, then the average speed concept would be too.

Except they can't prove it is YOU driving... for the toll the car gets billed, but for speeding it is the driver... so they would need a picture of the driver as well

That's a valid point. However, my brother once ran a red light that was camera enforced while driving my vehicle. Since the vehicle was registered to me, I got the ticket. I don't see how a speeding ticket issued via similar means would be any different.

The up-side (if you want to call it that) is that a camera enforced ticket does not go on the driving record and the fine is significantly reduced.