29 Sep 2024 - AJ
I remember when you stopped at toll booths and handed cash to a toll booth operator.
It’s a fond childhood memory - though child me was impatient as hell about having to sit there in traffic - and I actually didn’t mind it myself. It was almost a ritual, pulling up to the booth, handing them your money, and getting on your way.
Nowadays, there’s no human interaction. You drive through, a camera takes a picture of your license plate, and if you haven’t got an account to pre-pay things with that local pass system they send you a bill in the mail. I don’t go on toll roads too often as there are none on my usual routes, but occasionally I end up on a toll bridge. And I feel weird, and I think I miss interacting with the toll people, at least a little.
Also, while I love tech, it’s not perfect. If the reader misreads a license plate, some poor soul in New York might get a bill for going across a toll bridge in California. It requires time and effort for the erroneous read to get fixed. (I believe that when an automated reader is unsure it sends to a human to review, but that doesn’t get all the erroneous reads.)
I find it interesting that even though this site has a U.S. focus, this scam is not unique to my country. Any place that has automated plate readers for toll roads/bridges can be used for fake tolls. (I saw a mention of the same scam happening in Australia.)