EZ-Pass

[Triumph955i]

Hokie, i noticed the joke in your signature line. But i have some questions about the whole electronic pass thing:

Does each pass have it's own ID, which corresponds to the user? Or, are they all the same, and just used to trigger the light?

The reason i ask is, is this another way for big brother to track us if need be?

doesnt matter much to me though, because my EZ-pass only works about 20% of the time. My transpass hardly ever worked, and i remember leaving it for months on end in one vehicle while a drove another.

 

[Hokie]

Hokie, i noticed the joke in your signature line. But i have some questions about the whole electronic pass thing:

Does each pass have it's own ID, which corresponds to the user? Or, are they all the same, and just used to trigger the light?

The reason i ask is, is this another way for big brother to track us if need be?

doesnt matter much to me though, because my EZ-pass only works about 20% of the time. My transpass hardly ever worked, and i remember leaving it for months on end in one vehicle while a drove another.

I believe it's assigned to a cardholder. Businesses can purchase them for their fleet, and can thus assign them to a specific driver. But that said, other than 'attributing' an EZ Pass unit to a cardholder (whoever's paying the bill) I don't think it can track you specifically over a distance. I'd imagine they could print a report on when you passed through Tolls X, Y, and Z however. You have to figure too that hundreds of thousands of New Englanders have these gadgets, it'd be a huge effort to keep track of the statistics....

Now whether or not they can hone in on your specific transpass, I'd bet they could if they wanted too....there'd have to be some serious pressure from someone to do it though. My 2 cents! There'd have to be a transmitter though if it were to track you over a distance. I think the EZPass itself triggers a sensor as it approaches the booth. Not sure if it registers when you exit.....

hmmm....good question though!

Now where did I put my tin foil helmet?

 

[Triumph955i]

I'd imagine they could print a report on when you passed through Tolls X, Y, and Z however.

Yeah, kinda what i was getting at. If needed, they could find out that you passed trought exit "A" at a specific time. Not that i have anything to hide, but i dont need my government being able to know my approximate whereabouts.

Now where did I put my tin foil helmet?

I just got mine, im gonna wrap my damn EZpass with it.

 

[Hokie]

I'd imagine they could print a report on when you passed through Tolls X, Y, and Z however.

Yeah, kinda what i was getting at. If needed, they could find out that you passed trought exit "A" at a specific time. Not that i have anything to hide, but i dont need my government being able to know my approximate whereabouts.

Now where did I put my tin foil helmet?

I just got mine, im gonna wrap my damn EZpass with it.

10-4 on that! One thing I'm absolutely against is cell phones with GPS tracking. Some companies are switching to that....I think it's ridiculous. I heard you can even use these new cell phones to call in a number to electronically 'punch in'. The system matches your cell phones' location to the time to make sure you're actually AT work.

Kinda bogus.

 

[J_Smith]

The EZPass must pick people up in advance - when my unit travels in convoys its NOT uncommon for us to fly through the toll booth at 50-70mph in trucks........and it registers with the sensor.

 

[Len-2A Training]

I have read stories about speeding tickets being mailed to drivers based on the times EZPass passed thru consecutive toll booths on the Mass Turnpike (MA also uses cameras that take pictures of license plates as you go thru the toll booth). I have no proof that this was done, but it convinced me not to get an EZPass! [I rarely take a toll road, bridge. tunnel anyway.]

 

[Republic of Mass]

I have read stories about speeding tickets being mailed to drivers based on the times EZPass passed thru consecutive toll booths on the Mass Turnpike (MA also uses cameras that take pictures of license plates as you go thru the toll booth). I have no proof that this was done, but it convinced me not to get an EZPass! [I rarely take a toll road, bridge. tunnel anyway.]

That is absolute BS. Its almost as BS as the whole "they cant pull you over if their lights aren't on" myth....

NJ was considering it, but it got rejected. Just becasue my car and my pass went through the toll, doesnt mean I was the operator. (Similar to red-light cameras, and why you wont find them up here).

Troopers WILL sit just on the other side of the toll and enforce the 5, 10, and 15 mph limits.


Regarding being tracked. I dont understand why some people are like "OH no i dont want them knowing that at 527 this morning I drove through the Tolls in Cambridge" . You're not on your road. You're not operating on your registration. It's their road and their registration. Take a bus?

EZPass(FastLane) statistics help with road repairs, road replacement and expansion. Being able to tell that every day 33,000 cars go from exit 3 to 4, but only 2000 go further to exit 5 is all pretty necessary so highways, exits, etc can properly be built and designed for capacity, etc. Not to mention that crap all helps in the event that Joe goes nuts in a courthouse and carjacks a car, its one more way for "them" to know whether he took 93 out of town, or the pike to 84 into CT.

Why are people so worried about things? Got something to hide?

 

[Len-2A Training]

I know that the MA EZ-Pass is tied to registration numbers, as a friend had one and when he moved to AZ he had to let them know the Reg number of the rental unit he drove out there.

Personally, I don't care if they know that my car went thru a toll-booth at zero-dark-thirty, but I don't care to receive "mail-order" speeding tickets for going thru successive booths faster than they would like! I also really don't want to pay for the privilege of having a transponder. Some states issued them for free or close to that. MA charged quite a bit for them, has since lowered the price somewhat due to "competition" (I think you can order one from another state and still use it in MA now).

As for road planning:
- They know how many vehicles went thru a toll-booth regardless, if you pay by cash or EZ-Pass. Each entry/toll is logged for accounting purposes anyway.
- They still use those road counters everywhere. Old technology, but still effective.

I have seen cameras mounted on traffic lights in Springfield area. Don't know if they are being used for traffic tickets or just for fun and games, but color me suspicious. It's only a matter of time before the gov will allow tickets to be mailed to the registered owner for speeding offenses, if they aren't allowed to do that now. They've been holding the owner responsible for parking tickets for a very long time, and they will suspend that person's registration/license or even arrest them for non-payment . . . and there is no proof who actually parked the car illegally, is there?

As a side-note regarding GPS in cell phones:
- It is now mandated by the FCC (the law was passed many years ago, allowing a number of years for providers to design handsets and infrastructure prior to a mandated implementation date). ALL new cell phones (and providers) are supposed to implement this technology.
- Reason is for E911. When you call from a cell phone, just knowing the owner's name and billing address is useless info on getting emergency services to someone.
- I see this is more Positive than negative! If I end up broken down or lost somewhere, I am very unlikely to know precisely where I am located. I'd much rather have emergency services be able to find me readily.
- I don't worry about someone "tracking me" for kicks. If I was so worried, I would shut off my cell phone and only power it up to make calls.

 

[Republic of Mass]

I have seen cameras mounted on traffic lights in Springfield area. Don't know if they are being used for traffic tickets or just for fun and games, but color me suspicious. It's only a matter of time before the gov will allow tickets to be mailed to the registered owner for speeding offenses, if they aren't allowed to do that now. They've been holding the owner responsible for parking tickets for a very long time, and they will suspend that person's registration/license or even arrest them for non-payment . . . and there is no proof who actually parked the car illegally, is there?

As a side-note regarding GPS in cell phones:

Sadly, Mass isn't up to date. They haven't implamented phase 2 of the E911. Rhode Island is the only state that offers it in it's entirety, and a few other major Metro areas around the country. But yes, that location thing is usefull, and will help save lives. I have 2 cell phones with the GPS built in, and I can select that it is always active, or only when dialing 911, *77, or a few other numbers i can program in.
And if some snot wants to track me, dude, have fun!

Regarding the cameras in Springfield. I too have seen them, and im pretty sure they're not "red light cameras". Unless you know what to look for, you probably wont see them. They shoot from Behind your vehicle, not from atop the red light. They capture in the image your car, its location in the intersection, your plate, and the color of the light. Superimposed over the image is time, location, bla bla bla, and how long the light has been red for.

And while the parking ticket thing is kinda BS, its not too often that owners let non-family drive their car, so its pretty safe to assume the majority of the Cites are related to the owner or his family.
Ironicaly, I have a company car. Every now and then, I get a letter from our fleed administrator saying they got a letter from a department about an unpaid ticket, or from FastLane saying my transponder is messing up and i need a new one (they do infact use the registration, If you go through and they dont recieve transponder info, they run the lisence plate in their system. If its in there, they charge your account for the toll and mail you saying that your transponder is junk, or ifnot in the system, i think Mass State Police issue a citation for toll evasion to the registered owner (so ive heard)

 

[Bugs100]

Get the ones from N.Y. They cost nothing all you have to do is set up an account. Ma. charges for each one.