TBO.com > News > News blog Reports
- Sansom, Atwater Back Greer
- Roush, Others Backed By Storck Win Local GOP Offices
- Crist Takes Wait-See Attitude On Jeb As Senate Candidate
- Economy Has Upside For Cobblers
- Thurman: Sansom Should Quit
- Thurman: Sansom Should Quit
- It’s A Stampede!
- Temperatures Drop, But It’s The Last Of The Cold - For Now
- Could Be Worse
- Could be Worse
- Could be Worse
- Get Set For Freeze North Of Pasco
- McCollum Sounds Like He May Be In
- Iorio, Ex-Gov. Bush Won’t Rule Out 2010 Senate Race
- Hang On A Minute! Sink Puts Senate Race Back On Table
Cars line up at the toll plaza near New Port Richey on the Suncoast Parkway. - Crystal L. Lauderdale/Tampa Tribune
By JULIE PACE
The Tampa Tribune
Video: Toll Booth Violations | Crosstown Toll Hike Hits Drivers on New Year’s Day | Behind The Wheel
TAMPA - It starts with one driver blowing through a 50 cent toll in Pasco County, then another skipping out on a 75 cent toll in Tampa.
Those seemingly small amounts of money start to add up. In 2006, toll booth violations on Florida’s turnpike system cost the state $20 to $25 million in lost revenue.
That shortfall is double what the state lost on violations two years ago. Officials say more electronic monitoring of tollbooths is making it easier for people to slide through without paying.
Sammy Young changed the toll sign
on a Crosstown Expressway ramp.
Crystal L. Lauderdale/Tampa Tribune
“It gives toll evaders more excuse to not pay the toll,” said Joanne Hurley, community relations coordinator for Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise.
The turnpike encompasses 460 miles of roadway, including the Veteran’s Expressway, Suncoast Parkway and Polk Parkway.
In South Florida, the Florida Highway Patrol has stepped up enforcement on toll roads to cut back on offenders.
Sgt. Jorge Delahoz, who oversees the “Toll Abuse, No Excuse” program, said having extra troopers on the roads has made a difference since the program started this fall.
The program could make its way to the Tampa Bay area, Delahoz said. Until then, FHP relies on videotape surveillance and law enforcement agents who happen to be in the area.
“It’s just random,” Delahoz said. “If they see it, they enforce it.”
Despite the enormity of the lost revenue, Hurley said most drivers do pay their tolls. Some people who don’t pay do so by accident, she said.
Motorists who don’t pay a toll on a Florida Turnpike road can call 888-865-5352 to arrange a payment. Violators who don’t pay could be subjected to a $100 fine.
Reporter Julie Pace can be reached at (813) 259-7567 or jpace@tampatrib.com.
I too agree, hey Jim dont go through the Sunpass lane if your not going to maintain 25 mph. And who cares if you get a picture, anyone ever get a ticket? I have got several pictures, nice ones, I put em up on my Fridge. shouldnt be to hard to fight a ticket when Im a registered sunpass holder...maybe they could take a picture of my windshield and see the sunpass!!
So, if I understand correctly, it is Jim Puckett and people like him that cause the accidents in the SunPass lane. The whole essence of the drive thru lane is just that, DRIVE THROUGH. If you have a sunpass then use it properly or go to the toll booth lane that claims money. Your sunpass will register and the gate will open for you to proceed. But don’t stop in MY drive thru lane.
I’m with you Jim, I too am sick and tired of getting snapshots in my mail. So if you feel like driving slower in the lane, it’s your right like mine also!
The problem only going to get worse when the tolls are raised in January.
I thought the tolls were established to pay for the building of the roads and once the roads were paid for the tolls would go away. Maintenance and up keep should be paid for through taxes. It appears our elected officals have lied to us once again. I say keep blowing the tolls and drive on!!!
The toll running is going to get worse, especially on the cross-town expresway after the raise in toll prices.They are trying to fool the public with the reason but everyone who has a brain, knows the bonding company payed the overage on construction for the fallen portion.. .They are lining their pockets with our money.They are so crooked, they wobble when they walk.done12
If anybody is worried about getting a ticket for their Sun Pass not working properly, you can call their customer service center or log into your account online and register your license plate #. If your transponder decides not to register that day, Sun Pass will already have your vehicle on file and can deduct the toll from your account instead of sending you a picture in the mail. And, there is absolutely no need to obstruct the flow of traffic by going less than 25 mph through the toll booth so YOU should get over it!
Hey Jim, instead of being that “moron” going slow through the sun pass lanes. Why dont you go through the regular lanes, that way if you untrusted sensor does not go off, you can still pay the lady. Keep it at 25 and not 5!
The sunpass lanes seem to never work properly. Even when we drive though at 25mph, it’s a 50/50 shot if the Sunpass device actually registers the toll. When I lived in Atlanta, they have a full speed toll pass like Sunpass that I used every day on my commute, it worked flawlessly and it was nice to not have to slow down. Maybe Florida skimped out on the system they bought and should have spent the extra money so they don’t lose the honest toll payers money!
I have a SunPass, but I do not trust the automatic sensors. I slow down but will not go through until my SunPass flashes and makes the beep. I am honest and will not “run a booth”, but I have learned that this system is not flawless and very capable of error. I received a warning with a picture of my truck once; my SunPass is stuck to my windshield with fresh batteries and I am not at fault. No more 25MPH runs for me...I am that moron in front of you that only crawls through th SP lanes...get over it!
sometimes it is the sunpass not working properly, I’ve been sent a picture of my truck twice, and avoid the left hand sunpass lane out near 78th st going east, 9 out of 10 time it won’t register with my sunpass, and of course if I call it’s all my fault, but in fact sunpass like all thing electronic is less than pefect.
I watched the video and it mentioned that some violators “accidentally” go through a toll booth.
Questions. What do they think the toll booth is there for? To use a a fancy outhouse?
How do you mistake a toll booth for something else? It’s a toll booth for God’s sake. No other structure in this world looks like a toll both and is placed in the middle of a roadway.
Florida should study the way the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority runs the turnpike. The Authority pays for State Police to patrol exclusively on the turnpike, therefore always assuring they are not far away.
You run a toll, booth operator notifies the State Police and you get stopped. It’s that simple. But nothing is simple here in dear old Florida.
My husband and I commute on the southbound Suncoast Expressway. Many times we get on at the southbound entrance from Brooksville to find that both of the entrances have the red light on. You go through, pay, and the red light on the post does not change to green even though my transponded beeps and my husband tosses in a quarter. Sometimes the line is backed up to HWY 50 because some poor soul sits and waits for the light to turn green. It is embarassing to hear the alarm go off even though you know you have done nothing wrong. I have also seen people stop thinking that they can get change for the bill they are waving out the window but there is no attendant. Hire staff and make prompt repairs.
Advertisement
Posted by James Black, Trinity, Florida on 05/23 at 02:54 PM
May 23, 3008 at 2;12 PM I put a quarter into the “change Only” lane at the veterans suncoast hwy and 54 exit toll booth and it did not register. I did not have another quarter to put in and no one was in attendance at the booth. I called the toll booth #888 865 5352 to report this malfunction at 3:34 Pm this date and spoke with Yvette on the recorded line. Since I had no other change and was driving a Uhaul rental truck my son rented I want to be sure no one is fined because the coin machine malfunctioned. Thank you