Complicated solution to a simple problem

[Gone in 60]

Lots of places have car pool or high occupancy vehicle lanes, which only vehicles with two or more people can use. In my area, some of those car pool lanes are slowly being converted to paid-use toll lanes. Motorcyclists have been able to use the car pool lanes, and thankfully, we're also able to use the toll lanes on regular roadways for free. We have to pay to use dedicated toll roads like everyone else.

One of those newly converted stretches of toll lanes is on the 405 freeway which runs past my office, so I'll be using it frequently. Motorcycles haven't really been regulated on these toll lanes, but with the increasing adoption of the toll lanes, I was recently admonished for not having a transponder on my bike, and the FasTrak (roadway administration) people just sent one for each of my bikes.

The transponder is a thick decal with wires running through it, and there are different ones for cars, so they can be billed, and motorcycles, so they can be excluded from billing. The transponder decal can't be attached to metal, only glass or plastic, so the instructions suggest sticking them to the bike's headlight or windscreen.

I'm not about to sully the pristine looks of my two-wheeled children with an ugly decal. But, what to do? Well, what do I already carry, that's made of plastic, and is already an eyesore? My top boxes! I have three bikes, I have three top boxes. And, on any given day that I'll be using the toll lanes, I'll be commuting, so I'll be using one of the three boxes. I made smooth mounting plates for the decals, and 3M taped them on my boxes.

Problem solved. A problem that would only be considered a problem by anal-retentive weirdos like me.