Complicated solution to a simple problem

[pdedse]

The most expensive segment I've seen around here is the 91 to 15 freeway transition, continuing down the 15 for a few exits. $11.50 for a few miles. I won't pay that out of pricipal, and sitting in the regular traffic, it's mainly for frustration relief than anything else, as it would save maybe 15 minutes.

With the increasing number of dedicated toll roads and toll lanes on regular freeways in California, the state has had to adapt to people who try to skirt the system. Bikes are free on the Southern California toll lanes on the freeways, but we do have three dedicated toll roads, the 73, 241 and 261 down here in Orange County, and all vehicles, including motorcycles, pay to use them. Initially they had staffed toll booths, but when they transitioned to automated tolling, people got creative. Tolling is done by camera, so that if you happen to "forget" your billing transponder, which was a little box, the toll point would snap a picture of your plate and bill your account.

Here's where it gets creative. Throughout history, California did not put a temporary paper license plate on new cars like other states. Your temporary registration was just a little piece of paper about the size of a business card, taped inside the windshield by the salesman. You had a maximum of six months to run without metal plates on your car to allow time for the state DMW to process the new car registration and mail your plates to you, which usually took a few weeks. So, it was reeeeaaallly convenient to run the toll roads with a newer car with no plates...no charge! In fact, if you kept your new car nice and clean, there was really no way of enforcing a car without plates unless an officer pulled the car over and looked really closely at the little tag in the windshield for an expiration date in 10-point font.

Those of us on motorcycles would try to be creative too. The early cameras were above each lane to catch the plates. But with a big tail box that hung over the back, when you went under the tolling cameras, if you straddled two lanes, there was a pretty good chance that the cameras wouldn't see you, and if one of them did, the angle and the box might be enough to hide your plate.

Due to the rampant use of toll roads by scofflaws like me, who "oops, didn't stay in my lane on my bike", or "oops, still haven't gotten those plates in the mail for my new car", the state started using temporary paper plates with large numbers and a clearly displayed expiration date for cars and bikes, and the transponders are now permanent stickers.

Jahajaha...ah, the ways of mankind are a curious thing.

Let's see...$11.50 for a few miles that saves you 15 minutes. If were patient 4/5 days per week, that means you've waited an extra hour, but you've saved yourself 4 x 11.50 = $46 for your an hour of your time. Shoooot, if I saved minimum wage I'd gladly sit in that traffic.

Wait...minimum wage in California is still less than $46 per hour, isn't it?