I will never visit New Jersey again...

[nuxvomica]

...or at least I won't ever use their poorly designed, badly maintained, trap-ridden, overly congested turnpike system again. I just got a violation notice from the NJTA for going through an EZ-Pass lane. This was news to me because I never went through a wicket or toll plaza that was EZ-pass only. Turns out that somewhere on the Garden State Parkway, if you don't have an EZ-Pass, you have to turn off the motorway to pay the 50-cent toll in cash. Now I'm being hit with a $25 fine for not doing so. Does anyone know of other places in the country with these wicketless EZ-pass "breeze-through" traps?

[HopeHoops]

1. NJ is a cess pool

That's just my humble opinion, mind you.

[nuxvomica]

3. My violation was the day after the big corruption scandal broke

The one involving rabbis and money laundering, in case you're not sure which NJ corruption scandal I'm talking about. ;-)

[latebloomer]

8. As I mentioned below

try calling and pleading ignorance and being an out-of-stater and they'll probably waive the fine.

[coconuted]

2. Orlando

[nuxvomica]

4. What motorway in Orlando?

Just in case I'm traveling there.

[coconuted]

6. The "Beachline"

AKA the Beeline AKA S.R. 528 east of the air port.

[The Animator]

16. Orlando is the southern capital of bad planning. The 408 is like that too now.

In related news... I-4 is an East West interstate... yet somehow manages to go North and South through O-town... so if you want to head North take I-4 East...

We also have a street called South Street... it's a one way street... it only goes West.

[csziggy]

30. I-4 was originally planned to go from Tampa-St. Pete to Daytona

When Orlando was not much of a town, way before Disney World. That is why the weird routing through Orlando.

I hate going to Orlando - I've never been there when at least three essential roads I HAVE to drive are under construction. And they have the worst signage for detours ever so you are pretty well guaranteed to get lost if you don't know the place.

[The Animator]

39. Don't feel bad, I've been living here for 12 years...

and sometimes I still get lost.

Mostly these days it's due to me thinking I can take a shortcut.

Shortcuts don't work here...

... because housing developments aren't built to connect with each other...

they're also not built to connect with any street other than the one I drove into to get there...

... I can see the road I need to get to from the complex I'm in, but I can't get there...

... that and every few feet or so in this town...

... somebody has the audacity to put a fucking lake..

... oh look another lake, we've go to drive around it...

... not to mention wherever there's a lake, there's lakefront property...

... and a housing development that doesn't connect to anything...

... I love this town.

[csziggy]

43. My sister lives there so I have to visit sometimes

But she is not in town proper - she's over off the Apopka-Vineland Road. When she and her deceased husband bought their lot, it was out in the country pretty much. Now there are condos and houses where there used to be cows and trees.

Hey, without the lakes, Florida wouldn't be worth it!

[TommyO]

5. As a New Jersey resident, I've never heard about this little

you have to turn off the parkway to pay the cash toll stuff.

Perhaps you drove through one of the well-marked EZ-Pass only lanes, ignoring the tolls for non-EZ-Pass holders. The tolls are well-marked giving you two-mile and one-mile warnings, not to mention plenty of signs saying "EZ-Pass Only" for the high-speed lanes.

Does it say what toll plaza you zoomed through?

[latebloomer]

7. Well, I live in Jersey, too

and I've done the same thing twice , on the GSP.

There are some tolls where the EZ-Passers don't have to go thru a booth, but it's all open and they can zoom on through.

If you don't have EZ pass, there are a couple of booths off to the side.

If you're not paying attention, you can miss it.

Both times I was able to plead my case over the phone or in writing and the fine was waived.

[nuxvomica]

10. I don't have an "acceptable reason" according to the paperwork

I will pay the fine but they will certainly hear from me. This is just plain wrong.

[latebloomer]

11. Well, try anyway

I don't remember what the acceptable reasons are but I got the impression that saying you got confused gives you a pass, at least the first time.

[nuxvomica]

12. I'll call them Monday

I also want to know if there are any other violations that I'm not aware of.

[petronius]

24. When you're driving on the freeway (or parkway or turnpike or whatever you

bizarre eastern folk call it), "not paying attention" does not qualify as a valid excuse for anything... :)

[LiberalAndProud]

26. If you pay a toll, it can't be called a freeway, can it?

[old mark]

44. Hey, we're talking New Jersey here! They can call it an fuckin' thing they want!

Go back to PA if you don't like it.


mark
(in PA)

[latebloomer]

36. Very true, yet

they did let me off the hook! :D

[nuxvomica]

9. The parkway is just one big EZ-Pass lane

To pay the toll, you have to go off to a side ramp where there are toll booths. I did that on the way back and nearly got hit. My traveling companion couldn't understand why I bothered because it was clearly not a toll plaza. But I suspected a trap when I saw all the cameras overhead. I actually don't even know if I missed other spots like that.

edit: The "plaza" on the notice is listed as "PVK".

[FarLeftRage]

13. I think your traveling companion is a bit dim-witted.

If he can't understand the roads in New jersey...

[nuxvomica]

14. Maybe so, but he's good company nonetheless

Perhaps if we had been less talkative we might've noticed more stuff.
:rofl:

[FarLeftRage]

17. So... he's a real motor-mouth, eh?

I know them types... yakking-yak all the time. :rofl:

But that is good to know that he's good company.

[nuxvomica]

18. And he may recall, as I do, that Mandy kept saying "keep left"

Mandy in my Tom Tom ordered me not to turn off so it's all her fault. :D

[FarLeftRage]

20. Well, of course!

You're a Leftist, aren't cha? Even Mandy knew that. ;)

[TommyO]

31. Pascack Valley?

Here's a picture I found on Wikipedia. It looks well marked as a toll plaza

[nuxvomica]

34. That refers to an exit

It's pretty common to have toll booths at exits. When the exit has a toll plaza but the motorway doesn't, I assume I have to wait to pay the toll when I get to my exit.

[TommyO]

38. Cash, EZ-Pass and exit

[nuxvomica]

45. Look at the sign closely

It shows getting off at that exit but not getting back on. Why would I get off at that exit if it's not the exit I want to get off at? Thanks for posting the picture. It supports my case. :D

[Obama2012]

22. Exactly

AND, from my understanding of these tickets (a few friends have gotten them) on a first violation you can either pay the toll or the $25.

[TK421]

15. Only places worth visiting are Long Beach Island and maybe ( if you're interested )

Atlantic City...but you just need to know where to go there....

My friend has some kind of deal at the Hilton where he has free hotel rooms and other perks and since we frequent the slots ( big slots!!!! ) we get special deals on shit. Call me crazy, I love the Hilton and it's atmosphere...


edited to add: ended up blowing $200.00 on slots and just broke even...I walked out ( onto the beach, which was right there ), but I was so drunk that night I walked the beach all the way up to ( I think ) Trump......then, I found out I was so drunk that I was walking "with the tide" and actually ended up with some guy and girl running out to me and guiding me back towards the shore...don't understand it, I wasn't THAT far out there but glad I came back all the same, I'm sure they knew what they were talking about back then....

good times...good times, indeed

[bbernardini]

40. Cape May is nice. I like Ocean City as well.

Besides, Cape May is one of the few towns with a bookstore that carries "Weird NJ" magazine. :) (So is Ocean City, now that I think about it.)

[NJmaverick]

19. Give us our $25 and shut up about NJ

or Rocco will come to your house and break both your kneecaps. :evilgrin: :hi:

[Bravo Zulu]

21. The mafia uses the New Jersey Turn Pike to dispose of contaminated waste,

they open the valves on tanker trucks full of contaminated waste and drive till it's empty!

[Deja Q]

23. Given how many Hell jokes use "New Jersey" as a euphemism, I am not surprised by your statement,

and your sentiment.

From what little I understand of 'the whole picture', of course.


Oh, I would surmise that Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are as New Jerseyish as... New Jersey.

[aquaman]

25. Driven through NJ several times.....

All I remember is chemical plants and tolls. I am from the south, we don't have many toll roads here. It was interesting!

[BattyDem]

27. We have open road tolls in some areas ...

along the Turnpike and the Parkway.

If you have EZ-Pass, you simply stay on the road, maintain your speed and drive under the steel lattice.

Off to the side there are a couple of traditional toll booths for people without EZ-Pass. You don't really "exit" the road, but there is usually a divider between those lanes and the main road. As you approach, there are signs that let you know where you need to be. Being a Jersey driver, I'm used to these tolls, but if you're not familiar with the road or you get distracted, it's easy to miss the cutoff for the toll booths. I've seen many cars do a last-minute swerve into the toll lanes when they realize the entire road has become an "EZ-Pass Only" lane.

As others have said, try contacting them. Tell them you're from out-of-state and you got confused. By the time you realized you were supposed to be in a specific lane, it was too late to make the lane switch. They may waive the fine.

Good luck! :hi:


By the way ... I believe PVK is the Pascack Valley Toll Plaza.

[quakerboy]

28. toll roads are the devil

make of it what you will. I find them completely wrong.

[northzax]

29. What gve you the clue?

Was it that New Jersey is the only state you HAVE to pay to leave? Literally, you cannot leave New Jersey without paying a toll.

But then, if you spent your entire existence keeping New York and Philly apart you'd be a shithole too.

[TommyO]

32. I can go from Lambertville, NJ to New Hope, PA without paying a toll

And you can always escape by boat.

[tabbycat31]

33. i've walked across that bridge before

several times (I have family in the area). Nice walk.

[TommyO]

37. My ex and I used to do it all the time.

I'm thinking of heading back there soon.

[graywarrior]

35. Plus they arrest people like Bob Dylan.

Bastids.

[Crabby Appleton]

41. ...

[Tommy_Carcetti]

42. As bad as NJ's Turnpike system is, it still doesn't match how excruciatingly painful....

....their side roads are.

Case in point, and repeating a story from another post, I was going to visit my friend who lived in Monmouth Fucking County, New Jersey. After doing battle with the GSP, we finally exited onto Route 9. We were told it would be an easy 15 mile drive to my friend's house. Unbeknownst to us, driving on Route 9 through Monmouth Fucking County included stoplights in which it took a minimum of 2-3 light cycles to get through. And then it would be onto the next traffic light, a quarter mile ahead, where we would rinse, lather and repeat.

Bottom line is, the 15 mile drive took us a good hour to complete.

Oh yeah, and they won't let you turn left.