Toll Systems Used for Speeding Tickets? Not Yet, but Watch Out!

I was just reading a news article about the Washington Toll System being able to accurately measure the speed of cars. I actually worked for a time for IPASS, which is the Illinois Toll System, and I can say that it is technically possible to see how fast a car is traveling on the tollway.

As of now, I don't know of any toll roads that are using information collected from tolls to issue speeding tickets. I know in Illinois police were not allowed to see the information, unless they had a subpoena, which I believe is the case in Washington as well.

I actually had a call once where a police officer called in to check on a stolen car. The car actually went through some tolls after being stolen, and the police were trying to use the information to find the thief. Unfortunately, only the owner of the car could access the toll information.

On another occasion a woman called to see where her husband's car was going. Since she was on the account I was allowed to inform her of the tolls. Thankfully, her husband went in the direction he said, so she relaxed and didn't have to yell at him about possible infidelity.

There are very specific rules about what this info is for. Police would no doubt love to get their hands on toll info to give out speeding tickets, but as tolls are not designed to measure speed the data cannot be trusted in the same way that a police radar gun can be. There's more that goes into issuing a speeding ticket than just the speed of the car. Road conditions also play an important factor, and sometimes other drivers can have an effect. For instance, if someone is tailgating you, you may speed for your own safety. If a police officer is present, the tailgater will get the ticket, and not you.

There's always a new speed detection method being put into use somewhere. Whether it's pneumatic tubes across the road or the tolls you pay every day, there's always some new method of finding out how fast you're going. Fortunately, our lawmakers have been pretty good about making sure police use only the best radar guns that have been designed for traffic measurement. You don't have to worry about speeding tickets from toll booths, but there are still police officers on toll roads, so keep your speed at a safe level.

Labels: police procedure, police radar