[ethomson]

I had thought it was common knowledge that E-ZPasses were used to collect real-time traffic estimates; certainly I've known for years that i-Pass (the Illinois equivalent) was used for this purpose. Unfortunately, some quick googling does not appear to locate any information on this, so now I don't remember where I heard / read this in the first place.

[pbreit]

No, this is NOT common knowledge. Sheesh.

[oceanstone]

FastTrak (used in the SF Bay Area) have a warning, laying this out when you buy the devices. You don't actually need the device though, as each bridge using it also uses cameras to read license plates. It's more convenient this way, as you just need to register your vehicle on their website.

[dsl]

I don't keep plates on my car because of the abundance of plate tracking applications in use by the government and private companies.

[joe_bleau]

Time for a kickstarter for an e-ink license plate? Tie it to a GPS with known locations of cameras, and change your tag for each picture?

[jlgreco]

That seems like it would be a great deal more illegal than simply just not having tags.

[Zelphyr]

Steve? I thought you were dead?

[pbreit]

Isn't that illegal pretty much everywhere?

[teej]

I've found that it's loosely enforced in the Bay Area.

[dsl]

I keep the tabs with the registration in the glove compartment, and the plates in the trunk. If I ever get pulled over and it is an issue, it will be a fix-it ticket. Since a cop has to write you a ticket for something, a fix-it is better than a speeding ticket.

[coin]

Steve Jobs constantly drove a new car so that he'd have temporary registration.

[pbreit]

But what he basically did was legal, right?

[mixmastamyk]

And how does one do that?

[tjohns]

Technically, CHP can give you a ticket if you use the FasTrak lanes without a FasTrack transponder, even though their computer system has no problems billing your account by license plate.

I've heard of it happening online, but never seen them pull somebody over personally.

[NoPiece]

Since earlier this year, they are taking an alternate approach with the Golden Gate bridge, and have switched to electronic only tolls. So either you have fastrak, or when you drive across they photograph your license plate and mail you a bill. No more pay by cash, or differentiated lanes. I could see that becoming the norm.

[marssaxman]

I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge a few months ago with no idea that this was going to happen - last time I was down there, they still had a normal tollbooth. I was in a borrowed car with Washington plates. If they'd had a normal toll booth I'd have paid, but with the system set up the way it was, I don't think they had any way to get revenue out of me.

[NoPiece]

I was also very confused the first time a drove across without the toll collectors. It felt like I was doing something wrong, and was going to end getting a ticket.

Do you know if the person you borrowed the car from got a bill? I'm curious if they are only able to bill California plates, or they have a national database of license plates.

[cdcarter]

At least the Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver, which uses the same license plate camera only style billing, has a database which they use to send a bill to your insurance.

[marssaxman]

It was months ago and I never heard about a bill. Ran into him earlier today, actually, after I'd made the post, but didn't think to ask.

[pbreit]

You also save a buck on Golden Gate Bridge with transmitter.

[joekrill]

I'm in Philadelphia. They recently added large electronic signs on various highways with information on how long it will currently take to get to certain destinations. I vaguely remember reading they were using anonymous E-ZPass readings for this. So yes, I thought this was common knowledge, also.