alnorth
02-21-2011, 08:24 PM
This story was so funny and bizarre I had to share it. Just in case there's an Iowa chief fan planning to drive to New York anytime soon, feel free to blast right through the E-Z Pass.
Who Knew Iowa Plates Save Money? (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704698004576104512342755644.html?mod=googlenews_wsj)
Drive through one of the region's many gate-free, all-electronic toll booths without an E-ZPass tag and you'll likely get a ticket in the mail—unless you have Iowa or Arizona license plates.
...
Drivers who don't have an E-ZPass tag will get an invoice mailed to the address associated with their license plate.
But to send those invoices, the MTA and other agencies need to contact the state where each license plate was issued to get the name and address of the driver. For vehicles from 48 states, that's not a problem. But the MTA, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the New York State Thruway Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey currently can't obtain information from Iowa and Arizona. That means drivers from those two states can blast through gateless, electronic tolls in the New York region without paying and face little chance of being caught.
...
Both Arizona and Iowa—which don't have tolls on their own roads—insist they're not renegades. They say any government agency can work out a deal to receive vehicle owner information. The New Jersey Turnpike is working on a deal with Arizona, a spokesman for the turnpike said. The federal government and individual states have privacy laws barring the disclosure of the identities of license plate owners, creating a patchwork that toll authorities must navigate.
...
For the New York-area toll operators, the inability to track down Arizonans and Iowans isn't a big fiscal hit—the Port Authority called it "miniscule".
Who Knew Iowa Plates Save Money? (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704698004576104512342755644.html?mod=googlenews_wsj)
Drive through one of the region's many gate-free, all-electronic toll booths without an E-ZPass tag and you'll likely get a ticket in the mail—unless you have Iowa or Arizona license plates.
...
Drivers who don't have an E-ZPass tag will get an invoice mailed to the address associated with their license plate.
But to send those invoices, the MTA and other agencies need to contact the state where each license plate was issued to get the name and address of the driver. For vehicles from 48 states, that's not a problem. But the MTA, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, the New York State Thruway Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey currently can't obtain information from Iowa and Arizona. That means drivers from those two states can blast through gateless, electronic tolls in the New York region without paying and face little chance of being caught.
...
Both Arizona and Iowa—which don't have tolls on their own roads—insist they're not renegades. They say any government agency can work out a deal to receive vehicle owner information. The New Jersey Turnpike is working on a deal with Arizona, a spokesman for the turnpike said. The federal government and individual states have privacy laws barring the disclosure of the identities of license plate owners, creating a patchwork that toll authorities must navigate.
...
For the New York-area toll operators, the inability to track down Arizonans and Iowans isn't a big fiscal hit—the Port Authority called it "miniscule".