They are essentially FasTrak freeloaders: drivers who stay in a dedicated FasTrak lane as long as possible to get ahead of traffic and then, at the last minute, switch to a lane that accepts cash.
Kevin Gong, a longtime FasTrak user, said he sees that kind of driving all the time on the Bay Bridge and the Benicia-Martinez Bridge ? not just during rush hour.
"You think the cars in front of you are FasTrak users until about 500 feet before the toll booth, and they slow down and try to switch lanes. And you think, 'Why are you doing this to me? You're slowing everyone down and pissing everyone off,' " Gong said.
Like our content?
Help us do more.
About half of all drivers on Bay Area bridges use FasTrak, according to John Goodwin, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which oversees toll collection on the region?s seven state-owned bridges. Late lane switchers represent what he called "a tiny percentage of drivers." But Goodwin acknowledged they can have a big impact on the commute, especially on the Bay Bridge, where FasTrak lanes are at capacity during peak hours and on many weekends.
Yet policing those last-minute lane changers isn't a priority for the California Highway Patrol.
"As agitating and frustrating it may be, it's not necessarily going to kill somebody," said Diana McDermott, public information officer for the CHP.
Jed Lane might disagree. In June, he was driving on the Benicia bridge when a woman crossed over three FasTrak-only lanes to get to a lane that accepts cash.
"I locked up the brakes, and the car started to skid. I missed her by about a foot and a half, traveling 50 to 60 miles per hour," Lane said. "She's trying to do the right thing by paying the toll, but she's going to kill someone."
Last-minute lane changers are not necessarily breaking the law, said CHP Officer Hector Baiza. Drivers can legally switch into and out of FasTrak lanes near a toll booth if they do so safely, he said. If not, a driver can be cited for an unsafe lane change, impeding the flow of traffic and illegal use of restricted lane ? violations that can add up to hundreds of dollars.
The CHP doesn't keep statistics on how many of those tickets it has issued near toll plazas, and Goodwin said there is no data on the length of the delays caused by the late lane switchers. But, he said, drivers have complained about them since FasTrak lanes were first installed on Bay Area bridges.
"It's just part and parcel of inconsiderate driving," he said.
An electronic toll-collection system could eliminate late lane changes, according to Goodwin. The Golden Gate Bridge District, which is not part of the MTC, plans to switch to the new system in December.
The district is switching to electronic tolls to cut costs, said its spokeswoman, Mary Currie. It is spending about $3.2 million to install the new system, which will save an estimated $2.4 million a year, in part by eliminating toll collectors.
The system will treat all drivers as FasTrak users, regardless of whether they have the devices on their car. There will be no FasTrak-only lanes. Instead, cameras will take pictures of cars without the devices and mail the bills to the cars' owners. The district plans to switch to the new system in December.
If it works well on the Golden Gate Bridge, then the MTC would "eventually" install electronic tolls on the state-run bridges in the region, Goodwin said.
"There?s no quick fix,? he added.
FasTrak Rough Cut from Anika Anand on Vimeo.
Source: http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/late-fastrak-lane-changes-frustrating-mostly-legal-17236
cardinals jessica sanchez robert kennedy san diego weather north korea frances bean cobain north korea missile launch
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.