Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

sda

I had the pleasure of driving a 2015 Honda CR-V for the past two days. We had a 2009 before we got our two dogs and found the need to upsize to the Pilot. It reminded me of why the CR-Vs are so popular. They ride and drive nicely and are quite roomy. The engine/transmission (CVT) responds very similarly to that of my Accord, though it didn't feel quite as peppy. I believe it is the same engine and transmission as the Accord though they may have made some changes to better suit the CR-V. Gas mileage was good at 27mpg. Decent, but not great audio system. Sound lacked depth, richness. Accord is the same. I was surprised that road and tire noise is still very noticeable. I thought that had been addressed in this last revision. The 09 wasn't that quiet either, but I thought more progress had been made. The CR-V had Continental tires which I thought were noisy. A lot of tread noise which varied over different road surfaces. Out of curiosity I checked a couple of sources and found that that model of tire was considered to be quiet. Nice vehicle overall and I enjoyed the experience.

graphicguy

driver...my pet peeve, too. We don't have any toll roads in my 'burg, but everywhere else I travel does. I try to be mindful of keeping traffic moving. When on a toll road, I always go to the "manned" lane, as I need a receipt and change. That's why I keep my wallet in the cup holder or seat beside me.

Invariably, there will be someone who can't comprehend the simple action of having change or small bills readily available. Sorry, fairer gender, but 99% of the time it's a female who insists on waiting until they get to the booth to search in the bottom of their suitcase purse to find change for the toll booth. Forget for a moment that they had 4 cars in front of them and plenty of time to find change, or that they're holding up 10 cars behind them, which they're oblivious to.

They also seem to insist on talking on their phone instead of getting toll booth change. ARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!

suydam

It would be nice if Florida would accept the EZ Pass which is in common use throughout the Northeast, especially as they have so many Eastern snowbirds.

PF_Flyer

I live pretty darn close to the geographic center of PA, which is generally pretty far from a lot of tolls, and even we have EZ Pass. The wife travels a fair bit and winds up on stretches of the Turnpike, and the cost of the EZ Pass is more than made up with the toll discounts vs cash, not to mention the time saved when you zip through, especially in those EZ Pass Express lanes.

sda

PF_Flyer said:

I live pretty darn close to the geographic center of PA, which is generally pretty far from a lot of tolls, and even we have EZ Pass. The wife travels a fair bit and winds up on stretches of the Turnpike, and the cost of the EZ Pass is more than made up with the toll discounts vs cash, not to mention the time saved when you zip through, especially in those EZ Pass Express lanes.

When I visit a good friend in Pittsburgh the tolls empty my pockets thru WV and PA! They are talking about a toll road north of Charlotte on I-77. Oh boy!

driver100

GG. I have a baggy full of US coins, and a bunch of $1 bills in the center console.....US money when here and Cdn for back home. I can usually get the money out when I am driving, or my wife does it which is even better.

I guess EZ Passes would really help, but there are lots of visitors in Florida that are easy pickings for tolls. I don;t think it would cost much more if they collected money using Easy Pass for all residents...and let visitors through or have 2 lanes for cash payment.

The cost have having toll booth workers has to cost a fair bit.

I had a 75 cent toll booth to pay and I asked my wife to get rid of the smaller change so I had 7 dimes and one nickel, through it in and then I thought what if it doesn't add it up correctly.....but it did!

jmonroe

Hey sda, I don't ever remember you visiting me.

jmonroe

suydam

I just got hit with one of those toll charges on our recent trip to Florida. We carefully went through every Cash Only lane, but apparently there is something called Electronic Toll Road that has no lanes and no way to pay cash. I don't remember seeing anything like that the whole trip, but it must be near the airport. We incurred a $1 charge to which the rental agency slapped on a $14.75 "service fee". I did manage to get them to refund that. But I'm still wondering, where is that road, and we couldn't have been on it for more than a few miles.

andres3

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

So what your saying is my business proposition for an checkout worker-less retail or grocery store will have many legal hurdles if I implement the "honor system" for checking out your own items and paying for them. .

Depending on what you plan to sell yes. Other than that you might be out of business quickly.

andres3 said:

Forgetting that some my take advantage of an "honor system" at the checkout stand, if a store has no employees to verify age, are they still under the legal hook for selling alcohol? After all, couldn't the honor system apply to both the dollar amount, and the legal age to buy something (if your 20, you dishonor yourself by buying liquor). I suppose some overzealous gov't bureaucrat or prosecutor would like to hold the store liable. I think the ATF has made it clear you can't sell to minors, and it's the stores responsibility to ensure that, rather than personal accountability, but that doesn't mean the US is doing it right.

Well if you let a minor get alcohol, honor system or not, then yes you are responsible. You made it available to them, you let them have it then you are responsible. Not unlike buying booze for a couple of kids hanging around the corner.

andres3 said:

Many stores are implementing a system where one checkout employee oversees 4-6 automated checkout lanes. I'd like to take it a step further.

Heck, I know in my old college town they were going to try and pass a law and hold party thrower's home residents responsible for underage drinking. Effectively saying you'd have to card people attending the party despite the fact it is private property and a private party. I remember when I heard of this proposed law it sounded completely UN-American and unconstitutional to me. Just punish the underage drinkers; why hold the homeowners/residents responsible? Lastly, just make the legal drinking age 18 already and avoid all of the wasted law enforcement energy; it's either that, or prohibition.

What? You don't think people who have control over something shouldn't be held responsible if they shun those responsibilities? It doesn't matter if it is done on private property. Can you commit any crime you wish as long as it's on your property? If you think that way please come over to my house, and bring lots of cash. You allow a teenager to drink and get drunk and let him loose on the world then yes you should be held accountable. I would love to see how that is un-American and unconstitutional. To me taking responsibility for your actions is as American as you can get.

There is no crime committed. People over 21 know they can drink legally at the self-serve bar. People under 21 know it is illegal to self-serve alcohol to themselves. If they are 18 and older, they are adults, not teenagers. They can think and make decisions on their own as to whether or not they will follow the law. What is Constitutional and American is holding those adults responsible for their own actions. No one FORCED them to drink, it was a self serve bar, no one is pointing a gun to their head to make them drink; now that would be a situation where you would be correct, but that's a rare situation indeed!

oldfarmer50

jmonroe said:

Mike said in a previous post :

Thanks for the pep talk - much appreciated. I intend to cut back when and if I get a new car. In the meantime, you and everyone else here is correct - driving a 3 year old CLS is not being a slouch, that's for sure.

LOVED YOUR GASP!!!
___________________________________________________________________________________

FWIW resetting my computer to an earlier date did not help. This post and all subsequent posts unless I notify you guys otherwise is from the box at the bottom of the page.

Hey Mickey:

Get an Altima when you turn in the MB. Listen to why:

Mrs. j's Subie Legacy went into the dealer body shop yesterday to get the right front fender replaced due to the hit-and-run caused by a jacked-up truck that I mention in a post a week or 2 ago. Since I'm entitled to a full size rental car because I have that type of coverage on my insurance policy I was provided with a 2015 Altima S with around 18,000 miles. It is a jet black exterior with cloth black seats. I noticed that it was very clean when they turned it over to me and it looked pretty nice.

I had my semi-annual blood test today and since I had to fast for 12 hours before the test I made the appointment at 8 AM as I always do. I mentioned to Mrs. j last night that I knew I would be hungry after the blood work, so I was going to go and get breakfast before I came home. She said OK, then 10 minutes later she said she would go out to breakfast with me so I said fine but you can't make me late for the test because I don't want to lose my appointment time and wait in line because of it. She assured me she would be ready on time and she was.

As we are getting out of the Altima at the restaurant a senior citizen with his wife says to me, "that's a sharp looking car, what kind of car is that"? I told him it's nothing special it's just an Altima. As he walks away he said, "nice looking car". As we were walking to the restaurant I was laughing and Mrs. j says, "what's so funny"? I said, "I have a Genny that I think is at least as good looking as that Altima rental and no one has ever said it was sharp". She tells me I'm too sensitive.

We are now finished with breakfast and we are approaching the Altima in the parking lot. Dammit, and I'm not making this up, another senior guy with his wife says, "nice looking car, is that an Altima"? At least he knew what it was. Now Mrs. j starts to laugh and the guy wanted to know what was so funny. She tells him about the first couple and says, "he thinks the car he has at home is nicer than this one". So, of course he asked what car I had and I told him it was a 2015 Genesis. He didn't know what that was. I guess 1 out of 2 ain't so bad for senior types.

This has to be the classic case where a clean black car looks better than almost anything else on a lot.

So there you have it Mike, get a lower level Black car like an Altima but be sure to get the cooling seats option and your all set for South Florida. I know you guys in Florida like White cars but a White Altima or another similar car may not get as many nods as a Black one.

That's the best advice I can give you for when you scale back.

jmonroe

Don't let the comments by a couple of senile old coots sway your opinion of your car.

Now if you got those complements from the window girl at McDonalds I'd trade the Genny for an Altima right away.

abacomike

suydam said:

It would be nice if Florida would accept the EZ Pass which is in common use throughout the Northeast, especially as they have so many Eastern snowbirds.

I heard that Sun-Pass, Florida's pre-paid toll transponders, will soon be accepting EZ-Pass - but it is going to hane to be reciprocal.  Florida also uses cameras to bill cars that don't use Sun-Pass by license plate.  There is a fee for bill by plate

ab348

andres3 said:

There is no crime committed. People over 21 know they can drink legally at the self-serve bar. People under 21 know it is illegal to self-serve alcohol to themselves. If they are 18 and older, they are adults, not teenagers. They can think and make decisions on their own as to whether or not they will follow the law. What is Constitutional and American is holding those adults responsible for their own actions. No one FORCED them to drink, it was a self serve bar, no one is pointing a gun to their head to make them drink; now that would be a situation where you would be correct, but that's a rare situation indeed!

I do not know the laws in the USA or individual states, but in Canada it is an offense to provide a person not of legal drinking age with alcohol. There is definitely law-breaking going on when that occurs.

berri

Why can't the US just contract with a company to have ONE frickin' toll transponder everywhere? The feds butt in on so many things like schools, but let the toll system in this country work like a bunch of third world places.

PF_Flyer

berri said:

Why can't the US just contract with a company to have ONE frickin' toll transponder everywhere? The feds butt in on so many things like schools, but let the toll system in this country work like a bunch of third world places.

Careful now. That seems a lot like thinking and common sense

oldfarmer50

suydam said:

I just got hit with one of those toll charges on our recent trip to Florida. We carefully went through every Cash Only lane, but apparently there is something called Electronic Toll Road that has no lanes and no way to pay cash. I don't remember seeing anything like that the whole trip, but it must be near the airport. We incurred a $1 charge to which the rental agency slapped on a $14.75 "service fee". I did manage to get them to refund that. But I'm still wondering, where is that road, and we couldn't have been on it for more than a few miles.

The new Tappen Zee bridge north of NYC on the NYS Thruway (itself a toll road) has a fee that only accepts EZ Pass. Those without it get a bill in the mail. I can just imagine the fun with misread dirty plates sending threats to motorists who were never anywhere near the bridge.

My son got two notices of unpaid tickets from downstate that were errors.

driver100

suydam said:

I just got hit with one of those toll charges on our recent trip to Florida. We carefully went through every Cash Only lane, but apparently there is something called Electronic Toll Road that has no lanes and no way to pay cash. I don't remember seeing anything like that the whole trip, but it must be near the airport. We incurred a $1 charge to which the rental agency slapped on a $14.75 "service fee". I did manage to get them to refund that. But I'm still wondering, where is that road, and we couldn't have been on it for more than a few miles.

Not sure what airport you were headed for but there is an invisible toll booth on the Selmon Expressway on the way to Tampa International Airport. If you don't have a pass they send you a bill in the mail. If I am driving my car with an Ontario license I am not charged. Once we had a rental car and they charged $30 extra to process the toll. There is some talk of capping the fee to $5 or $10 as the fee is a rip off to visitors who only find out about the toll once the charges are added to their car rental bill about a month later.

If there is a sign there it is pretty hard to see.....which is totally unfair.

isellhondas

ab348 said:

graphicguy said:

ab...if Goodyear's wiper blades are worse than the Cadillac OEM blades (which Cadillac dealership wanted $70 for), then I don't even want to know where Cadillac gets theirs. For what it's worth, the Goodyear wipers "look" better than the Caddy OEM wipers. Even if they only last a few months, for $5/ea, I got my money's worth.

Every pair of aftermarket wiper blades I have ever seen have an ugly clunky-looking adapter mounted on top that lets them hook up to any type of wiper arm. Do these not have that? That is the big advantage of the OEM part which, in the case of Cadillac at least, are nicely integrated with the arm design.

I've never had good luck with aftermarket wiper blades. They just never seem to fit as well. Of course, unliked a lot of other people I've had no success using Rain Ex either!

andres3

ab348 said:

andres3 said:

There is no crime committed. People over 21 know they can drink legally at the self-serve bar. People under 21 know it is illegal to self-serve alcohol to themselves. If they are 18 and older, they are adults, not teenagers. They can think and make decisions on their own as to whether or not they will follow the law. What is Constitutional and American is holding those adults responsible for their own actions. No one FORCED them to drink, it was a self serve bar, no one is pointing a gun to their head to make them drink; now that would be a situation where you would be correct, but that's a rare situation indeed!

I do not know the laws in the USA or individual states, but in Canada it is an offense to provide a person not of legal drinking age with alcohol. There is definitely law-breaking going on when that occurs.

I guess it all comes down to whether you define "providing alcohol" as serving and pouring their cup for them and handing it to them (which I do) vs. having to have armed guards and trained ID card readers protecting the alcohol that just happens to be on your property so that underage drinkers don't have an opportunity to partake.

andres3

driver100 said:

suydam said:

I just got hit with one of those toll charges on our recent trip to Florida. We carefully went through every Cash Only lane, but apparently there is something called Electronic Toll Road that has no lanes and no way to pay cash. I don't remember seeing anything like that the whole trip, but it must be near the airport. We incurred a $1 charge to which the rental agency slapped on a $14.75 "service fee". I did manage to get them to refund that. But I'm still wondering, where is that road, and we couldn't have been on it for more than a few miles.

Not sure what airport you were headed for but there is an invisible toll booth on the Selmon Expressway on the way to Tampa International Airport. If you don't have a pass they send you a bill in the mail. If I am driving my car with an Ontario license I am not charged. Once we had a rental car and they charged $30 extra to process the toll. There is some talk of capping the fee to $5 or $10 as the fee is a rip off to visitors who only find out about the toll once the charges are added to their car rental bill about a month later.

If there is a sign there it is pretty hard to see.....which is totally unfair.

All the more reason to buy a car every few months so you never have license plates that can be seen by the cameras. I suppose they could make out the make of car, and bill the corporate car manufacturer.

jmonroe

farmer said:

Don't let the comments by a couple of senile old coots sway your opinion of your car.

Now if you got those complements from the window girl at McDonalds I'd trade the Genny for an Altima right away.

farmer,

I should be getting Mrs. j's Subie back from the shop today but so far they have not called me. In any case, I don't usually go through drive-thru's but in a way I'm almost afraid to try it. Sure would be disappointing if they liked the Altima rental.

jmonroe

abacomike

suydam said:

I just got hit with one of those toll charges on our recent trip to Florida. We carefully went through every Cash Only lane, but apparently there is something called Electronic Toll Road that has no lanes and no way to pay cash. I don't remember seeing anything like that the whole trip, but it must be near the airport. We incurred a $1 charge to which the rental agency slapped on a $14.75 "service fee". I did manage to get them to refund that. But I'm still wondering, where is that road, and we couldn't have been on it for more than a few miles.

Yes, this is something that has been instituted in the past year or so. Only at very heavily used interchanges are there still toll booths in the right lanes - specifically Pompano Beach, Okeechobee Blvd in Palm Beach, and there is even one at my exit at Coconut Creek Parkway where you can pay a cash toll.

Instead of toll booths in most places, they have set up overhead cameras and sensors. If you have a transponder, your account is charged the minimum toll. If you go through without a transponder, it takes a picture of your license plate and issues you an invoice at the end of each month, for which they have a service fee + you end up paying the higher of the two tolls.

The transponders are only about $25.00 and easily pay for themselves because of the 25 cents per toll savings you qualify for. Car Rental Companies usually have special transponders in their cars which bill the rental company by vehicle and date/dime of toll. They can then immediately pull up the toll charges for your rental car prior to your returning it.

Florida Toll Roads are some of the most expensive in the country, with the exception of some California roads for express lanes. We now have express lanes in Miami-Dade County which you are charged extra for. I've never used express lanes because I don't travel at rush hour times.

driver100

jmonroe, now you know what car to buy if you want the older groupies and cougars to admire you.

abacomike

berri said:

Why can't the US just contract with a company to have ONE frickin' toll transponder everywhere? The feds butt in on so many things like schools, but let the toll system in this country work like a bunch of third world places.

One of the problems, driver, is that each state maintains their own toll roads and sets the tolls for their toll roads. The federal government has nothing to do with State toll roads. Another problem has to do with nationwide computers. If you have a national transponder, when you go through a toll sensor, it will record your toll, but then there is a problem with distributing the proceeds for these tolls to the appropriate State or jurisdiction, which can cost millions and millions of dollars to administer. I know it sounds easy, but in actuality, it is extremely costly to develop and create a national toll system with transponders.

PF_Flyer

They started cashless tolling at the Delaware River bridge entrance to PA on the Turnpike this year. No toll booths or toll takers. EZ Pass users will pay $5 for a two-axle vehicle, non-EZ user tolls will be collected by Toll By Plate. Photo taken of your license plate, invoice mailed to you, 20 days to pay before a 2nd invoice + penalty. I think the plan is to do away with toll booths on the entire Turnpike by 2019, depending on how this goes I suppose
http://www.wgal.com/news/pa-turnpike-implements-nonstop-highway-speed-toll/36715974

stever

Give Homeland Security EZPass authority. That'll fix everything.

RD&G (remember that one?).

explorerx4

New York doesn't charge for their EZ Pass transponder. You just have to tie it to a credit card (and remember to update your expiration date when you get a new card).

jmonroe

isell said:

I've never had good luck with aftermarket wiper blades. They just never seem to fit as well. Of course, unliked a lot of other people I've had no success using Rain Ex either!

isell,

I mentioned this way back on SFTSFL.

I too don't think Rain Ex is as good as a lot of folks say it is either but it isn't bad. I just got tired of using it because the window has to be spotless before applying it or you will have trapped a sport that will be there until the wipers scrub off the Rain Ex coating or you take it off with alcohol. So, into the car care cleaning box it went with the rags and wax.

After a while I got tired of looking at it every week or so and figured there had to be a use for what was left. There was. I decided to put it on the tile and glass door in the bathroom shower stall. I made sure the tiles were clean and the glass door was too and I put it on. A word of caution here because in a closed space that stuff is irritating when it's inhaled so make sure you have the window open and turn on the fan.

After I did that I turned on the water and let hit the walls and door to see how it worked. I thought it worked just fine, the water just fell right off. I then told Mrs. j what I did and I know she didn't pay too much attention to what I said. Fast forward to about a week later and she says, "didn't you tell me you did something to the shower stall a while back"? I said yes I did. She says, "whatever you did it's great". I got atta boy points for that stroke of geniousness.

We/her still use it and we've long gone through the first bottle. Even our DIL's like it.

It would have broken my cheap heart to throw that first bottle away more than 1/2 full.

jmonroe

ab348

driver100 said:

jmonroe, now you know what car to buy if you want the older groupies and cougars to admire you.

Indeed. I never liked Nissans, but maybe I should dump the Caddy at lease end and get a black Altima!

suydam

driver100 said:

suydam said:

I just got hit with one of those toll charges on our recent trip to Florida. We carefully went through every Cash Only lane, but apparently there is something called Electronic Toll Road that has no lanes and no way to pay cash. I don't remember seeing anything like that the whole trip, but it must be near the airport. We incurred a $1 charge to which the rental agency slapped on a $14.75 "service fee". I did manage to get them to refund that. But I'm still wondering, where is that road, and we couldn't have been on it for more than a few miles.

Not sure what airport you were headed for but there is an invisible toll booth on the Selmon Expressway on the way to Tampa International Airport. If you don't have a pass they send you a bill in the mail. If I am driving my car with an Ontario license I am not charged. Once we had a rental car and they charged $30 extra to process the toll. There is some talk of capping the fee to $5 or $10 as the fee is a rip off to visitors who only find out about the toll once the charges are added to their car rental bill about a month later.

If there is a sign there it is pretty hard to see.....which is totally unfair.

This must be something like that. It was on the way to the airport at Orlando. The rental transponder fee was very expensive per day so that's why we didn't go that route. At least I got the "service ripoff" refunded so in the end it only cost me a buck.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

suydam said:

I just got hit with one of those toll charges on our recent trip to Florida. We carefully went through every Cash Only lane, but apparently there is something called Electronic Toll Road that has no lanes and no way to pay cash. I don't remember seeing anything like that the whole trip, but it must be near the airport. We incurred a $1 charge to which the rental agency slapped on a $14.75 "service fee". I did manage to get them to refund that. But I'm still wondering, where is that road, and we couldn't have been on it for more than a few miles.

Not sure what airport you were headed for but there is an invisible toll booth on the Selmon Expressway on the way to Tampa International Airport. If you don't have a pass they send you a bill in the mail. If I am driving my car with an Ontario license I am not charged. Once we had a rental car and they charged $30 extra to process the toll. There is some talk of capping the fee to $5 or $10 as the fee is a rip off to visitors who only find out about the toll once the charges are added to their car rental bill about a month later.

If there is a sign there it is pretty hard to see.....which is totally unfair.

There is a toll road near Orlando that jumps out like that. You're driving along and all of a sudden there's a toll booth. I told the toll taker that I was on the wrong road and he let me turn around with one of those "another tourist" eye rolls. Seems strange but now that I think about it there's no notice where I-87 near me turns from toll free to toll but you do have to get off at an exit before you roll up to the booth.

stickguy

I went through that booth on Sunday Farmer. Small world!

stickguy

I love EZ pass. I am always shocked to see how many people queue up at the pay cash booth on some roads. I could not do it at this point, even where they still have the option.

especially now that speed through canopies are becoming more common.

oldfarmer50

PF_Flyer said:

They started cashless tolling at the Delaware River bridge entrance to PA on the Turnpike this year. No toll booths or toll takers. EZ Pass users will pay $5 for a two-axle vehicle, non-EZ user tolls will be collected by Toll By Plate. Photo taken of your license plate, invoice mailed to you, 20 days to pay before a 2nd invoice + penalty. I think the plan is to do away with toll booths on the entire Turnpike by 2019, depending on how this goes I suppose
http://www.wgal.com/news/pa-turnpike-implements-nonstop-highway-speed-toll/36715974

Ha ha don't you count on it. The NYS Thruway was supose to end the tolls in 1996 when the construction bonds were paid off. The Thruway Authority was such a cash cow and patronage pit that they came up with a bunch of excuses for not ending them.

Of course you guys in PA have all that Fracking money floating around so you might get lucky. NY would rather just scam us motorists.

stickguy

no, you misunderstood farmer. PA has no intention of eliminating tolls. that ain't never happening. They just want to eliminate all manned toll booths, and make the entire PA Tpke electronic collection only.

suydam

Yes, I think it's supposed to happen over the next couple of years.

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

@snakeweasel:

I have one question for you - WHY?  

42

abacomike

I was at the cardiologist early this morning.  He took me off 2 pills because my blood pressure was low normal (105/68) - good thing I did not refill those pills before seeing him.  He further stated that the stent in my right coronary artery is doing its job.  The other 3 arteries are 40%, 40% and 50% closed which, at my age, is quite acceptable.  So the stress test was definitely a false positive.

But the interesting thing about my visit to his office that was quite eventful took place in the waiting room.

I got there at 8:30 AM for my 8:45 AM appointment.  I gave the receptionist my $15.00 check for the copay and took a seat.  This guy walks in with extremely baggy pants (kind of like the baggy pants clowns wear at the circus) held up by suspenders to keep them from falling to the floor.  The receptionist asked for his $35.00 copay.  He said he didn't have $35.00 with him.  She told him they take credit cards - but he said he didn't believe in credit cards.  She asked him how much he had with him since the copay has to be paid before services are rendered.  He then puts his hands in both front pockets and pulls them inside out to show her he had no money - but that action on his part caused his suspenders to unclip or unbutton and his pants fall right down on top of his shoes!

There were about 7 patients in the waiting room witnessing this entire episode.  There was a bunch of "...oh, noes and deep breaths..." That resounded in the office.  It seems he didn't believe in underwear either!

I jumped up and took $35.00 in cash out of my wallet and gave it to the receptionist to cover his copay.  I then went back to my chair - I felt this poor guy had withstood enough embarrassment without having to further extend his unfortunate situation.  A guy sitting closer to the half-naked man went over to help him with his pants.

Personally, I preferred paying his copay than helping him with his pants.

i really ought to write a book!

Things like this this only happen to me! 

henryn

I wasn't there, and it's hard to judge without actually seeing the incident. Depending on exactly how that went down, I might have done the same thing (paid the $35 for him). It's also quite possible that I would have decided he was trying to run a scam, and refused to help in any way. I think I would have had to be there to truly judge this for myself.

abacomike

henryn said:

I wasn't there, and it's hard to judge without actually seeing the incident. Depending on exactly how that went down, I might have done the same thing (paid the $35 for him). It's also quite possible that I would have decided he was trying to run a scam, and refused to help in any way. I think I would have had to be there to truly judge this for myself.

I have to admit - no when broke out laughing - but all of us went apoplectic from laughing inside.  Yes, you really had to be there - no question about it!

snakeweasel

graphicguy said:

driver...my pet peeve, too. We don't have any toll roads in my 'burg, but everywhere else I travel does. I try to be mindful of keeping traffic moving. When on a toll road, I always go to the "manned" lane, as I need a receipt and change. That's why I keep my wallet in the cup holder or seat beside me.

Invariably, there will be someone who can't comprehend the simple action of having change or small bills readily available. Sorry, fairer gender, but 99% of the time it's a female who insists on waiting until they get to the booth to search in the bottom of their suitcase purse to find change for the toll booth. Forget for a moment that they had 4 cars in front of them and plenty of time to find change, or that they're holding up 10 cars behind them, which they're oblivious to.

They also seem to insist on talking on their phone instead of getting toll booth change. ARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!

Geeze you guys, after a long day at work and what do I find here? O\A discussion on tollways.

You want to talk about time wasters at toll booths? Wait until you get behind the guy trying to pick up the toll collector. Yes that happens.

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

So what your saying is my business proposition for an checkout worker-less retail or grocery store will have many legal hurdles if I implement the "honor system" for checking out your own items and paying for them. .

Depending on what you plan to sell yes. Other than that you might be out of business quickly.

andres3 said:

Forgetting that some my take advantage of an "honor system" at the checkout stand, if a store has no employees to verify age, are they still under the legal hook for selling alcohol? After all, couldn't the honor system apply to both the dollar amount, and the legal age to buy something (if your 20, you dishonor yourself by buying liquor). I suppose some overzealous gov't bureaucrat or prosecutor would like to hold the store liable. I think the ATF has made it clear you can't sell to minors, and it's the stores responsibility to ensure that, rather than personal accountability, but that doesn't mean the US is doing it right.

Well if you let a minor get alcohol, honor system or not, then yes you are responsible. You made it available to them, you let them have it then you are responsible. Not unlike buying booze for a couple of kids hanging around the corner.

andres3 said:

Many stores are implementing a system where one checkout employee oversees 4-6 automated checkout lanes. I'd like to take it a step further.

Heck, I know in my old college town they were going to try and pass a law and hold party thrower's home residents responsible for underage drinking. Effectively saying you'd have to card people attending the party despite the fact it is private property and a private party. I remember when I heard of this proposed law it sounded completely UN-American and unconstitutional to me. Just punish the underage drinkers; why hold the homeowners/residents responsible? Lastly, just make the legal drinking age 18 already and avoid all of the wasted law enforcement energy; it's either that, or prohibition.

What? You don't think people who have control over something shouldn't be held responsible if they shun those responsibilities? It doesn't matter if it is done on private property. Can you commit any crime you wish as long as it's on your property? If you think that way please come over to my house, and bring lots of cash. You allow a teenager to drink and get drunk and let him loose on the world then yes you should be held accountable. I would love to see how that is un-American and unconstitutional. To me taking responsibility for your actions is as American as you can get.

There is no crime committed. People over 21 know they can drink legally at the self-serve bar. People under 21 know it is illegal to self-serve alcohol to themselves. If they are 18 and older, they are adults, not teenagers. They can think and make decisions on their own as to whether or not they will follow the law. What is Constitutional and American is holding those adults responsible for their own actions. No one FORCED them to drink, it was a self serve bar, no one is pointing a gun to their head to make them drink; now that would be a situation where you would be correct, but that's a rare situation indeed!

Look up aiding and abetting.

stever

$35 - that's cheaper entertainment than dinner and a movie.

I always like the guy who throws money at the booth and misses. And then tries to get out and find the loose change he lost.

Wouldn't want to wait around but the $4 toll on the Mackinaw Bridge entitles you to have someone else drive you across the bridge. Be kind of fun to do that and then hang out the window taking video....

abacomike

@snakeweasel:

I've never witnessed that in my 55 years of driving - a motorist attempting to pick up a toll collector.

What I have witnessed time and time again is someone pulling up to an exact change booth and throwing coins toward the collection basket but ends up throwing nickels, dimes and quarters all over the road.  Then, the driver pulls up a little and spends 5 minutes looking for every coin.  That's exasperating!

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

suydam said:

It would be nice if Florida would accept the EZ Pass which is in common use throughout the Northeast, especially as they have so many Eastern snowbirds.

I heard that Sun-Pass, Florida's pre-paid toll transponders, will soon be accepting EZ-Pass - but it is going to hane to be reciprocal.  Florida also uses cameras to bill cars that don't use Sun-Pass by license plate.  There is a fee for bill by plate

It is my understanding that the Sun-Pass isn't as technologically advanced as the EZPass system and while EZPass transponders can work on the Sun Pass system the opposite is not true.

abacomike

stever said:

$35 - that's cheaper entertainment than dinner and a movie. I always like the guy who throws money at the booth and misses. And then tries to get out and find the loose change he lost. Wouldn't want to wait around but the $4 toll on the Mackinaw Bridge entitles you to have someone else drive you across the bridge. Be kind of fun to do that and then hang out the window taking video....

It was definitely not entertaining - pathetic is a more appropriate word to describe this morning's events at the doctor's office.

imidazol97

@driver100
The drive home from Pigeon Forge took me up I75 where the landslide was on the mountain north of Knoxville at 8:30 am. Didn't slow down below 50. The 7 miles from Caryville to the next overpass has two curves for couple of miles and then the uphill and construction start. Both lanes are maintained with a berm for pull offs on the right side.

At the top of the 2-mile climb and a couple more miles of flatter driving, there's an overpass that's under construction. Two lanes. Then there's the police car facing traffic to get everyone alert to merge to left one lane for the trek through the rockslide area. That's a 45-mph zone but people didn't slow down. In the afternoons, last Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and this afternoon at 4:30 the traffic has slowed to the red speeds all the way down to the exits at Caryville when I looked at traffic on maps.google.com. That's 25-30 mph estimated. Because it's uphill, trucks and towed trailers must have a problem accelerating some when they need to.

If you're hitting that at mid or late afternoon and don't like slow driving for 8 miles on a Friday afternoon, just stock up on patience.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

no, you misunderstood farmer. PA has no intention of eliminating tolls. that ain't never happening. They just want to eliminate all manned toll booths, and make the entire PA Tpke electronic collection only.

Yeah, I realized that when I re read your post.

In other news...anyone interested? Seem to be an awful lot for a used car. What was MSRP?

https://albany.craigslist.org/cto/5492095437.html

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

berri said:

Why can't the US just contract with a company to have ONE frickin' toll transponder everywhere? The feds butt in on so many things like schools, but let the toll system in this country work like a bunch of third world places.

One of the problems, driver, is that each state maintains their own toll roads and sets the tolls for their toll roads. The federal government has nothing to do with State toll roads. Another problem has to do with nationwide computers. If you have a national transponder, when you go through a toll sensor, it will record your toll, but then there is a problem with distributing the proceeds for these tolls to the appropriate State or jurisdiction, which can cost millions and millions of dollars to administer. I know it sounds easy, but in actuality, it is extremely costly to develop and create a national toll system with transponders.

How is that any different than the system in place through most tollways? Here in IL we have the I-Pass which can be used anywhere EZ-Pass can be used so when I drive on the Indiana toll road there is a way for Indiana to get that toll money from Illinois. Or if an EZ-Pass user from Ohio drives on the PA turnpike how does PA get their money? The system is set up and running.

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

I was at the cardiologist early this morning.  He took me off 2 pills because my blood pressure was low normal (105/68) - good thing I did not refill those pills before seeing him.  He further stated that the stent in my right coronary artery is doing its job.  The other 3 arteries are 40%, 40% and 50% closed which, at my age, is quite acceptable.  So the stress test was definitely a false positive.

But the interesting thing about my visit to his office that was quite eventful took place in the waiting room.

I got there at 8:30 AM for my 8:45 AM appointment.  I gave the receptionist my $15.00 check for the copay and took a seat.  This guy walks in with extremely baggy pants (kind of like the baggy pants clowns wear at the circus) held up by suspenders to keep them from falling to the floor.  The receptionist asked for his $35.00 copay.  He said he didn't have $35.00 with him.  She told him they take credit cards - but he said he didn't believe in credit cards.  She asked him how much he had with him since the copay has to be paid before services are rendered.  He then puts his hands in both front pockets and pulls them inside out to show her he had no money - but that action on his part caused his suspenders to unclip or unbutton and his pants fall right down on top of his shoes!

There were about 7 patients in the waiting room witnessing this entire episode.  There was a bunch of "...oh, noes and deep breaths..." That resounded in the office.  It seems he didn't believe in underwear either!

I jumped up and took $35.00 in cash out of my wallet and gave it to the receptionist to cover his copay.  I then went back to my chair - I felt this poor guy had withstood enough embarrassment without having to further extend his unfortunate situation.  A guy sitting closer to the half-naked man went over to help him with his pants.

Personally, I preferred paying his copay than helping him with his pants.

i really ought to write a book!

Things like this this only happen to me! 

That story was worth $35.

snakeweasel

stickguy said:

I love EZ pass. I am always shocked to see how many people queue up at the pay cash booth on some roads. I could not do it at this point, even where they still have the option.

especially now that speed through canopies are becoming more common.

For some people it's just not worth it. I do have an I-Pass but the number of times I use it makes it hard to justify having one. Here it is March 30th and so far in 2016 I have gone through one toll booth.