FasTrak transponder mount location

While going through the toll plaza, or all the time?

 

My bad, Toll Plaza. My wife's friend was driving the 261 toll road here OC and she drove through the sensors. A CHP was sitting in the center divider looking toward the toll plaza and saw no transponder so he pulled her over. She said, "I have the transponder right here." (I think it was in her center console) He said, "It must be affixed to the windshield, citation issued, sign here, press hard makes three copies." She wanted to fight it but just decided to pay the fine, I think it was around $250.00 dollars.

 

don't have mine yet.. but i heard it works fine in the upper glove compartment.. mine will probably go there.. and i'll probably never use it.

 

That's nuts! I live FAR away from any of the bridges and hardly use them. The last time I crossed one was sometime last year (probably October). Mine's in my glove compartment since I've used it 0 times. I've also used the non-hybrid xmitter I got last year 0 times.

 

Me too. (my shortest post top date )

 

Seems the problem is she was driving in a location where the transponder was required to pay the toll. I don't think it would be an issue in any normal car pool lane. The problem would be that for an officer monitoring the toll lane, the visible transponder is the only way to determine that a hybrid with the yellow stickers paid (or tried to do so). If you aren't in a toll paying location then it shouldn't be a problem.

 

Good point,

I don't even bother with it, I just leave it in the door panel, it usually beeps, if not, my plates are registered with the toll company, so I get charged either way. I have never had a problem doing this.

 

Do you know if this is the "fix-it" ticket type? I will probably wait until I get my first ticket before I mount it again.

 

$250??? wow, think I will be ordering some new velcro.

Thanks for that story.

 

First thing I do when my transponder arrives (this is my 4th) is remove the strips of velcro. How hard? Shove one finger nail under it and pull up gently and evenly. Pulls off with zero residue. Then I put on rubber feet. The transponder stays in the console in it's metalized baggie until needed, then I toss it up onto the dash. The rubber feet are to keep it in place up on the dash.

 

Do you have documentation of this, or the word of an officer?

I'm not aware of any law that requires the transponder to be mounted, and I'll tell you why... I drive through the car pool lane with A CAR POOL, and don't need to pay. Anybody writes me a ticket for not using a transponder with a carpool, and I'll have some words.

 

Easy. I rarely need it, even when crossing bridges, and I don't like having that huge thing anywhere on my windshield. I know this going to shock some people - but when I cross bridges (in both my EV with HOV stickers, and in the Prius with HOV stickers) I usually do it with A CARPOOL. A *real* one. Lots of people on one car. The kind of thing that the HOV lanes were invented for....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Mar 24 2006, 11:24 PM) [snapback]229830[/snapback]</div>

I, too, disagree with the statement about it being required to be visible from the front of the vehicle.

This page (http://www.bayareafastrak.org/static/about/transponders.shtml ) gives instructions on how and where to mount the transponder, but says nothing about it being required to be visible.

In fact, it seems to emphasize more on the fact that any stickers/objects mounted on the windshield just need to be in the corners or behind the rearview mirror as to not obstruct your view.

All that, in addition to darell's scenarios when he's actually carpooling, you know, with multiple passengers and doesn't need to pay a toll.

Perhaps the officer was just being snotty.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(J.Wilkie @ Dec 22 2005, 03:05 PM) [snapback]177561[/snapback]</div>

Huh? If it isn't visible then why would a law enforcement official even know you have it? There is no law saying all cars must have fastrak transponders. The only time you are legally required to have it mounted correctly is when you are actually passing the tollbooth. In fact fastrak specifically tells you to store it away in the Mylar bag if you don't want to be tracked. I've never seen a law enforcement official at the toll booth, so I'm not worried. I just hold it up to the windshield when I pass through, then store it in the center console.

If you or anyone has actually received a citation for not having it mounted, please post details of how that came to pass.

Someone asked about removing the velcro... I just peeled the velcro off. If any residue is left behind WD40 should remove it.

I don't bother with the mylar bag. I originally took fastrak at their word that the tracking is anonymous. Recent revelations of secret NSA wiretapping make it clear that you can't trust anyone's privacy promises, so I figure we have to assume that there is a possibility the infrastructure might be getting used to secretly track particular people. My cell phone also can be used to track my movements so if the spooks want to know where I am going the mylar bag isn't going to protect me.

 

I think the Southern California toll roads situation is different than the Bay Area's bridges. On a toll road, multiple sensors are used to track how far you've gone in the road, and tolls are adjusted accordingly.

As far as Big Brother tracking every movement of ours... It doesn't take much nowadays to put in a few cameras and track every license plate that goes by a certain location. That's how they collect tolls in other parts of the world anyway.

In my mind, there should be 2 cash lanes at each toll plaza, and all the others are transponder-only, like how they are in other toll roads. Quite a bit more efficient...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Manksgloob @ May 24 2006, 10:34 PM) [snapback]260776[/snapback]</div>

If the first sentence of that section is not applicable because electronic toll collection is not the only method of toll collection on that roadway, do the remaining sentences still apply? I don't know. I suppose that would have to be decided in court.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(highroute @ May 25 2006, 10:30 AM) [snapback]260894[/snapback]</div>

The way I would interpret it is that the only place that ETC is the only method of toll collection is when you are in a fastrak only lane. Before you enter the fastrak only lane, and after you leave that lane, the law does not apply.

 

Well, I didn't get a package. I walked into the FasTrak office and five minutes later I walked out with a sheet of paper saying I got a hybrid transponder -- to be sent to the DMV for HOV stickers, the transponder itself, and an antistatic mylar baggie. No instructions.

I think I'll just go with darelldd's idea of using rubber feet and throwing it up on the dash whenever I need to use it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(macoldschool @ Mar 24 2006, 06:49 PM) [snapback]229750[/snapback]</div>

For folks that would rather be on the (overly?) safe side & have a mounting location that's actually on the windshield, yet still be removable, these may be the ticket (pun intended):

http://tinyurl.com/fftrj

Even though most item descriptions don't specify California specifically, I'm pretty sure any of the squarish EZ-Pass or EZ-Clip models will work with Bay Area FasTrak, I think they all share the same form factor RFID device made by a company called Mark IV.

(pls ignore the $95 fuel/water can holder, "pass holder" generated the greatest number of relevant hits, along with this one irrelevant one, too.)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(elbow @ Jul 3 2006, 09:59 PM) [snapback]280847[/snapback]</div>

I ordered one of those for my fastpass and it works great!