Illegal U-turn on Thruway

[alistair]

Anyone ever "accidently" make an illegal u-turn on the NY State Thruway? .....
I was traveling south on thruway tonight and got stuck in some awful traffic - I was less than 30minutes from home, and my GPS told me my journey was going to take an additional 2 hours due to accident up ahead.
I swung a u-turn and headed north to the exit I had just passed .... what I forgot was that each exit has tolls.
My ez-pass was accepted - but I don't know how much I will be charged since I technically entered the thruway in a northern direction.

[BirdOPrey5]

I don't know what exit you got off but up by exit 28, Fonda Fultonville, both North and South exiting traffic use the same toll booths so they don't know which way you were going.

[usmcveteran]

To expensive to have multiple tolls for different traffic directions. Pretty sure all exits use only set of toll booths

[Cgrutt]

They used to charge you the maximum rate for the toll that you got off at. Sorta like the old days if you lost the paper ticket. Good luck.

[4excalibursquared]

Hells yea I've done those u turns..always did and always will..it's a beeiitch up above Saugerties and North where the exits are 20mins apart..as for what you'll be charged, that I don't know, but I tend to agree with Cg on how they always will charge you for the maximum, as it reads right on that booth ticket..but being an EzPass user I'm gonna guess you may not have even got a ticket??

[RayKnobs]

Unless you got off at the same exit you got on at there is no way to tell what direction you were traveling. There is only 1 set of booths at each exit.

[Norm DeGuerre]

thats interesting, Ray...
I had never thought about that in the particular manner you describe

[Pissed Off Patriot]

Unless you got off at the same exit you got on at there is no way to tell what direction you were traveling. There is only 1 set of booths at each exit.

True, unless the toll booth is not a busy one and the toll attendant sees which ramp you come from and cares enough to enforce it.

[thughes]

Unless you got off at the same exit you got on at there is no way to tell what direction you were traveling. There is only 1 set of booths at each exit.

What about individual transponder UID and timestamps?

[Pissed Off Patriot]

What about individual transponder UID and timestamps?

By transponder UID, do you mean the EZ-Pass? You'd have to be close to a toll booth for it to be picked up.

As for the time stamp, that means nothing as you could have stopped at a rest stop for food, gas, or a flat tire.

[thughes]

By transponder UID, do you mean the EZ-Pass? You'd have to be close to a toll booth for it to be picked up.

As for the time stamp, that means nothing as you could have stopped at a rest stop for food, gas, or a flat tire.

Yes, your EZ pass has a unique ID. More importantly, each individual toll booth reader also has a unique ID so they know which lane you went through plus they photograph every vehicle that goes through each lane. In regards to the time stamp, a friend of mine made it from NYS to Rochester in record time a couple years back and received a warning letter from the thruway authority (or NYSP, I don't remember) a short time later regarding his rather rapid trip back up state.

[Cgrutt]

I wouldn't be surprised to here that they are scanning through overpasses etc. I know downstate going north through Suffern area only trucks or trailers need to go through booths but cars still get scanned at high speed lanes. You know, to keep track of things...

[RayKnobs]

Lets say I get on in Buffalo, I Get to Syracuse an and say oh Peshitta, I should have gotten off in Rochester. I swing a U-turn and head back to Rochester. I get off at 490.
Both the east bound and west bound exit ramps merge together before the toll both. How would the 490 both know which direct I was coming from. All they know is I got on in Buffalo.

The real question is does the thruway have other readers mounted along the road, not on toll booths, recording your information?

[Cgrutt]

That's what I was getting at in post above.

[masterswimmer]

The real question is does the thruway have other readers mounted along the road, not on toll booths, recording your information?

Not a chance. Our government, of the people for the people, would never do something like that!