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Didn't pay the toll.
I'm 19, female, junior in college. All of my college friends live in different states and my parent's don't trust me enough to drive there so I told them I was visiting my old roommate who is living at school this summer for a job and I actually drove to Jersey to visit my one friend there. As I was leaving Jersey to go back to Pennsylvania I had to go through a toll on 202. I was in the EZ pass lane and had tried to get into the payment lane but could not so I went through the EZ pass lane and I didn't have an EZ pass. I'm terrified they're gonna send me a letter telling me that I need to pay which would be totally fine but my parents are going to see that I didn't really go where I said I was going. How can I ensure that I take care of this so they don't send me a letter? Is there any place I can call or something to let them know? If not, I guess I just have to intercept the mail.
Thank you!
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Maybe give some free advice about: Cars?
They have your license plate number recorded the moment you enter and leave the lane. If you didn't pay they send you a notice to who the car is registered to and instructions on how to deal with the violation.
Your car if you had EZ Pass (according to NY State) would have to have the pass and or a transponder in the vehicle to read billing info in order to use the lane from what I read.
I'm not American. Where I am from they use a transponder system. You put one on your windshield by the rear-view mirror and it records where you get on and off. Then you get a monthly bill. If you don't have a transponder they record your rear license plate.
In other words they will be sending a ticket of some sort here about violating the toll to the registered owner of the vehicle. If that's you than you're okay if it's your parents you need to come clean.
It's better they know before it arrives than after. Tell them you screwed up by deciding to go to New Jersey on your own to visit people and how easy it was to screw up entering the toll lane and that you will face the consequences for the violation and anything else.
You need to come clean as it's a strike against whomever the car is registered to. If they can't prove their car wasn't in Jersey or try to dispute the violation without facts..It's not good. You can't intercept the mail as it would all come back to the registered owner to deal with. You can't call anyone either.
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You are going to have to try to intercept the letter. The letter will most probably come from the toll authority addressed to whoever is the first person shown on the title of the cars registration. Given the volume of cars using the EZ pass lanes each day many of which have low balances it would be near impossible for the toll authority to pick your car out of the hundreds they process each day from the toll faculties around the state.
From a parental point of view you did the right thing by not trying to force your way into the cash lanes and possibly having an accident. Driving through the EZ pass lane was the safer thing to do, the adult thing to do even though it will mean paying a higher toll.
As for the trust issue with your parents and driving into PA. You are at 19 an adult, a licensed driver by the State of New Jersey. If your parents are concerned about you having an accident they should be more concerned about that when you are driving near home. Statistically speaking most serious accidents happen with in 25 miles of home.
If there concern is you will get lost. If your car does not have a GPS system built in then purchase a device that can be mounted in the car on the windscreen or dashboard. They have come way down in price since auto manufacturers have started putting them in cars. With one of these units all you need to do is put in the address of where you're going and it will give you turn by turn directions or put in your home address and it will take you there.
You do not have to know where you are as these units most always know where they are. As long as they know where they are they can get you where you want to go. The more expensive units can even route you around heavy traffic or road construction delays.
I tell you this for as a parent who has already gone through having a teenage child grow into an adult I think I know the concerns your parents have. As valid as those concerns are we cannot wrap are children in bubble wrap. If we have done our jobs correctly, and it appears they have. Then we have to allow you to grow and experience life as it is while we sit home ready to do whatever you need of us if you need our help.
I suggest you do not hide the fact that you went to PA from them. Tell them you did. Tell them You got in the wrong lane for the toll and instead of trying to force your way into the right lane and possibly have an accident you did the right thing and stayed in the EZ pass lane. When the letter from the toll authority arrives they should give it to you and you will pay it. No points are accessed to the car owner for running the EZ pass toll if you pay the toll when the letter arrives.
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