Throw the Ez-Tag transponder in the glove box

[JasJ]

A little OT but I noticed my transponder beeping when I drive into LAX airport. There is no toll and you don't need a transponder to drive there, but they use the device to track when you enter and leave the area. Big brother is watching you.

Same in Houston, it's how they track traffic delays all over the city. Probably other uses that we don't want to think about - like hey, I noticed it took you 6 minutes to drive 9 miles - Here's your big speeding fine!

Good thing we repealed red-light cameras or that would have been next.

 

[cgiGuy]

A little OT but I noticed my transponder beeping when I drive into LAX airport. There is no toll and you don't need a transponder to drive there, but they use the device to track when you enter and leave the area. Big brother is watching you.

More likely "Big Brother" uses the same technology for taxi's and buses at the airport. Your transponder doesn't know what's interrogating it. It just beeps when interrogated.

 

[kort677]

Same in Houston, it's how they track traffic delays all over the city. Probably other uses that we don't want to think about - like hey, I noticed it took you 6 minutes to drive 9 miles - Here's your big speeding fine!

Good thing we repealed red-light cameras or that would have been next.

In NJ there were laws passed that prohibited the toll tags from being used to enforce speed limits. that and banning speed trap cameras are some of the few things NJ has ever gotten right.

 

[JasJ]

My Test was a partial success.... Went down the Westpark toll road and the transponder did it's job and billed me. However, the Harris county constable driving behind me on the same road, pulled me over for a temp tag that was not registered.

When I showed him the transponder he called it in and verified that I paid. Said I should have registered my transponder to the temp tag and not on the the permanent plates (my avatar) sitting in downtown houston while Tesla registers the car. So swapped out the perm plate for the temp. Will swap it back whenever I am allowed to go downtown and grab the plates.

Oh the irony.

At least the transponder did it's job and it was in the glove box (towards the front of the car with the 'this side up' up). The constable did not have any issue with the transponder in the glove box.

 

[sgmorton]

This is very good to know!!!!! thank you for posting this ... I hate the way the windshield sticker looks.

 

[Rockster]

In north Texas, the tollway authority gets very grumpy if they can't read the transponder, even if they can read the plate instead. We originally thought that we would get the transponder rate, even if they had to read the tag but no, not the case. The NTTA will allow a few license tag hits but then they'll send a grumpy note and begin billing at the license tag rate.

We don't have a front plate on our Model S and the long, black transponder fits nicely in the recess behind where the plate would be (to the side of the autopilot transponder widget), attached by black zip ties. Fastened that way, it's pretty unobtrusive.

 

[JasJ]

We don't have a front plate on our Model S and the long, black transponder fits nicely in the recess behind where the plate would be (to the side of the autopilot transponder widget), attached by black zip ties. Fastened that way, it's pretty unobtrusive.

Can you provide a picture?

 

[Rockster]

Can you provide a picture?

 

[TexLaw]

At least the transponder did it's job and it was in the glove box (towards the front of the car with the 'this side up' up). The constable did not have any issue with the transponder in the glove box.

Thanks for checking all that out. I mounted mine on the rear plate. That doesn't look too bad, and it seems to be working, but I've often wondered about someone making off with it.

Has anyone tried putting a "plate" transponder in the frunk?

 

[Pipcecil]

In Central TX, as long as you have the account and transponder they will match the plate and the transponder rate applies. Even if the transponder is broken (or missing).

This is the same for DFW - BUT if they don't match the plate then it takes a bunch of phone calls to get it rectified. Additionally, NTTA and other Texas toll tag operators are not required to do the matching. In fact they have said (and I know people that this happened to) that if you use the toll system frequently in this fashion they will stop matching your license plate and just charge you the video billing rate regardless of your account. The matching plate is a stop-gap measure to help people whose tags have gone bad and replace them. Its not meant as a permanent solution - hence they will start charging you the video billing rate.

 

[JenkinsEar]

Little late to the party, but thought I'd add this:

Could not find a place on MX windshield for an EZTag sticker that HCTRA EZTag readers would read - all tolls I incurred were off of video reads of the rear license plate. I was concerned that I might be going to other locations that don't have the video plate readers. HCTRA traded a license plate mounted transponder bar for the tag, at no cost.

I was not thrilled at drilling holes in the front of MX to mount a front plate, and the lady at HCTRA would not commit the the transponder bar would read if mounted on the rear plate.

Solution was to zip tie the transponder bar to the louvers in the front grill. The transponder is invisible and secure in that location, no holes were required for the mounting, and it reads like a champ (at least on Grand Parkway and HCTRA locations). I do run a slight risk of being yelled at for not having a front plate mounted, but it appears to me that a good percentage of fairly recent Houston cars are also missing front plates, so I'm guessing thats's not a high priority enforcement item. We'll see.