Ask a Toll Collector anything

122 Questions

Last Answer on September 11, 2020

I once heard that cops could issue speeding tickets WITHOUT actually clocking someone on a radar gun if the car made it from one toll booth to another faster than would have been possible without speeding. Do you know anything about that?

Asked by burnsM over 12 years ago

Boy, I've never heard of that. In our system, tickets were stamped with entry and exit times so I guess the information could be available but I'm not sure if I see that holding up in court.

947 Votes

I'm appalled to hear that someone asked you "Is this what you're going to do for the rest of your life?" How did you respond to that? If you didn't tell him off, you're a better person than most.

Asked by Myra over 12 years ago

At the time he asked I think it was around 2-3 in the morning and I wasn't particularly interested in getting into it with him. I think I muttered a 'yup', gave him his change and turned away. It stung. People find themselves in places for a myriad of reasons and to have that guy bring my entire life to judgement at that moment hurt.

946 Votes

Have you ever seen a co-worker just absolutely lose his shit mid-shift and explode on a driver or pull a walk-out? Gotta think it's not dissimilar from disgruntled postal workers.

Asked by johnno85 over 12 years ago

I will say this about the people I worked with and are still out there to this day- they exercise incredible restraint. If you ever wonder why collectors aren't very talkative, I suspect this may be the reason. It's one of those jobs that the less you say sometimes, the better. I didn't personally witness anything catastrophic but there was a guy I worked with who flipped off a customer. I remember hearing a story about a guy who freaked out, locked up all his money at a small station and left. Not exactly sure how that one panned out but I think he kept his job for some time after that incident. People have definitely walked out on the job, though. I've heard of people going on their first break and just taking off.

946 Votes

Has anyone ever exhibited some total random act of kindness with you when you were in the booth? Maybe during the holidays, a driver who gave you a tip or a cookie or a cupcake or something like that?

Asked by Hutcher over 12 years ago

Sure! I actually was offered snacks from cars with some frequency. Don't get me wrong, there are a ton of very decent people out there and as long as it was sealed up or I felt okay about how it looked, I usually took it. Probably the best random act of kindness I encountered was from an older lady who gave me a twenty for her toll. She told me that she didn't want any of her change back, and to let the next people go on her. The look on the next few drivers' faces was priceless. I enjoyed it too, because toll collectors rarely get to give good news! One guy missed out though because he was in a big rush and just dropped his money into my hands and sped off without a word. Never hurts to say hello...

942 Votes

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Did you ever see drivers get into physical altercations with one another if someone was holding up the line?

Asked by Rikitime over 12 years ago

Thankfully, no. I occasionally had people get out of their cars and approach the booth to see what the heck was going on, though. Some even offered to pay the toll of the person holding up the line.

942 Votes

Are you allowed to listen to music in the tollbooth?

Asked by six6six over 12 years ago

Yep! There are usually a few portable stereos hanging around the stations for those that want to listen to the radio. More enterprising collectors brought iPod docks. Electronics were a bit of a gray area and all collectors are supposed to be monitoring the intercom that is in every booth, so it's really important to not drown everything out.

939 Votes

If someone pulled up to a tollbooth and the car smelled of booze, weed, etc, would you get the license plate number and alert the cops to look for that car on the highway?

Asked by tr3 over 12 years ago

This is a judgement call on the part of the collector. I'm going to assume based on the question that I don't actually observe any booze/weed and if that's the case all I'm going on is my impression of the driver. If something seems off, then I would escalate the situation- better safe than sorry. But, it's also entirely possible that they are just the DD. It's hard to paint these situations with one broad stroke. But if I ever did make the call, I always made sure to observe as much as I could. The more information you can provide, the better. Plate number, vehicle/operator decription, etc...

938 Votes

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Toll Collector

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I once heard that cops could issue speeding tickets WITHOUT actually clocking someone on a radar gun if the car made it from one toll booth to another faster than would have been possible without speeding. Do you know anything about that?

I'm appalled to hear that someone asked you "Is this what you're going to do for the rest of your life?" How did you respond to that? If you didn't tell him off, you're a better person than most.

Have you ever seen a co-worker just absolutely lose his shit mid-shift and explode on a driver or pull a walk-out? Gotta think it's not dissimilar from disgruntled postal workers.

Has anyone ever exhibited some total random act of kindness with you when you were in the booth? Maybe during the holidays, a driver who gave you a tip or a cookie or a cupcake or something like that?

Also on Jobstr...

Did you ever see drivers get into physical altercations with one another if someone was holding up the line?

Are you allowed to listen to music in the tollbooth?

If someone pulled up to a tollbooth and the car smelled of booze, weed, etc, would you get the license plate number and alert the cops to look for that car on the highway?

Toll Collector

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I once heard that cops could issue speeding tickets WITHOUT actually clocking someone on a radar gun if the car made it from one toll booth to another faster than would have been possible without speeding. Do you know anything about that?

I'm appalled to hear that someone asked you "Is this what you're going to do for the rest of your life?" How did you respond to that? If you didn't tell him off, you're a better person than most.

Have you ever seen a co-worker just absolutely lose his shit mid-shift and explode on a driver or pull a walk-out? Gotta think it's not dissimilar from disgruntled postal workers.

Has anyone ever exhibited some total random act of kindness with you when you were in the booth? Maybe during the holidays, a driver who gave you a tip or a cookie or a cupcake or something like that?

Also on Jobstr...

Did you ever see drivers get into physical altercations with one another if someone was holding up the line?

Are you allowed to listen to music in the tollbooth?

If someone pulled up to a tollbooth and the car smelled of booze, weed, etc, would you get the license plate number and alert the cops to look for that car on the highway?

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