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I read the article by John Finnerty, regarding Turnpike penalties. I can sum this up very quickly.
To keep from losing all this money from turnpike fares from being lost, go back to toll booths. Someone in government thought that getting rid of all the toll booth operators to save the state money would be the way to go. The article even states that the state has been losing money for over 20 years. They have tried recouping the money by sending bills to the violators. That did not work. Why do they think that changing the penalties will provide incentive for the drivers to pay their bill or to all of a sudden become law-abiding citizens?
Are we going to put the burden on the state police to stop violators while they are traveling? I think their other task of keeping the highways safe is more important.
I also did forget to mention that a study was done years ago showing how much the state was still losing because of all the personnel and systems that were needed to collect the money. I do not think that stopping at a toll booth and being greeted by a pleasant operator is so bad. I would venture a guess that most of the toll booths are still intact, at least the exits I use are.
Maybe someone had the foresight that they would be needed again.
Russell Barton
Altoona