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 almost 13 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.

989 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 almost 13 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.

983 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 almost 13 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...

982 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 almost 13 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.

982 Votes

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Are you allowed to listen to music in the tollbooth?

Asked by six6six almost 13 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.

982 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 almost 13 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...

977 Votes

When I worked for the federal government, I had a paygrade class, a GS-3. I was wondering if municipal employees in NYC also have that kind of numbering system, and if so, what number/grade a toll collector would have?

Asked by Jane over 12 years ago

I actually can't speak to collectors here in New York City as I worked in the Western part of the state and they are part of a different agency. I took a look at the civil service listing in 2010, which I believe was the last time the test was offered, and the salary grade is listed as 'Equated to G-9.' I'm not too versed in that part of the job though, as I was a part-timer for the five years that I was there.

977 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?

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.

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?

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.

Also on Jobstr...

Are you allowed to listen to music in the tollbooth?

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?

When I worked for the federal government, I had a paygrade class, a GS-3. I was wondering if municipal employees in NYC also have that kind of numbering system, and if so, what number/grade a toll collector would have?

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?

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.

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?

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.

Also on Jobstr...

Are you allowed to listen to music in the tollbooth?

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?

When I worked for the federal government, I had a paygrade class, a GS-3. I was wondering if municipal employees in NYC also have that kind of numbering system, and if so, what number/grade a toll collector would have?

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