Beware NYS Thruway Toll Collectors Misinformed!

Alert to all drivers with trailers who travel the New York State Thruway.

Tolls are calculated on two variables 1) Number of axles 2) Hight of the vehicle.

If your vehicle is over 7'6 inches your vehicle is classified as a H for high instead of an L.

The toll is twice as much if the toll collector gives you a H stamped ticket at the toll booth.

Here is the kicker, the hight measurement, defined by the NYS Thurway, is the maximum height AS MEASURED over the first two axles.

Below is a photo of my rig and the maximum height over my first two axles is my headache rack which measures 7 feet 4 inches. So I should get a Low stamped ticket whether I am lloaded or not because what is on the trailer does not matter since it is not OVER THE FIRST 2 AXLES.

I have an envelope of reciepts half marked as High and half Marked L as some toll collectors understand how to issue the tickets and others do not.

I had a toll collector today who changed my ticket from a properly issued 4 axle L toll to a 4 axle H ticket when I got off. The toll went from $9 to $18 bucks. She told me that the height cut off was 7 feet which is clearly wrong.

Here's a photo of the rig so if you are running something like this beware,

You can tell what ticket the toll collector gave you by reading the dot matrix text on the ticket next to the collectors ID number.

I am trying to get this resolved with Thruway administration but that is sluggish.

The toll collector makes the height determination based on orange sticks bolted to the toll booth, if you look for them you will see them. You will also notice that the sticks are at different heights when you look accros multiple booths.

The toll collectors are measuring the height of your vehicle by looking up at a stick which provides an optical illusion as the height can only be measured via comparison if the collector were standing on a ladder with their eyes parallel to the stick.

 

Fantastic Idea!

Well I did just order a 96' inch extra wide fabric tape measure and plan to adhere it to the headache rack showing height with the remainder of the tape measure rolled up and tucked away so if challenged I can drop the tape. Will also carry a copy of the NYS Thruway 'Frequently Asked Questions' section on their website. that clearly shows how to measure a vehicle.

It is somewhat amusing the answers I get when asked why I was issued a H ticket instead of L ticket when I get on the Thuway such as "Because your driving a dump truck" "It is because of the type of trailer I have and it attached to the bed of the truck not the bumper" "Because you are over the stick" To which I ask "How high is the stick? No one has answered that question right. And of course the classic "I've been doing this job for 34 years'

To really throw them for a loop I tell them "the height of my vehicle is 88 inches"

The one who argues with me the most and always gives me an H ticket on entry and recatagorizes my ticket at the exit tells me that "She should know because she is a Trainer to new hires during their day long training class.

I am not bashing toll collectors, 50% of the time they get it right and those who do can't believe how often they have to change an improperly issued entry ticket.