Thursday, January 25, 2007
Today I found 71 cent . . . 4 dimes, 1 quarter, and 6 pennies.
I had the opportunity to drive on the Sam Houston Parkway (also know as Beltway 8) this afternoon. It is a toll road and I had to pay three tolls on my trip. Lucky for me I had ample change and was able to drive up to the exact change baskets and deposit my money. Also lucky for me a lot of other people had bad aim and there was change scattered about on the ground at each basket. As traffic was not that heavy I was able to open my door and retrieve coins that I spotted. All my change for the day came at the base of these three baskets.
Totals for the day: 71 cent
Race Totals: $484.99
posted by Chris @ 10:50 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
You can't count that, Chris. It's not lost money, it's really stealing from the state.
Best,
Jim
I don't think you've actually paid the toll until money drops in the basket... So, I surmise that your coin pick-ups are really left behind funds. I say count them.
Andy from Simi Valley, CA
Jim:
I've had that through before and go with Andy's logic. If you miss the basket you have to throw in more change (ie the correct amount) for the gate to open. Since the state has their full amount of money at that point I figure the money is fair game. The person with the first claim would be the person who dropped it (they can always open their door and pick it up). If they choose to drive away I figure the money is now up for grabs and is officially considered lost.
I would be interested in any follow up thoughts, however.
Chris, if you've ever been driving through a toll booth at rush hour, i.e. morning or evening commute, you'll see one person after another throwing their money at the basket, and regardless if it hits the basket or not, they keep going. I can assure you that they're not searching their pockets for more money. And, if it is lost money, then why I do always see the attendants picking it up and putting it in the basket? The answer is that they would be stealing from the state.
Trust me, I've often thought about it but, at least in New Hampshire, not sure about Maine or Mass, it is against the law.
Best,
Jim
My thoughts are that for toll roads with gates, it is okay. The gate will not go up unless the right amount of money actually goes into the basket, which means similar to what Chris already said, it is change that missed the basket and was left there by the people with bad aim. But for toll roads without gates, it is still up for debate.
Are there any toll booths with gates anymore? We don't have any that I've seen in the east around here except for the old pease air base and that wasn't a toll booth.
Best,
Jim
Jim:
These are indeed toll booths with gates. The gates will not open until the correct amount of change is deposited. Thus, my thoughts are that no matter how much money ends up on the ground the state will always get the exact amount that they are due, because if they don't the person cannot pass.
However, I can see your logic in the state laying claim to the money. On Monday I'm going to call the Toll Road authority and pose the question to them. I'll report back in the blog on Monday or Tuesday.
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