xxxx

Yes, x, you are right. Native New Yorkers have learned how to change lanes. They cut off anyone in their path. If the other car is scraped in the process, that's their problem. Those of us from outside who were raised with manners have a hard time just cutting in front of others.

NewYorker

"Native New Yorkers".....is that like Native Americans?
Do you mean people that live in NY or just those that are born here?
I want to get the insults straight, should I or should I not be included in this whinefest?
California has scarey highways,sorry,Freeways.They shoot at you if you cut in line in front of them!
In the South, they carjack you for your BMW and leave you dead by the side of the road.
Every state has some kind of big city and traffic and outoftowners have a hard time figuring their way around.
Why is this such a big trauma for people? They got in the wrong lane in NY,a cop yelled at them for being stupid,they cried about it here, and now everyone is doing the same old Let's gang up on New Yorkers and insult them some more.
Sheesh, get a life guys,there is more bad stuff going on these days than having a problem with traffic.
We should all wish that is the worst thing we will ever have to deal with.

topping

Well Said New Yorker!!
Heres wishing everyone a safe drive no matter where you live.

Nope

Nope, in the South if you scraped our cars while cutting us off, that would constitute you getting your ass beaten within an inch of your life.

t

t

Another

Oh Puhleeeze New Yorker. I am SO sick of New Yorkers using 9/11 as a sympathy ploy. What happened was terrible, but it's no excuse for rude behavior, and IMHO, that cop exhibited extremely rude behavior. It's difficult for TOURISTS to drive around New York and get in the correct lanes. I know some of you superior New Yorkers think it's a breeze but believe me, it's not. So instead of ticketing the novice visiting drivers, who may not have even heard of EZPass, why not make more of an effort to give advance warning to drivers about which lanes are cash and which are not, and give the poor tourists a warning instead of a fine?

I'm quite sure this guy made an HONEST mistake, despite that some of you cynics believe he was just making up an excuse to get out of the fine.

To the x's who live here in New York, yeah it's easy for you, but are you too stupid to try and understand what it might be like for someone who doesn't normally drive through cities? And for whoever said people who don't use EZPass are technology resistant, are you too arrogant to realize that there are people in this country who may only use it once, and who have actually never even heard of it? Consider yourself enlightened to the fact that not everyone is savvy to New York and it's roads.

Joe

Diane if your husband's driver's license has been issued by a state other than New York, don't pay the fine. His license can't and won't be suspended. The NY DOT doesn't have jurisdiction, like any other DOT, over other states.
He'll have a problem only if he applies for a NY driver's license. They'll ask him to pay the fine and penalty fee.

Jim

Don't listen to Joe, perhaps he hasn't heard of what computers can do. 48 states (all except Michigan and Wisconsin) have agreed to the "Non-Resident Violator Compact" or "Driver's License Compact" and share info about violations. They're helping each other get this revenue. Pay up or else!

http://www.aamva.org/drivers/drv_compactsNRVC.asp

Joe

Sorry to disappoint you Jim but I've been ticked it NY this year and I just renewed my license in my home state (not Michigan or Wisconsisn) and guess what, no fines at all. I don't think that system you're talking about works or was meant to be for that purpose.

you'rekidding!

Oh for the love of Pete! Why does this warrant a discussion. Diane had a bad day. So what? Stuff like this happens every single day, whether you lose the $40 shirt you just bought, or you drop your keys down the garbage shute, or you get a parking ticket, a bad haircut, ripped off by the dry cleaner, WHATEVER! Get over it. This won't be the last time. Why is this something you need to WRITE about? Sheesh. How do you get through life!

Jim

Well, Joe, the system is just for moving violations like Diane's, not for parking tickets. And I assume that other violations aren't reported interstate until they're delinquent -- which can be 60 or even 90 days after the offense. Perhaps you'll get a surprise next time, or when you go to renew your auto registration, eh?

x

DON'T listen to Joe! I got a ticket at 2AM on Labor Day, 2001 as we entered the Cinncinatti area. I didn't realize the speed had dropped. The fine was due in 2 weeks. No problem. Except that Sept 11 happened. ALL air traffic was suspended. Did you know that all mail traveling over 500 miles is "air mail" today? Mail delivery during that time was significantly delayed. The payment of my fine arrived the morning after it was due. They immediately notified my state who immediately suspended my license. Yea, I know, I should have called Ohio and let them know, but hindsight is 20/20. It was an expensive mistake.

Joe

Jim it was a driving violation I got ticked it for and it was well over 90 days when I renewd my license. It's been almost six months since then and still no letter and I won't be getting one.

Quitcher

Another NewYorker-What does 9/11 have to do with anything? except for nyer saying that the police have a little more on their minds these days than worrying about hurting the feelings of clueless drivers!
I have driven in a few different states and countries, and have never felt the need to write in to a travel site and complain about being busted for bad driving.
I think Diane and her hubby should just put this down to one of lifes many little annoyances.
Although I do understand that threads like this are fodder for those with big complaints about All things New York.

xxx

Yet another example of why tourists shouldn't attempt to drive cars in NYC. Next time take public transportation into the city Diane. That way you can't delay and inconvenience all of those drivers who got stuck behind you in the EZ Pass lane.

Jope

Here's a thought: cities that depend on tourism's income are -- or should be -- more likely to make the area comprehensible and navigable for strangers. Cities whose economy is pretty much independent of tourism feel no need to make things easier for strangers.

New York hardly knows anyone even exists outside the metro area and generally thinks anyone who DOES live elsewhere is not very smart -- if they were pretty smart, they would live in New York. Q.E.D.!

So New York is probably the last place, other than all those inscrutable small towns in New England, that would think about things like signage from the point of view of the first-time visitor. And of course they are going to think that visitors have a helluva lot of nerve making mistakes and gumming up traffic which, of course, would run perfectly smoothly if it weren't for them.

xxx

Give me a break. Someone makes a mistake at a toll booth and all of a sudden this is a NY attitude problem? I've gotten lost and made driving errors in many places in the USA, not just NYC! And sometimes even if there is a sign you are not sure which lane they are exactly referring to. I drove around West Palm Beach airport area for 45 minutes before I could figure out how the heck to get to the terminal.

Be fair about this and don't use it as an excuse to bash NY'ers. As for them not knowing there is a world besides NYC, that is bull. NY'ers (for the most part) are diverse, educated, travelled individuals who are probably more savvy than most of the country when it comes to current affairs and human interest.

On the flip side I have met many midwesterners who are happy in their own private Idaho and never stray from their safe little bubble and who are clueless to any culture that doesn't pass through their local arts center.

David

To be perfectly clear, the EZ Pass signs that are the source of this argument are FREAKIN' HUGE!!

If you can't drive and look at signs and interpret them at the same time, THEN either you shouldn't drive OR you should travel with a person who will read the signs and tell you what to do

stayhome

WELL SAID DAVID!!!

Mahxipan

It seems to me the most vituperative posts here are FROM the New Yorkers who have taken it on themselves to bash tourists -- a peculiar spin given that this is a travel forum. Diane was sharing a travel experience that affected her view of NY; the New Yorkers just dialed up the invective, echoing the same hostility of the unsympathetic cop. But it sort of proves the point about NY'ers, doesn't it?

Read Diane's final paragraph -- she says it's confusing. If out-of-towners are confused, then it IS confusing. She says it wasn't the ticket so much as the policeman's attitude that left a bad taste in her mouth. I'm guessing there are officious (look it up, it doesn't mean "official") cops all over the country but I'm also guessing that some of them might relent when they were told, courteously and apologetically, that the driver knew he'd made an error but wasn't sure how to deal with it and had been confused.

Finally, I would just LOVE to hear what you NY drivers would be saying if you were caught behind someone -- as I have -- who realizes their mistake, stops, and utzes sidways, very slowly, to get into the proper lane, thereby gagging traffic and ticking off any number of other drivers. Frankly, I'd bet they'd all chip in to PAY Diane's husband to go on through the EZ pass.