Stop Entering the Tollway

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
September 11, 2008

No, this is not a protest of the Illinois Tollway. This is not a suggestion that you should stop driving on the Tollway.

BUT, this is a reminder that when you are blasting along on the on-ramp or the off-ramp or approaching the manual I-Pass lane on the Tollway and are in a lane with a stop sign, you ARE required to stop.

See the stop sign? You'll recognize it; right? You've seen it somewhere before. Did you stop then? (Be honest now.... you almost stopped right? You meant to stop?)

Why do drivers whiz by these stop signs, just because they have the magic white box stuck on the windshield that is supposed to pay the toll? They think paying the toll excuses them from stopping. It doesn't.

Will stop-sign cameras be next? You know, the automated violation ticketing system.

On the Tollway the Stop sign still means s-t-o-p.

And the 15MPH speed limit sign overhead when you use the manual lane? With no notice that the speed limit drops sharply through the narrow toll lane (not the Open Road Tolling lanes). Who slows down to 15MPH???

Probably that 15MPH speed limit has no force of law, because there is no warning that the speed limit is reduced more than 10MPH from the posted Tollway speed limit and because the overhead signs are not regulatory speed limit signs. Perhaps they are just advisory signs.

If you do stop at the stop sign while your toll is being collected or even if you just slow down as you drive through the narrow chute in an automated lane, you might want to make a reservation at your local auto body repair shop. Be sure to watch your rearview mirror very carefully, because the clown behind you is not likely to stop or slow down enough.

Frankly speaking, it's pretty stupid to require drivers with I-Pass transponders to stop. Where is the time savings? And if drivers are paying cash tolls, they are going to have to stop, anyway, unless they have doggone good aim when they throw their coins at the basket.