TCA Charging LA Firefighters Tolls

I heard this today on the Radio.  It seems that an LA firetruck, while on the way to help put out OUR fire, took the 133 toll road and did not pay the toll at the toll plaza.  Apparently they received a fine for up to $200, whereby the LA Fire Captain thought this must be a mistake and called the TCA.  NOPE, apparently it was not a mistake, and he was able to reduce the fine to $5, and paid it on his credit card.  Now I ask you, as if OC does not look bad enough lately...how does the TCA justify this outrageous fine?  And what is the point of not waiving the entire fine, and instead making him pay $5?  Someone please explain this to me. 

UPDATE: Apparently it was on the 73, and the fine was about $100 according to msnbc's site.  I would think that ANY official police or fire vehicle would be allowed to drive onthe toll road free of charge.  This is just plain silly.

Comments

[Stem cells from skin cells!]

Greedy TCA!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22046326/

According to the TCA the OC Register article, picked up by other media outlets w/o verification, is untrue. The TCA advises that this fire engine was driving N/B on the 73 on October 19th (before the fire) and did not pay the required toll. The standard bill was issued, LA contacted the TCA who waived the fine and collected to required toll. The engine was not on an emergency response.

[Karl rove]

Well there goes the Register again putting out their typical drivel of misinformation. Maybe Greenhut ought to write an editorial about proper journalism ethics when reporting news.

[Flowerszzz]

LOL well regardless....Doncha think a firetruck should be able to drive the toll road toll free? I mean come on now.

[Karl Rove]

I do agree with you Flowerszzz that they shouldn't have to pay at any time. That doesn't seem to make sense.

From TCA's press release on the subject-

“California Highway Patrol, State Department of Transportation, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Orange County Fire Authority and some police department vehicles have free access to the toll roads for patrolling, maintenance, and emergency response,” said Tom Margro, CEO of the Transportation Corridor Agencies. “Specific incidences are handled on an individual basis.”

But back to the Register- there are the facts that the Register didn't bother to investigate. And the fact that the incident occured two days before the fires started is another fact that the Register didn't bother to investigate either.

The Register putting a story out with such blatant misinformation on this specific incident cannot be ignored, nor condoned. I'll bet you a dollar to a donut they don't even print a retraction. And if they do, it will be in that little obscure "corrections" section of the paper that nobody reads. It has always amazed me that when a paper writes a story that is headline news, and then later finds out they got it wrong, a correction, if printed, ends up in "the fine print". And by then, its too late for whomever was victimized in the article by the misinformation. The damage has been done.

Maybe Greenhut, who is so big on government accountability, ought to investigate this practice at his own newspaper and start reporting on the lack of ethical accountability of the reporters, editors and publisher in getting the facts correct before they print.

The TCA lied in its press release. It does not give all Sheriff's cars free access. When Investigators are called out to major incidents or emergency call outs in their unmarked police equipped cars they have to pay. The Sheriff's Department, due to costs, took all transponders from its Investigators and other emergency response personnel. As a result any major disaster or call outs to emergency cause undue delay of these emergency workers.

[Know em all]

The 8:05 entry pisses me off...Carona's OCSD has 500m to spend each year. If true those types of decisions are nonsense, just like the recent decision to limit take home cars for investigators that respond in the middle of the night.
The department can save money by eliminating sworn deputy positions in the jail, and hire civilian correctional officers. This would reduce the sworn position expense, and would greatly reduce the wait time for deputies desiring to go to patrol from working the jails. Jails run just fine with lower paid correctional officers instead of higher paid sworn peace officers. Carona and Brad Gates ran the department like an Empire, they loved to tout how many sworn personnel they have, there is no need for a 500m budget, Also the public (out) and proud lesibian undersheriff with a G.E.D is only worth 180k a year, versus, 230k..word on the street, eh.

The floods were a prime example of how it may have altered transportation routes for emergency personnel sent out to evacuate. Investigators were first to be called out to the canyon yesterday. Im sure that response time suffered since the transponders have been yanked from the Investigators cars and the TCA will not issue free transponders to emergency workers.

[Flowerszzz]

Know em all.....what the helk does any of that have to do with safety personel having free access to the toll roads? Ya'll are so fixated on the lesbian GED Sheriff thing....you can see nothing else? Who cares if she is gay and who cares if she has a GED. MANY great people, business owners and leaders in this country never went to college or barely finished high school. And let me tell you, as you can see from the MSU at UCI, JUST because you have a college education, does not mean you have a lick of common sense, ethics or street smarts...which are the most valuable attributes in life. I personally could are less about a persons sexual preference or education....lets wait and see what she does first....then judge her by her performance....what a concept. Besides, she was not elected to that post, she is filling in temporarily.

[Bronsonator]

I have no love for the Puddle Monkeys. So, they finally get out of their lazyboy recliners and turn off the ESPN Fishing marathon to go to work for a few weeks. Granted, it's a few weeks non-stop, but geeez, that's the most work they've done all year except chase soccer moms at the grocery stores.