No Tickets Given to Drivers Who Stopped, Dawdled to Beat Bay Bridge 'Congestion Pricing'

​On day one of the Bay Bridge's bold foray into using the term "congestion pricing" to vacuum extra dollars out of drivers' pockets, some motorists weren't willing to play along. Drivers were yesterday spotted dawdling, weaving in and out of lanes, and even pulling over on the side of the highway to avoid paying a $6 bridge toll at 9:59 that dropped to $4 at 10 a.m.

California Highway Patrol officers informed us that this was an incredibly stupid thing to do, but were uncertain how many tickets, citations, or admonishments were handed out on Thursday. Well, they got back to us today -- and the answer is zero.

Regarding tickets handed out in the vicinity of the Bay Bridge tollbooth, "I looked through the shift basket where we turn in all the citations and I didn't see any in that specific area," noted Officer Ted Martin of the CHP. "There wasn't a lot of proactive enforcement."

So while the CHP ostensibly sent extra personnel into the area anticipating problems on the first day of congestion pricing, it's not entirely clear what those officers were doing.

In any event, driving like an idiot on day one of the new pricing system is apparently more excusable than doing so down the road. "We're kind of giving a grace period for people to acclimate themselves to the area," says Martin.

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