This Made My Day!

Oakland San Francisco Bay Bridge Toll Plaza

The Toll Plaza for the Oakland to San Francisco Bay Bridge is always an interesting experience. Today was no different. It began when I tried to remember: Is it four bucks or five bucks? So, I began searching for a 5-dollar bill to cover both bases. Once I had my money ready, then came my next decision: Which lane to be in? Early lane choice is critical. I don’t know how many lanes lead up to the Toll Plaza, but I’ll guess about fifteen. Some of them are Fast Track Only, and some are Fast Track or Cash. I don’t have a Fast Track transponder, so I always have to try to figure out which lane accepts cash. I didn't want to mess up and drive through a Fast Track Only line. It’s a big fine.

There are combination Fast Track or Cash lanes on the left and also on the right. Fast Track Only is in the middle, but the number of Fast Track lanes varies depending on traffic flow. A person has to be alert. This morning, I thought I was doing pretty good until I got closer to the Toll Plaza and realized I was in a Fast Track Only lane. The Cash lane was one lane to my right, and it was completely stopped, bumper-to-bumper.

I had no choice. I was going to have to get into the Cash lane somehow.

I had to slow down and stop, use my right hand turn signal, and hope a driver would take pity on me and let me in. I looked in my rear view mirror and noticed several other cars had made the same mistake as me. One guy to my right motioned to me to go in front of him. Whew! That was a relief. Now all had to do was sit and wait for the traffic to move. 

There were about twenty cars ahead of me, and the line was moving very slowly. Then, in my blind spot on my left, I saw the outline of a car. I turned my head to my left and noticed an older gentleman with his signal on. The guy behind me had crept up to within two inches of my bumper. It was obvious he did not intend to let the man enter the Cash lane ahead of him. So, I rolled down my window and motioned him to drive ahead and go in front of me. He did, and he waved in appreciation as he entered the lane.

People have to be flexible when going through the Toll Plaza on the Bay Bridge. It can be pretty dog-eat-dog! 

There were about twenty cars ahead of me, but the line slowly crept forward. Finally, I was second in line behind the gentleman I had allowed to go ahead of me. I could see that the traffic on the other side of the toll plaza was fairly light. The gentleman in front of me received a big smile from the lady in the tollbooth as she handed the man his change. The toll both people are not usually that friendly. I pulled up and held out my hand with my five-dollar bill. She said with a big grin, “No! You don’t have to pay." She pointed at the man driving away, and said, "He paid your toll."  

Wow! What a surprise!

I could see the man's car disappearing in the distance, and I wanted to thank him. Then, as I accelerated, it became obvious that I could never catch him. I just settled in to driving safely as the fifteen lanes merged into about five. I felt bad that I could not at least flash my headlights to let him know that I appreciated his gesture.

Then I realized I had it backwards. He also felt the need to thank me, and he did so by paying my toll. "He didn't have to pay my toll," I said to myself. Now he's off to some part of the city, and I'm off to mine, total strangers.   

Moments like that really make my day.