^{Image courtesy of teddy-rised flickr}

Its 10.23pm and the ERP gantry along the CTE is still 'In Operation', so what do you do; Pull along side on the road shoulder which is already packed with temporary red and white barriers for roadworks or pay 50 cents and continue your smooth journey home? From what I observed, there are still a few imbeciles who will pull along the shoulder and wait for 7 minutes before the ERP goes off.

Considering that these people pull over, leave their engines switched on and wait for 7 minutes before the ERP is put to sleep, just to save 50 cents. Don't you think that by leaving your engine running and waiting, its still burning fuel, you're not moving anywhere and in other words, you're still paying 50 cents or even more by waiting! Not only that, you're posing a safety hazard to other road users when you abruptly signal across 2 lanes to stop at the shoulder and with roadworks going on you are probably obstructing traffic as well. I'm not saying that I don't value 50 cents because I know its still money but I seriously doubt the cost of waiting there exceeds the benefits of just driving through. Sure we're paying the government but at the same time, getting home faster and safer.

So the next time you see the time on the ERP gantry is timing out, just go through. I just got burned 2 bucks today at Victoria Street when it was 7.54pm and at 7.55pm it could have been 1 dollar. I guess they should just remove the clock altogether to save the pain...