Someone sent us these odd pictures but doesn't know the story, or where the pictures come from. And we don't either. A reader will have to tell us, and we'll take it from there.

What have we got?

Two cars apparently jockeying for position in the toll lane got jammed two-abreast at the toll booth.

Road rage?

It has a phony look to it this picture. No sign of any toll collector or other staff who surely would gather round after an incident like this. And look at the lower picture and the clean concrete approach barrier. Not a mark there. No emergency vehicles, no tow truck?

Is this a stunt set up for a movie? All speculation so far.

Here are the clues as we see them:

* bright blue toll booths - rather distinctive

* pictures aren't sharp enough to see what state the number plates are

* very little signage on the canopies

* heavy traffic with lights on, either dawn or dusk

* no gates

* 5mph speed posted

* a one way plaza?

* no, a split plaza?

* it looks like a reversible toll lane with booths each side and each end

* an urban setting, office buildings off to the sides

* maybe an approach to a toll bridge?

* no sign of stairs to a tunnel so looks like an older plaza

* it has a northeast look about it? DRPA?

If anyone knows or can add to the clues please email petersamuel@mac.com or 301 631 1148 TOLLROADSnews 2005-12-03

Two roadies work it out

Two great roadies - Otto Yamamoto and Rush Wickes - identify the toll plaza as the Niagara Section of the New York State Thruway.

Wickes with Alabama DOT is the most specific: "If you look at downtown Buffalo on Google maps, you'll see a one-way southbound toll plaza adjacent to the waterfront with a building to the right (west) that matches the length of the one on the photo.

"Also, in the northbound view on the photo, you see an offramp for northbound traffic in the distance, which also matches what you see in the satellite view of the Buffalo (Black Rock) toll plaza for I-190.

"The truss bridge in the background is a railroad bridge which corresponds with what one sees of the area on Google maps."

Yamamoto writes:"Both cars appear to have New York plates - the left one is dicey, but the right one is pretty clear.

"People have a problem with E-ZPass: they get into the lane even if they don't have it, the usual result is someone stopped dead in the lane, clogging traffic. "I guess here both cars went in at the same time, and nobody gave way."

He has an interesting website http://mryamamoto.50megs.com

Many thanks to you both.

At left is a map (NYSTA) and aerial photo (Google Maps).

Monday we hope to get the Thruway's account of what happened. TOLLROADSnews 2005-12-04

"I saw it"

Tommy Gleason of Niagara says he saw it:

"It is not a fake, I saw it firsthand. Infact, I go through that toll lane every single day. It IS an EZ-Pass lane, and there ARE marks as a result of the accident. I have those same pictures on my computer and in much larger format. It's crystal clear.

"It happened a while back, maybe 18 months or so..

"But that's Buffalo for you. We have no idea how the hell they managed to wedge themselves in there... and neither of them are carrying EZ-Pass tags..

"Oh, and if you look closely, infront of the blue Civic there is a tow-truck cable. The fat guy is stuck in the car.

"No forgery, no movie trick, just a couple of fat-headed dumbasses."

TOLLROADSnews 2005-12-05