[GH85Carrera]

Oklahoma has a lot of Turnpikes. No stopping to pay a toll, even if you don't have the PikePass, just plate pay. Oklahoma was one of the first states to have an electonic pass system, and I have had one since the beginning. The plate pay is almost twice the cost of the PikePass to use the turnpikes, and the cost of the pass is free, just pay the tolls.

Lots of people are trying to evade the tolls with obscured plates. The turnpike folks think it is millions per year of lost tolls. The police are starting to get a bit more aggressive in enforcement on obscured tags. I saw one pickup that obviously drives on dirt roads a lot. The tailgate was just covered in red dirt, and the tag was impossible to tell what it was.

The most ironic part for me is my tags are always current. I bought several 2x4s at a big box store three miles away. The El Camino bed is not 8 feet long. so I had the tailgate down, and the wood secured with ropes and a bungee cord. As I pulled into my driveway a lady cop lit me up.

The tag is built into the indentation in the tailgate, so it was not displayed for my three mile trip home. I untied the wood, and raised my tailgate, and she just gave me a verbal warning to not drive with the tailgate down. I promised I would never do it again, and then ignored that promise. I have had to drive with a load that required the tailgate down a few dozen time in the 34 years of driving it for 390,000 miles.