E-Z Pass Isn't Just For Tolls, Think Divorce Court

Whenever I drive with friends through E-Z Pass lanes on the toll roads around here, my first thought is how nice it is to not be in the Cash Only line that can take quite a while during rush hour. It never occurred to me that you can catch your cheating spouse. Ah, big brother has its rewards to those who are hurt by their loved ones.

From WCBS-TV:

CBS/AP) TRENTON, N.J. There's some potentially troubling and telling news for all you motorists out there who may be taking the Turnpike for the worst crime in marriage: cheating on your significant other.

E-ZPass and other electronic toll collection systems are emerging as a powerful means of proving infidelity. That's because when your spouse doesn't know where you've been, E-ZPass does.

"E-ZPass is an E-ZPass to go directly to divorce court, because it's an easy way to show you took the off-ramp to adultery," said Jacalyn Barnett, a New York divorce lawyer who has used E-ZPass records a few times.

Is this a violation of privacy or just what happens to cheating spouses when they are lazy/foolish enough to have their barcode scanned in the middle of the night? What they are doing is wrong morally by going behind their partner's back. As a civil libertarian, I think that E-ZPass records should be for deducting money from your account, not to keep track of where you are going. If divorce attorneys can use the information, why can't the government? It is a slippery slope where a seemingly useful tool for revenge can translate into one more piece of our big brother society.