# Last Exit in This State **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 13, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706 "2015-01-13T12:56:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/1 "2015-01-13T12:56:35Z")
When my family is driving, and we are near the border between states (let’s use NJ-NY as an example), and we see a sign which announces that the next exit is the “LAST EXIT IN N.J.”, we tend to ask the other passengers, “Is anyone here wanted by the New York State Police? No? Okay, let’s continue as planned.” Seriously, what is the purpose of these signs? I really can’t figure any other than to warn people about such things. Similarly, I can see their use if one is passing from a state where something is allowed to where it’s not - fireworks or marijuana, for examples. But are these eventualities serious enough and/or common enough to justify the signs? These signs are reasonable when approaching an international border. But going from one state to another within the country, I think people are smart enough to plan ahead and the government doesn’t need to waste money on such signs. Remembering that this is GQ, what reasons might I not have thought of? ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/2 "2015-01-13T13:18:30Z")
If you are driving a triple trailer, you might want to be warned that you are approaching a state that only allows double trailers. Similarly if you are not in compliance with other state vehicle regulations. You may want to stop and get gas or make other purchases before leaving a low sales tax state. You may want to stop and see a doctor about that gunshot wound before leaving the state where your Medicaid benefits or in-network insurance is accepted. Gun laws vary greatly from state to state. You may want to be sure you are in compliance before crossing the border (and avoid crossing the border if you are not). If you are driving a food truck, you may need a state business license before you stop and sell food in another state. You may want to stop to buy a state lottery ticket before leaving. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/3 "2015-01-13T13:28:49Z")
Wow! LOTS of stuff that I had not thought of! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/4 "2015-01-13T13:52:37Z")
On I-95, you have to pay a toll for every state you drive through. In Delaware, your first stop is your last stop. One hates surprises. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/5 "2015-01-13T14:08:07Z")
You always have to pay a toll when you leave NJ. You never have to pay a toll to enter NJ. That’s because if they made you pay to enter NJ, nobody would ever go there. And people are very willing to pay to be allowed to leave NJ. So, the signs are there so you can make certain you have change to feed the toll machine or to dig out the cash for the toll takers. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/6 "2015-01-13T14:13:56Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > On I-95, you have to pay a toll for every state you drive through. In Delaware, your first stop is your last stop. One hates surprises. ? This is either a joke or a whoosh. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/7 "2015-01-13T14:14:07Z")
“Hey people! This is your last chance to make a fantastic booze buy at a New Hampshire state liquor store! Don’t miss out!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/8 "2015-01-13T14:17:42Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > This is either a joke or a whoosh. The section of I-95 in Delaware is so short that it has only one toll booth. (I once tried using local streets to go around it and then back onto 95, but it was NOT worth the time and hassle.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/9 "2015-01-13T15:09:26Z")
To anyone not from the northeast, the idea of “Interstate highway” and “toll booth” applying to the same road makes as much sense as a square circle or a flying submarine. Hence the thought of whoosh I suspect. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/10 "2015-01-13T15:39:31Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > To anyone not from the northeast, the idea of “Interstate highway” and “toll booth” applying to the same road makes as much sense as a square circle or a flying submarine. > > Hence the thought of whoosh I suspect. RI and CT do not have any tolls on I 95. I can remember paying tolls on I95 in CT back in the early 1980s, and I vaguely remember a toll booth on I95 in RI when we first moved up in 1990 but I have no idea when it stopped. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/11 "2015-01-13T16:04:03Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > RI and CT do not have any tolls on I 95. > > I can remember paying tolls on I95 in CT back in the early 1980s, and I vaguely remember a toll booth on I95 in RI when we first moved up in 1990 but I have no idea when it stopped. Thanks for the data points. Just to beat a possibly-dead horse … I’m not suggesting I-95 in the northeast is universally a toll road. It apparently is in some areas. But I \*am \*suggesting that almost all interstates elsewhere in the US are never toll roads. Hence the confusion for someone from the rest of the country. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/12 "2015-01-13T16:05:58Z")
If you have your 17yo girlfriend in the car, isn’t there a serious problem if your intentions are not strictly honourable? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/13 "2015-01-13T16:10:54Z")
I don’t know how you’re defining “northeast”, but the Ohio and Pennsylvania Turnpikes are both interstates. And I’m pretty sure that there are toll interstates in the Chicago area, too. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/14 "2015-01-13T16:14:04Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > To anyone not from the northeast, the idea of “Interstate highway” and “toll booth” applying to the same road makes as much sense as a square circle or a flying submarine. Those of us who have driven the Kansas Turnpike, which is composed of portions of I-35, I-335, I-470, and I-70, don’t see it that way. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/15 "2015-01-13T16:19:24Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > “Is anyone here wanted by the New York State Police? No? Okay, let’s continue as planned.” It’s a cute joke, but now I have a legal question: Aren’t there people who are not allowed to leave the state, under court order? Maybe someone involved in a divorce with a child custody dispute? Someone under a restraining order as a violent spouse ? Prisoners on parole? ---
**Author:** ![vomit\_comet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/73ab20/32.png) [@vomit\_comet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vomit_comet)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/16 "2015-01-13T16:25:09Z")
My guess would be for travellers that **are** supposed to be going somewhere in that state but are lost. GPS should eliminate that kind of situation but there are a lot of cheap buggers out there that just won’t pony up even for a $40.00 gps unit. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/17 "2015-01-13T16:31:20Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > Those of us who have driven the Kansas Turnpike, which is composed of portions of I-35, I-335, I-470, and I-70, don’t see it that way. There has also been some talk recently of making I-70 through Missouri a toll road. So yeah, those of us in flyover country are well aware of the concept. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/18 "2015-01-13T17:40:39Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t know how you’re defining “northeast”, but the Ohio and Pennsylvania Turnpikes are both interstates. And I’m pretty sure that there are toll interstates in the Chicago area, too. There are free interstates in the Northeast too btw. I-89 in Vermont has no tolls. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/19 "2015-01-13T19:07:21Z")
I read a story about a guy who rented a car at the Memphis airport. For reasons I’m not really clear on, his rental contract specified that he couldn’t drive it out of state. A few wrong turns later and he’s accidentally in Arkansas or Mississippi (not sure which), and the car _just happened_ to be equipped with GPS, and the rental agency tried to extract some ridiculous “fine” or “surcharge” or whatever for the guy’s unfamiliarity with Memphis roads. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706/20 "2015-01-13T20:44:38Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But I \*am \*suggesting that almost all interstates elsewhere in the US are never toll roads. A trip to Chicago will cure you of this illusion in short order. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-exit-in-this-state/709706.md?page=2)