A Texas driver has gone viral after allegedly attempting to avoid East Coast toll fees by covering his license plate with leaves. The unusual tactic, captured in a video that quickly spread online, sparked widespread attention and debate, with viewers weighing in on both the driver’s creativity and the legality of the stunt.
The video was shared by @karlsonlrl, a smaller TikTok creator known for short-form content centered on gaming culture, internet humor, and online trends. In the clip, he documents his attempt to travel along the East Coast while avoiding toll fees, using leaves to cover his Texas license plate in an apparent effort to evade toll cameras.
“Can you bypass tolls just by covering your license plate with leaves?” the TikToker asks, before showing footage of himself gathering leaves from the snowy ground and placing them over his plate. He then shares clips of himself driving out of New York and along the “entirety of the East Coast.” According to the video, police were allegedly “radaring” him throughout the trip. After driving through the night, he eventually arrived in Florida.
Did the TikToker’s idea work? Not quite. Two weeks later, he allegedly received six separate notices, totaling about $600 in fines. He ends the video with a clear warning to viewers: “Don’t do this.” The clip has since circulated on Reddit, where it sparked widespread discussion among users reacting to the unusual attempt to avoid toll fees.
Social Media Users Share Their Perspectives
The video has sparked widespread reaction online, with viewers debating the legality of the stunt and sharing mixed opinions about the driver’s apparent attempt to avoid toll fees. On Reddit, one user wrote, “One time driving through Oklahoma, we paid every toll. Come home and a couple weeks later we get a bill for $5. We just paid it but we’re super confused since we physically paid at every toll we went through.”
Another commenter shared, “I had to pay $50 for a toll I didn’t even know I went through. How is that even legal?” A third user joked, “Land of the Fee.”
As the video continues to circulate, it serves as yet another example of how unusual online stunts can rapidly gain attention and ignite broader debate, even when the outcome does not unfold as intended.
