Life in the fast lane

Apropos of my trip to Chicago last Wednesday, I was struck by this New York Times Magazine article. In it, Christopher Caldwell frets about the privacy implications of the wireless devices that let motorists breeze through toll gates, while cash-paying saps idle in lines. I was one of those saps on Wednesday, although I didn't have to wait. No, I was a sap because earlier this year, the Illinois authorities doubled the cash tolls on the Northwest Tollway, which runs between Madison and Chicago, but left the tolls unchanged for motorists equipped with wireless I-PASS devices. I knew about this before I left, but the cash lanes on the Northwest Tollway have long been my preferred way of disposing of pennies, and I had built up quite a collection. So I paid cash.

I suppose I will eventually buy an I-PASS transmitter, though I'm with Caldwell: they're creepy. At the moment there seems little harm in the State of Illinois tracking my movements, but nevertheless. Stuff like this is why God made libertarian paranoia.

The solution is obvious: the toll authority should give motorists the option of paying cash and using the devices anonymously. Maybe it does already, but the option doesn't leap off the web site. Should I make a stink about this, or would I just look like someone with something to hide?