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As far as the independent trucker goes, it's not too hard for them to figure out what to do when it's either paying $200 in tolls (right out of their pocket) to go 400 miles - and then having nothing to do for 4 hours, or not paying tolls and having nothing to do for 1 hour.

No, it's not too hard for a trucker to figure it out, and they see it differently than you . . . .

The three hours that trucker saves, in your example, can be spent sleeping (off the clock), waiting to be unloaded (on the clock), or visiting "sweet Eileen in Abilene." Moreover, you cannot discount arriving at the destination faster (waiting to be unloaded, above). Being second in line makes a heck of a difference than being seventh. It gets you back on the road faster (faster to your next load, next stop, next Eileen, home, whatever). Time is money . . . that you do understand. What you do not understand is both sides of the equation.

Finally, if the thought of paying tolls is so onerous to a truck driver, why do you see trucks on tollroads? Personally, seeing a "convoy" of 30 or 40 trucks heading north (and rolling through the tollbooth without stopping) on the Tri-State Tollway (Illinois) on an early weekday morning warms my heart. You think they're on surface streets sitting at redlights.