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Coming from Central Europe where toll booths are not a thing: I thought it should maybe read "reduced infant mortality to numbers in cities/countries without to

Coming from Central Europe where toll booths are not a thing: I thought it should maybe read "reduced infant mortality to numbers in cities/countries without toll booths" ...

kube-system 4y ago
Most EZ-Pass locations usually still have toll booths, they simply allow drivers who have a transponder to continue through more quickly.
- adambatkin 4y ago
  They have been moving toward a model where there are no more toll booths, no one slows down. If you have EZ Pass, you are scammed and your account billed. If you don't, they take a picture of your license plate and mail you a bill. Much of the NY/NJ area now operates on this model.
  - neon_electro 4y ago
    At first I thought you were using “scammed” literally, on second glance I’m guessing you meant “scanned”.
  - kube-system 4y ago
    That’s usually called “toll by plate” not EZ Pass.
    - matwood 4y ago
      Correct. Typically they give a small discount if you do EZPass otherwise it's toll by plate. E470 around Denver has been like this for...decades maybe.
      - macinjosh 4y ago
        Since this has gone into place I have been sent at least 3 bills for trips on E-470 I never took. One time it was sent to collections because I would not pay. They turned out to be false matches of my license plate number with their automated camera system.
      - kube-system 4y ago
        And I went through two EZ Pass tolls this morning where all lanes had toll booths (and gate arms!). My point is that "EZ Pass" != "no toll booth". Colorado isn't even in the EZ Pass network.
  - neither_color 4y ago
    Sounds like I-66 near Washington D.C. It used to just be regular congested highway, now it's EZ-pass only, every GPS navigation app sends you through it, and there are only a few non-conspicuous signs warning you. If you're in the area it's fine you just know, but I imagine at least hundreds of tourists get bamboozled every day there. edit: Correcting myself here, it's EZ-Pass-only at certain times of day: http://66expresslanes.org/e-zpass/default.asp http://66expresslanes.org/e-zpass/default.asp which I find even more confusing.
resoluteteeth 4y ago
The most interesting thing here isn't really comparing having tolls vs not having tolls (although if you live near toll booths that would be interesting, I suppose). It's having a way to directly see the health effects after a change that reduces local exposure to emissions from cars idling in a given location. There has been other research that shows a correlation between certain health outcomes and proximity to highways, but there may be confounding factors in that type of study, whereas this is almost more like an interventional study even though the change obviously wasn't actually made for the purposes of the study. This is very strong evidence that many of the negative health effects that have been shown to be correlated with proximity to highways are indeed caused by car emissions.
JohnBooty 4y ago
I thought it should maybe read "reduced infant mortality to numbers in cities/countries without toll booths" It wouldn't be a useful comparison because there are so many other variables at play in one country vs. another. Check the paper; it's very readable. Alternatively, know the following: The reason they chose their approach was because it gives them a "natural experiment" - by comparing the exact same area before and after EZPass, you get a fairly valid experiment with only a minimal number of variables to wrangle.

Coming from Central Europe where toll booths are not a thing: I thought it should maybe read "reduced infant mortality to numbers in cities/countries without toll booths" ...

kube-system 4y ago

Most EZ-Pass locations usually still have toll booths, they simply allow drivers who have a transponder to continue through more quickly.

adambatkin 4y ago
They have been moving toward a model where there are no more toll booths, no one slows down. If you have EZ Pass, you are scammed and your account billed. If you don't, they take a picture of your license plate and mail you a bill. Much of the NY/NJ area now operates on this model.
- neon_electro 4y ago
  At first I thought you were using “scammed” literally, on second glance I’m guessing you meant “scanned”.
- kube-system 4y ago
  That’s usually called “toll by plate” not EZ Pass.
  - matwood 4y ago
    Correct. Typically they give a small discount if you do EZPass otherwise it's toll by plate. E470 around Denver has been like this for...decades maybe.
    - macinjosh 4y ago
      Since this has gone into place I have been sent at least 3 bills for trips on E-470 I never took. One time it was sent to collections because I would not pay. They turned out to be false matches of my license plate number with their automated camera system.
    - kube-system 4y ago
      And I went through two EZ Pass tolls this morning where all lanes had toll booths (and gate arms!). My point is that "EZ Pass" != "no toll booth". Colorado isn't even in the EZ Pass network.
- neither_color 4y ago
  Sounds like I-66 near Washington D.C. It used to just be regular congested highway, now it's EZ-pass only, every GPS navigation app sends you through it, and there are only a few non-conspicuous signs warning you. If you're in the area it's fine you just know, but I imagine at least hundreds of tourists get bamboozled every day there. edit: Correcting myself here, it's EZ-Pass-only at certain times of day: http://66expresslanes.org/e-zpass/default.asp http://66expresslanes.org/e-zpass/default.asp which I find even more confusing.

resoluteteeth 4y ago

The most interesting thing here isn't really comparing having tolls vs not having tolls (although if you live near toll booths that would be interesting, I suppose). It's having a way to directly see the health effects after a change that reduces local exposure to emissions from cars idling in a given location. There has been other research that shows a correlation between certain health outcomes and proximity to highways, but there may be confounding factors in that type of study, whereas this is almost more like an interventional study even though the change obviously wasn't actually made for the purposes of the study. This is very strong evidence that many of the negative health effects that have been shown to be correlated with proximity to highways are indeed caused by car emissions.

JohnBooty 4y ago

I thought it should maybe read "reduced infant mortality to numbers in cities/countries without toll booths" It wouldn't be a useful comparison because there are so many other variables at play in one country vs. another. Check the paper; it's very readable. Alternatively, know the following: The reason they chose their approach was because it gives them a "natural experiment" - by comparing the exact same area before and after EZPass, you get a fairly valid experiment with only a minimal number of variables to wrangle.