In January 1983 a truck plowed into a line of cars stopped at the Interstate 95 tolls in Stratford, Conn. Seven people were killed. The truck driver had fallen asleep at the wheel.

Largely due to this horrific accident, the State of Connecticut moved to eliminate all toll booths. It accomplished this in two years on I-95 and six years statewide.

In Massachusetts, highway toll booths are very much with us. In fact more could be coming. There is also talk of increasing tolls, along with various plans to eliminate some toll plazas while raising rates at others.

Gov. Deval Patrick recently floated the idea of erecting new tolls at the state's borders with Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont (there already are tolls at the New York border on the Mass. Pike). These highway turnstiles would make it possible to eliminate all or nearly all the other tolls within the state, the governor says.

Sounds intriguing - but it is exactly the wrong way to go. There are several reasons for this. Toll plazas are by their nature dangerous. They increase gas consumption, worsen air quality, cause traffic tie-ups, and can have unintended consequences. Consider how South Attleboro streets could be clogged with motorists avoiding an I-95 toll. But, the governor and legislators point out, the state needs money, lots of money. There's the Big Dig to pay for, and major repair work to do, and new road and bridge projects to finance. Sad but true.

However, there is a reasonable alternative - increasing the gasoline tax. The state's gas tax is 23.5 cents per gallon and hasn't been raised since 1991. The national average is 30 cents.

A gas tax hike is fairer and smarter. It spreads the burden more broadly, and everybody has a stake in the highway system. Those who drive more pay more. To the extent that a gas tax hike encourages people to drive less or use public transportation that advances the nation's goals for improved air quality and energy independence.

The time to increase the gas tax is now when gas prices are well below their recent peak of around $4 a gallon.

Governor Patrick has said he is not opposed to a gas tax increase, but insists that it be big enough to either eliminate tolls entirely or at least avoid toll hikes for a long time. He has two other conditions: that the proceeds go only for transportation needs and that the gas tax increase is accompanied by reform measures such as merging the Turnpike Authority and MassPort.

A gas tax hike also has backers in the Legislature. The politicians know any increase will soon become part of a family's budget whereas a big toll increase would be a constant aggravation of motorists, also known as voters.

The state can achieve some savings with consolidation of its transportation bureaucracy, but the real and most appropriate source of badly needed revenue is the gas tax increase. Enacting the first such increase in 18 years, even if it is a big one, would be worthwhile, and the sweetener of elimination of the highway and tunnel tolls would make it politically palatable.

There was a second highway tragedy in Connecticut in 1983 that became part of the argument for elimination of that state's tolls. In June, the Mianus River Bridge on I-95 in Greenwich collapsed and three motorists died. The cause was determined to be corrosion of the substructure.

As a result of this horrible, unforgiveable bridge failure, the state was obliged to spend $8 billion rehabilitating highways and bridges throughout Connecticut.

The poor condition of highways and bridges in Massachusetts has been well documented. Local residents are familiar with the near-emergency repairs that have been necessary in recent years, such as the rebuilding of the Route 152 bridge in North Attleboro after chunks of the road fell onto I-95. That project alone cost $6 million and took four years to complete. The governor and the Legislature have to face up to the state's transportation problems by enacting a meaningful gas tax increase - and get rid of the dangerous toll plazas while they're at it.

NED BRISTOL is a member of The Sun Chronicle Editorial Board and a former editor of the newspaper.