Vehicle use is growing faster in the region than anywhere else in the UK and, according to experts, if something isn't done then the North faces gridlock.
The solution, according to the Government, is making people pay to use major roads . . . to make them think twice before making unnecessary car journeys.
That way congestion will be reduced and harmful gases from vehicles - which contribute to global warming - will be cut.
It sounds simple, but the principle of toll roads will be a hard one to sell to a British public suspicious of stealth taxes.
Transport expert Professor Phil Blythe of Newcastle University has written a book on the subject called Road User Charging and Electronic Tolling.
He said: "We have explored every other option and road tolling has a role to play.
"The difficulty is convincing people that we need to do this. But there are too many cars on the road and the Government has to get people to use alternatives . . . such as public transport.
"However, running a car has never been cheaper compared with public transport and this makes it very difficult to convince people to get out of their vehicles."
Prof Blythe says that toll charges could be set higher at peak times and that higher-polluting vehicles could be charged at higher rates to help reduce congestion and pollution.
Toll roads are common on the Continent but in Britain, bridges and tunnels aside, there is little more than a 30-mile stretch of the M6 in the Midlands.
According to the Department for Transport, car use has risen by 15 per cent over the past 20 years, while public transport usage has declined by half in the same period.
Meanwhile, it also predicts that UK road use will increase by up to 40pc in the next decade.
Not surprisingly, Jeff Marriott of the Road Haulage Association's Northern Region is against tolls. He believes they would hit poorer motorists and professional drivers hardest.
Mr Marriott also doubts it would have any effect on congestion.
He said: "What we want to see is an improvement in the existing roads before anyone even considers introducing tolls.
"At present, all road users together are paying #40bn a year in taxes including that on fuel and vehicle licences. Yet the Government only spends #6bn a year on roads in the UK.
"We pay the highest fuel duty in the world. Road tolls would be just another tax burden.
"The Government said it would be revenue neutral, but can you really imagine any Government not being tempted to raise the tolls to bring more money into the Treasury's coffers?
He added: "I don't think that tolls will make any difference to congestion long-term because road use is increasing massively and there are no major plans to expand the existing road network."
According to a survey by the RAC Foundation, nine out of 10 drivers do not trust the Government on this issue and think tolls are just another tax on motoring.
However, if an independent body was formed to oversee the tolling then 65pc of motorists questioned said they would support its introduction.
Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, said: "We have looked at tolling and concluded that you could simply improve congestion with road-widening schemes and improved public transport.
"Tolling might be a way of managing traffic on around 10 per cent of roads . . . but tolling every road is not the answer. There are many roads in the North East that do not have congestion so why should they be tolled?
"To get the motorists firmly on side the Government would have to reduce taxes on fuel and the vehicle excise licence.
"If they don't, the toll will become the poll tax on wheels.
"There are 30m drivers who could potentially revolt on this issue if they feel the Government is just using it as another stealth tax."