I think it's unique to DFW. I actually find it very civilized, since there's no extra charge for pulling into 1 hour parking adjacent to the terminal, you don't get the cars circling endlessly, or sitting in the no standing zones, both of which can block traffic badly.

If you really want to avoid the airport fee, you can drop off or pick up at either North or South Remote parking, or at the Rental Car Center, which are all outside the toll perimeter and have free shuttle buses from and to the terminals.

I've seen livery cars using the main road (International Parkway) shoulders as a makeshift cell phone lot, sitting just outside the tollbooths, I assume to minimize toll costs from longer waits inside the airport.