4 ms·

Here's one thing: a vehicle's wear-and-tear on the road is an exponential function of its mass. A vehicle that's twice as big does around 4 times as much damage

Here's one thing: a vehicle's wear-and-tear on the road is an exponential function of its mass. A vehicle that's twice as big does around 4 times as much damage to the road, leading to cracks, potholes and asphalt crumbling. That, in turn, reduces the lifespan of the roadway and requires an expensive resurfacing sooner than if more people were driving smaller cars.

the_mitsuhiko 11y ago
Kei cars will never drive on roads where the cost of the road maintanance is high: highways. If you would start doing that the cost of dealing with all the dead and seriously insured people would be reason alone to ban them. That's what we did with most. Japan is not Europe.
- rwmj 11y ago
  If someone crashes into you with a heavier car, then that's the responsibility of the owner of the heavy car - just like if you knock over a cyclist (or it should be). The ideal would be everyone driving slower in smaller cars, since reducing kinetic energy saves lives. To achieve that you reduce taxes on the smaller cars and increase taxes on the heavier cars and cars that drive at higher speeds. And change the law so if you kill someone with your big, heavy car, you get a more serious punishment. It's the end of days for human-driven cars anyway. With self driving cars, it seems as if the cars will be bought and owned mainly by large companies (and hired out to end users), so the companies will be able to experiment much more aggressively with different designs and force manufacturers to make them.
  - the_mitsuhiko 11y ago
    Insurances and the state need to pay for this which is why kei style cars are outlawed on most roads in europe. Don't forget that the speed likit anywhere in japan is 60km/h so the problem does not exist there. The speed limit in europe on highways is 130. If there was a market for kei cars they would exist.
    - thegp 11y ago
      German here, what is this "speed limit" you talk about?:) But yeah, kei style cars are redundant in Europe because bikes, scooters , minis, nowadays car sharing, public transport and more space exist.
mikeash 11y ago
Wouldn't that mean that on any road which carries large trucks, the damage done by cars is completely irrelevant no matter what their size?
- rwmj 11y ago
  HGVs already pay annual vehicle tax based on their mass, whether it has "road-friendly suspension" and the number of axles. See page 3 of this document: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419799/V149_Budget_2015_Final_version.pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm... (Edit: I should say ... in the UK. No idea about other EU countries)

the_mitsuhiko 11y ago

Kei cars will never drive on roads where the cost of the road maintanance is high: highways. If you would start doing that the cost of dealing with all the dead and seriously insured people would be reason alone to ban them. That's what we did with most. Japan is not Europe.

rwmj 11y ago
If someone crashes into you with a heavier car, then that's the responsibility of the owner of the heavy car - just like if you knock over a cyclist (or it should be). The ideal would be everyone driving slower in smaller cars, since reducing kinetic energy saves lives. To achieve that you reduce taxes on the smaller cars and increase taxes on the heavier cars and cars that drive at higher speeds. And change the law so if you kill someone with your big, heavy car, you get a more serious punishment. It's the end of days for human-driven cars anyway. With self driving cars, it seems as if the cars will be bought and owned mainly by large companies (and hired out to end users), so the companies will be able to experiment much more aggressively with different designs and force manufacturers to make them.
- the_mitsuhiko 11y ago
  Insurances and the state need to pay for this which is why kei style cars are outlawed on most roads in europe. Don't forget that the speed likit anywhere in japan is 60km/h so the problem does not exist there. The speed limit in europe on highways is 130. If there was a market for kei cars they would exist.
  - thegp 11y ago
    German here, what is this "speed limit" you talk about?:) But yeah, kei style cars are redundant in Europe because bikes, scooters , minis, nowadays car sharing, public transport and more space exist.

mikeash 11y ago

Wouldn't that mean that on any road which carries large trucks, the damage done by cars is completely irrelevant no matter what their size?

rwmj 11y ago
HGVs already pay annual vehicle tax based on their mass, whether it has "road-friendly suspension" and the number of axles. See page 3 of this document: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419799/V149_Budget_2015_Final_version.pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachm... (Edit: I should say ... in the UK. No idea about other EU countries)