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If we actually billed those that actually caused road damage appropriately, then no it would not cost $5 to drive 30min to work. Semis are incredibly damaging t
by ProfessorLayton 8y ago
If we actually billed those that actually caused road damage appropriately, then no it would not cost $5 to drive 30min to work. Semis are incredibly damaging to roads, they cause 1,400x more wear than cars! [1] — The very same semis city dwellers and anybody who buys anything relies on.
Cars currently subsidize other, much more damaging vehicles' road damage, seeing as they're not paying 1,400x more in fuel tax.
Anyway, the problem isn't transportation, it is the absurd zoning laws throughout the U.S. that force people to rely on personal cars to go anywhere.
[1] https://www.lrrb.org/pdf/201432.pdf https://www.lrrb.org/pdf/201432.pdf
- AcerbicZero 8y agoAgreed. It's amazing how much damage medium single axled, and heavy multi-axled vehicles do to the roads, and while emissions from those vehicles are better than they once were, its still not great.
- wahern 8y agoYou can't ignore the reason the trucks exist in the first place. The trucks exist because towns and commercial spaces are spread out, and they're so spread out because of cars. It's sort of like saying that cars don't emit CO2, burning gasoline does. The gasoline is burnt to operate the cars. Trucks deliver products to our car-centric landscape. If everybody lived in cities we'd only need a fraction of the trucks.
- MagnumOpus 8y agoYou could however internalise the costs they cause by charging road taxes based on the amount of street damage a vehicle causes. This might actually create unexpected side effects, like semi trucks with 12 axles instead of 3 - but that would be a genuine contribution to lowering the costs of repairing roads!