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Unfortunately most EVs are way heavier and cause more wear on roads, so we'd be paying an even higher green tax to reduce emissions and fossil fuel usage.
by hkarthik 3y ago
Unfortunately most EVs are way heavier and cause more wear on roads, so we'd be paying an even higher green tax to reduce emissions and fossil fuel usage.
- barbazoo 3y agoCompared to other cars, sure but still negligible compared to semis and other _heavy_ machinery
- ericd 3y agoYeah, it’s basically not a real concern compared to semis.
- jackson1442 3y agoI think the optics are bad but the logic is sound. EVs don’t pay gas tax like ICE vehicles do, so it should even out in the end.
- dubcanada 3y agoI have to agree with OP, taxes should be based on weight. If you EV causes 10x the wear that a ICE car then you pay 10x the taxes. If the goal is fossil fuel usage, we cannot ignore the fact that pouring tar and repairing roads is not horrible as well. If the goal is to encourage usage, then just subsidize it, but eventually it all comes down to wear and taxes, you cannot ignore a car that weights 10x as much as a normal car. There are ways to make the road stronger if the government really cares about such things. But they don't it ends up being yearly cost = total upfront cost / average life span which in there mind is cheaper than a bigger upfront cost that lasts longer.
- __s 3y agoNote that suggesting it's 10x the wear is greatly exaggerating Weight increase is ~30% https://www.politifact.com/article/2023/jun/21/carry-that-weight-electric-vehicles-outweigh-gas-c/ https://www.politifact.com/article/2023/jun/21/carry-that-we...
- dubcanada 3y agoYa I didn't have the figure off the top of my head, it does appear to only be 1.3x to 3x which is really not much more.
- LegitShady 3y agoRoad Wear is related to weight by the 4th power...a 30% increase in axle weight is like 2.85x the damage to the road.
- Zigurd 3y agoHeavy EVs cause more tire wear. I've seen articles claiming that particulate pollution from tires on EVs is a problem. I can think of a few other reasons to want lighter EVs. But you need a really heavy vehicle to be the dominant cause of roads wearing out.
- newsclues 3y agoGreat, EV taxes can pay for EV infrastructure and contribute towards road maintenance! Nothing unfortunate about it at all. Why shouldn't an EV Hummer or Ford Lightning pay up for the weight on the road?
- Zigurd 3y agoMaybe they should pay more but not because they cause more road wear. They don't.
- dahfizz 3y agoEVs are not "way heavier". They are a couple hundred pounds heavier than comparable ice cars on average. And all that extra weight is in the battery. Over time, batteries will shrink to the point where EVs are lighter on average.
- Detrytus 3y agoThat's wishful thinking: battery technology required to reduce weight of EV enough is not in sight yet. It might even be physically impossible.
- KeplerBoy 3y agoEVs are not the solution to our transportation problems.