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Cargo trucks already break this model because damage in roads increases with the cube of weight and diesel taxes are nowhere near a power of three larger than g
by dv_dt 2y ago
Cargo trucks already break this model because damage in roads increases with the cube of weight and diesel taxes are nowhere near a power of three larger than gas taxes
- mysterydip 2y agoNot disagreeing, but if diesel tax is per gallon and cargo trucks have a worse mpg (looks like 7.2 is considered the average?) then they are paying more per mile in tax, possibly 2-4x more than a car (15-30 mpg)
- dv_dt 2y agoSo a typical suv might be 5000lbs and a typical loaded semi tractor is 35000 lbs, 7x the weight. So 7^3 = 343. So they pay 2-4x more than an suv but cause 300x more damage. Thats a pay for use imbalance of around 100x
- WorldMaker 2y agoStates used to have per-axle weight taxes for trucks for this very reason. It was part of how this country paid for the interstates in the first place. You can still pass many of the old weight stations on the interstates. It's still a surprise more states aren't turning the lights back on them and/or building new ones. I feel like the same could be applied to EV registration taxes attempting to make up for gas taxes: I think they should be charged on a scale by per-axle vehicle weight. It might help incentivize smaller cars again.