Gas Taxes Should Go Up To Boost Green-Car Sales

[Road Guy]

What we need to do is abolish FHWA and the current practices for managing the gas taxes and then there will be plenty of money to maintain and build roads / bridges..

Let AASHTO make uniform policies for design standards and keep them out of the money stream.

Also they should do away with LCI's, and anything else that takes gas tax revenue and doesnt build or maintain a road (including sidewalks)

 

[Capt Worley PE]

What we need to do is abolish FHWA and the current practices for managing the gas taxes and then there will be plenty of money to maintain and build roads / bridges..
Let AASHTO make uniform policies for design standards and keep them out of the money stream.

Also they should do away with LCI's, and anything else that takes gas tax revenue and doesnt build or maintain a road (including sidewalks)

How about this for a radical idea:

Limit the interstates to semi traffic only, cars can only use state and local roads. All diesel fuel tax goes to the feds who are now responsible solely for interstate maintenance and construction. gas tax goes to the locals, who maintain and build those roads.

So, goods move quickly and effectively, cars and trucks are mostly segrgated, small towns along the local roads get their economies boosted back up to where they were before the interstates bypassed them.

I know there are flaws, but I don't think it is an entirely bad idea.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

Nice to see the tinfoil hat folks make an appearance.

What is tinfoil-hatish about that? Obamacare explicitly states that we are required to buy health insurance. And it dictates what must be provided.

 

[Supe]

What we need to do is abolish FHWA and the current practices for managing the gas taxes and then there will be plenty of money to maintain and build roads / bridges..
Let AASHTO make uniform policies for design standards and keep them out of the money stream.

Also they should do away with LCI's, and anything else that takes gas tax revenue and doesnt build or maintain a road (including sidewalks)

How about this for a radical idea:

Limit the interstates to semi traffic only, cars can only use state and local roads. All diesel fuel tax goes to the feds who are now responsible solely for interstate maintenance and construction. gas tax goes to the locals, who maintain and build those roads.

So, goods move quickly and effectively, cars and trucks are mostly segrgated, small towns along the local roads get their economies boosted back up to where they were before the interstates bypassed them.

I know there are flaws, but I don't think it is an entirely bad idea.

Not feasible for traffic congestion alone. The loss of resultant jobs would be tremendous in scope for commuters.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

Nice to see the tinfoil hat folks make an appearance.

What is tinfoil-hatish about that? Obamacare explicitly states that we are required to buy health insurance. And it dictates what must be provided.

Apparently, appeals court judges agree with me.

And in an ominous sign for the administration, the judges opened the arguments by saying they knew of no case in American history where the courts had upheld the government's power to force someone to buy a product.

 

[Slugger926]

some people need large cars to hold their big family. A sedan doesn't work for everyone.

Our car seat regulations force families to get large cars. In Vietnam, a whole family could ride on one scooter along with luggage. Here the parents would go to prison while the kids would be sent off to a foster home if a family tried to go anywhere on one scooter.

 

[Slugger926]

hybrids may increase gas milage, but then you have to handle the batteries as hazardous waste when they need replacing....i think 7-10 yrs was the last I heard on the time. Yeah they can recycles some of it but there is still the end game waste to now deal with.

Yes... As learned in Sustainable Enterprises, 95% of Green anything is hype. There are very few Cradle to Cradle products out there.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

What we need to do is abolish FHWA and the current practices for managing the gas taxes and then there will be plenty of money to maintain and build roads / bridges..
Let AASHTO make uniform policies for design standards and keep them out of the money stream.

Also they should do away with LCI's, and anything else that takes gas tax revenue and doesnt build or maintain a road (including sidewalks)

How about this for a radical idea:

Limit the interstates to semi traffic only, cars can only use state and local roads. All diesel fuel tax goes to the feds who are now responsible solely for interstate maintenance and construction. gas tax goes to the locals, who maintain and build those roads.

So, goods move quickly and effectively, cars and trucks are mostly segrgated, small towns along the local roads get their economies boosted back up to where they were before the interstates bypassed them.

I know there are flaws, but I don't think it is an entirely bad idea.

Not feasible for traffic congestion alone. The loss of resultant jobs would be tremendous in scope for commuters.

I'm not sure I agree about the congestion. It worked pretty well at one time. I'd like to hear the road guys opinions, though.

 

[Master slacker]

In my neck of the woods, the non-interstate traffic is already a nightmare. That is due, in part, to poor road planning, less than adequate funding, red tape, urban flight, and everyone living away from where they work. There is no chance in the world that plan would work here. No chance.

 

[Supe]

Even on a local level here in Charlotte, which I consider to be a very light traffic city and surrounding area compared to the bigger ones I've lived in/around - a 15 mile commute via non-interstates takes 45+ minutes in the evening. The interstate is even worse, 1:20+ for the same drive. Take ALL those drivers and put them on the side streets. Then what? You'd have a complete standstill as merging lanes halt all movement, traffic flow stops as intersections are blocked at lights, etc (which already happens with the interstate still being the primary path followed for most commuters locally). The configuration of the area as it is wouldn't even permit adding additional lanes of traffic. At the same time, you'd have an interstate that's barely speckled with commercial vehicles.

 

[Ble_PE]

^That's the problem that I see with that plan. The side streets and even the main, non-interstate, thoroughfares in most cities are not designed to handle the traffic they would see if the interstates were shut down. These roads quit being upgraded for increased traffic when the interstates were built, so it would take years to be able to catch up with the demand they would see.

 

[Bean PE]

That the national gas tax hasn't gone up in decades while fuel efficiency and inflation have cheapened the gas tax per mile driven is ridiculous. More inane is that people start screaming bloody murder about socialism if it's even suggested.