Oregon prepares nation's first per-mile road tax

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by merrylander

If you need studded tires to drive in the winter than you don't know how to drive and your driver's license should be marked Spring, Summer and Fall only.

Studded tires give you a little extra margin in icy conditions, a bit better than chains. In snow, studs are basically useless.

[Rajoo]

Originally Posted by merrylander

If you need studded tires to drive in the winter than you don't know how to drive and your driver's license should be marked Spring, Summer and Fall only.

Rob, what happens in Portland is that overnight condensation in the winter forms a very thin sheet of ice that is almost invisible. Even with all wheel drive, one can spin at start if you are not careful. But does every one need it? Probably not, but would still be considered a safety issue by a lot of people, especially during the morning commute.

[JJIII]

Originally Posted by BeamOn;266770[U

]Where did I suggest that? [/U]I was pointing out to the damage they cause to the road surfaces. Since it is a safety issue, I would leave it to the experts.

The only equitable answer I see is by both gasoline tax and mileage tax. If it's strictly gasoline tax, as people migrate to more fuel efficient vehicles or better yet the EV's, road maintenance revenue decreases which is precisely the difficulty OR is facing.

See bolded.

I never said you did suggest that. I merely suggested a possible way to help pay for the damage the studs cause.

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by Tom Joad

Raise the gas tax per gallon.

That will put more of the burden on the owners of these big gas guzzlers as it should be.

The gas tax in the US goes nowhere near funding all the infrastructure and negative impacts of driving. We need to be more like Europe in that regard.

Then people would get by with smaller vehicles and we could fund more mass transit.

In reality we should probably be paying what they are. About six bucks a gallon. Yeah, it would hurt, but we could phase it in gradually and get used to it. We'd be better off in the long run.

But for Christ sake why should someone driving a Prius pay the same amount of tax per mile driven as someone with a 4X4 Dodge Ram with a 5.7 Litre V-8 Hemi?

They can use the savings from less gas consumption to pay the tax?

Dave

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by donquixote99

What I hate about the per mile tax is the way the government will be tracking me around to know how many miles I drive.

That, and as an American, I find a driving tax too close to a breathing tax.

And it's regressive as hell....

We have a yearly safety inspection, here in Virginia. They could simply require the inspectors to report your mileage at the time of inspection...........

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by BeamOn

Rob, what happens in Portland is that overnight condensation in the winter forms a very thin sheet of ice that is almost invisible. Even with all wheel drive, one can spin at start if you are not careful. But does every one need it? Probably not, but would still be considered a safety issue by a lot of people, especially during the morning commute.

Rajoo I have driven icy roads with all-weather tires (Goodyear Aquatread) and had no problems. You learn to drive as if there was a raw egg between your foot and the gas pedal. Oh and another thing, it was an 81 Buick Century - disc front drum rear, so when you were stopped you kept high pressure on the brake pedal else the rear wheel would turn - and dig you a nice rut that would hold you back. NoVa in winter can suck.

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

We have a yearly safety inspection, here in Virginia. They could simply require the inspectors to report your mileage at the time of inspection...........

Exactly and here in MD I am exempt from yearly emissions inspection due to age and yearly mileage, but I do have to report my odometer reading.

[matteos]

New taxes are usually a bad thing.

[Rajoo]

Originally Posted by matteos

New taxes are usually a bad thing.

Of course, how could we ever consider that? Let the highways crumble and pin the blame on BHO.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by matteos

New taxes are usually a bad thing.

In that vein, simply raise the existing Federal excise tax on motor fuels.