Gas Tax

[caesar]

Why should they escape paying PST: there are more important things that could be exempt; shoes for walking or bicycles or even motorcycles. These small economy cars may pollute less per mile but are usually driven more. Until these cars are built to stand up to small crashes; they are costing us more in paying for injuries.

[Cartman]

Until these cars are built to stand up to small crashes; they are costing us more in paying for injuries.

http://www.mercedes-benz.ca/mbccustom/smar...afety/event.cfm

Agreed Caesar. I am putting a lot of faith in Mercedes when they claim that their little Smart car is just as safe as others. In fact, they crash test this golf cart with their larger models and claim it performs just as well as the larger models. I am seriously considering one even though my wife keeps laughing at me. She can keep laughing though, her Grand Prix has had about $10,000 worth of warranty work done and it is only six years old.

http://www.mercedes-benz.ca/mbccustom/smar...afety/index.cfm

[Black Dog]

Until these cars are built to stand up to small crashes; they are costing us more in paying for injuries

Small cars are safer than your SUV.

By far the largest number of motor vehicle deaths are occupants of passenger vehicles including cars, the popular passenger vans often referred to as minivans, pickups, SUVs, and cargo/large passenger vans. The likelihood of crash death varies markedly among these vehicle types according to size. Small/light vehicles have less structure and size to absorb crash energy, so more injurious forces can reach their occupants in crashes. People in lighter vehicles are at a disadvantage in collisions with heavier vehicles. Pickups and SUVs are proportionally more likely than cars to be in fatal single-vehicle crashes, especially rollovers. However, pickups and SUVs generally are heavier than cars, so occupant deaths are less likely to occur in multiple-vehicle crashes.

Highway Safety Stats

Furthermore, the illussion of safety created by these vehicles causes drivers to take more risks (risk homeostasis).

Not only that, by driving an SUV, you're making the road more dangerous for other drivers.

Read this, or pick up "High and Mighty" by Keith Bradsher.

SUV's and pickups are no safer than smaller vehicles (both for drivers and other motorists), they're more expensive to operate, and have a greater environmental impact through pollution and wear and tear on infrastructure. Their primary purpose is to serve as a status symbol. Is it worth it? My advice to recalcitrant SUV drivers is to just get Viagara and leav ethe rest of us alone.

A gas tax is a good idea. So is a luxury tax on large vehicles not used for commercial purposes. So are tax breaks for small, environmentally sound vehicles.

The lib's solution to every problem is to tax and punish the wealthy for working hard, and appease the complainers by throwing money at them. The right would rather provide a positive incentive for people to change.

How are "wealthy" and "hard work" connected? Besides, in the U.S. at least, people who buy large gas guzzlers get big cash rebates from the government.

SUVs courtesy Uncle Sam

Thanks to tax legislation enacted over the last couple of years, buyers of business autos now can deduct up to $100,000 of the purchase price of eligible vehicles. If you shop carefully and are willing to haggle, you might be to write off the full price a nicely-equipped SUV. 

This from a G.O.P government. So much for your right-wing boilerplate.

[Big Blue Machine]

Didn't Mr. Harper say he would drop the gas tax if he was elected?

[playfullfellow]

It boils down to that a lot of people drive like morons, whether they drive a small car, SUV or truck. I have to drive around 30 k's to work every day and the speed limit is 100 most of the way. The range of speed you see every morning is between 90 and 140. It is the same all around town. People think the speed limit signs are to be ignored and every vehicle is an indy car. It doesn't seem to matter to much whether someone is driving a small car or larger truck, they speed. We all know that most vehicles have optimal gas milage up to around 100. I know people who drive identical vehicles to mine and they get around 50-100 less k's to a tankful than I do because they drive like a bat outta hell.

I wouldn't mind paying a higher gas tax if the money went back into roads like it is supposed to but we all know that the money would go to a pay raise or larger pensions for these smart politicians we have. Let's hit the people who drive like morons a little harder because we all know they waste more gas than the peope who follow the posted limits.

[Big Blue Machine]

SUVs aren't evil, the way that people use them IS evil. People should drive a small care (if they have one) for getting into town.

[Big Blue Machine]

Some people say we should lower the speed limit. A typical Homer Simpson reponse to that would be: "Sure, a few lives will be saved but millions will be late".

[playfullfellow]

Some people say we should lower the speed limit. A typical Homer Simpson reponse to that would be: "Sure, a few lives will be saved but millions will be late".

Then people can leave the house a few minutes earlier. I hate being late but I won't risk others or myself by driving like a moron to get there on time. I think the speed limits are more or less fine, at least around here. If you were truly serious about obtaining optimal gas milage, then you would see all vehicles governed out at around the maximum speed limit anywhere in Canada. But can you imagine the fury this would cause? Even most European countries wouldn't touch that one with a 10 foot pole.

[August1991]

Reading through this thread, I was struck by some of the uninformed comments made.

SUVs exist as a response to government regulations on fuel economy. SUVs are treated as light trucks (not personal cars) and so car manufacturers have been happy to produce and sell them. See this. (I believe hummers are completely exempt from gas regulation.)

The lesson here is that government regulation often leads to the opposite of what is intended. Individuals invariably find ways around bad laws.

Some people prefer small cars, some prefer large. Let individuals choose. I see no reason for the government to bias this choice. For the same reason, removing the PST or GST on some vehicles (hybrids etc) is not wise. Let people decide.

To the extent gasoline causes carbon dioxide emissions, then a so-called carbon tax makes sense. One could impose other 'fuel' taxes for nitrous oxide emissions and so on.

But the biggest cost by far to society of auto usage is congestion. Driving a car in morning/afternoon traffic takes up a big chunk of prime real estate (albeit a moving chunk) but drivers get this space rent free.

I was extremely impressed with the 407 in Toronto. This practice should be applied to all major thoroughfares in all cities.

We pay for using cinema seats with different prices depending on time of use. We should do the same for the roads we travel on. Municipalities could impose this cost and collect the revenues. (London England has started doing this.)

[Big Blue Machine]

Interesting. Who needs those hummers?