Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Car taxes should be raised...

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 8
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 3 4 5 8 template Next
  • #1

    Car taxes should be raised...

    40,000 Americans die and 3 million Americans are injured each year in car crashes. Over the last couple of months, it has occured to me that there is no good reason for this happening. Cars should be taxed in proportion to the death and injury that their use causes to their passengers and others on the road.

    Earlier this month, the DARPA Grand Challenge showed that we have technology available now that -- with a lot of integration and development -- makes the prospect of cars driving themselves very believable and short term. It would please me if the taxes were raised and spent in such a way as to encourage development of such cars. If an American's life is worth $200,000, then it would be worth it to spend $8 billion a year in eliminating these deaths and billions more for the injuries.

    Discuss.
    I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Earlier this month, the DARPA Grand Challenge showed that we have technology available now that -- with a lot of integration and development -- makes the prospect of cars driving themselves very believable and short term.


    No it doesn't. Those cars are dealing with a static landscape, not hundreds of other fast-moving objects in close proximity. The success rate of those cars is not particularly inspiring, either.

    Comment

    • #3
      I was inspired. Those vehicles drove themselves over a complex course for over 100 miles, with investments only in the low single digit millions of dollars.
      I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

      Comment

      • #4
        Look at DanSs "let the good times roll" threads to see how easily he's inspired
        meet the new boss, same as the old boss

        Comment

        • #5
          I'll admit that I do have an ulterior motive. I want to be able to go to a party and have a half dozen drinks, never worrying about how I'm going to drive myself home.

          My great grandfather never had a problem getting home after a night's partying, what with his horse knowing the way.
          I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

          Comment

          • #6
            I say we institute a car carbon tax. Simple, the government sets a emmissions standard for passanger vehicles, and another one for working vehicles of different types, of course.

            Anyone who owned a vehicle under the standard would have to pay extra taxes based on how far bellow the standard they were. Anyone at the standard would pay nothing, and people above the standard would get tax rebates. This is a yearly tax issue, not just at the moment of sale.

            That way, if people want the privilage of driving a huge, gas guzzling thing, they can damn well pay extra for the extra pollution they cause.
            If you don't like reality, change it! me
            "Oh no! I am bested!" Drake
            "it is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong" Voltaire
            "Patriotism is a pernecious, psychopathic form of idiocy" George Bernard Shaw

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Car taxes should be raised...

              Originally posted by DanS
              40,000 Americans die and 3 million Americans are injured each year in car crashes. Over the last couple of months, it has occured to me that there is no good reason for this happening. Cars should be taxed in proportion to the death and injury that their use causes to their passengers and others on the road.
              Welcoming the nanny-state?

              The DanS project must be making progress.
              (\__/)
              (='.'=)
              (")_(") This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your signature to help him gain world domination.

              Comment

              • #8
                GePap: I would not support such a thing, in large part because it's impossible to quantify the costs that society is bearing due to carbon emissions with any useful degree of precision.

                But we know precisely how many people are killed on our roadways each year. Even the back of my envelope suffices.
                I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

                Comment

                • #9
                  Originally posted by DanS
                  I was inspired. Those vehicles drove themselves over a complex course for over 100 miles, with investments only in the low single digit millions of dollars.
                  A course that has nothing to do with commuter driving conditions and everything to do with off-road military supply lines.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    "[N]othing to do with commuter driving conditions"? I think you're vastly overreaching.
                    I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Originally posted by DanS
                      GePap: I would not support such a thing, in large part because it's impossible to quantify the costs that society is bearing due to carbon emissions with any useful degree of certainty.

                      But we know pretty precisely how many people are killed on our roadways each year. Even the back of my envelope suffices.
                      The point isn't to make sure dollar for dollar the cost to society is made up-that is silly. The point is to shift behavior with a simple economic incentive- you want to drive a dirty car, well, society will let you, as long as you are willing to pay extra. That simple.

                      As for people dying, that is what is impossible to quantify-while insurance companies have already put a dollar value on individuals, that is the real travesty.
                      If you don't like reality, change it! me
                      "Oh no! I am bested!" Drake
                      "it is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong" Voltaire
                      "Patriotism is a pernecious, psychopathic form of idiocy" George Bernard Shaw

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        what is this like minority report where the cars drove themselves?
                        To us, it is the BEAST.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          No I'm not. The real problem here is computer vision, and in this they deal only with stationary obstacles - and that itself is a huge, huge problem. None of these had to pay attention to dozens of fast-moving objects that change speed and direction.

                          xpost*2

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            The point isn't to make sure dollar for dollar the cost to society is made up-that is silly. The point is to shift behavior with a simple economic incentive- you want to drive a dirty car, well, society will let you, as long as you are willing to pay extra. That simple.
                            Without knowing the cost, we don't know whether the economic incentive is worth it or not.
                            I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              GePap's idea makes more sense.

                              If you drive, you assume risks. You get popped, it's on you.

                              You drive a gas guzzler with a huge exhaust, you are inflicting your choices on everyone else.
                              (\__/)
                              (='.'=)
                              (")_(") This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your signature to help him gain world domination.

                              Comment

                              Previous 1 2 3 4 5 8 template Next
                              Working...
                              X