What is almost always ignored in these discussions is that road wear is not the only social negative caused by vehicles. The list is long, and noise and air pollution are pretty close to the top. I'm sure you can think of many more.
EVs have a positive impact on these factors. They benefit society more than ICEVs do. That's why it makes perfect sense for them to be exempted from some portion (if not all) of the taxes levied on vehicles that pollute and make noise. The US currently pays some of the world's lowest fuel taxes. Redefining the fuel tax as a "vehicle impact tax" would be the first step towards setting them at more realistic levels. It would also clarify why EV drivers should get a break on the tax (and I definitely think we should). However, given the current US political climate, in which many cities can't even levy enough taxes to pay their police and road crews, an increase in the fuel tax is probably a non-starter. About the only solution I can think of - and even this might not fly politically - is to charge a yearly license renewal fee based on the weight of the vehicle. (I think some states already do this. Others have license fees based on the value of the vehicle.) Ideallly this would include exemptions or credits for EVs. David Roden EVDL Administrator http://www.evdl.org/ _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
