Letter: The math behind road damage

I lease a plug-in electric car, so I was concerned about the proposal to tax me to offset my reduction in gas tax payments into the highway fund. I’ve been feeling smug about generating the electricity that powers my commute and only using gas when I travel longer distances. I can understand the SUV and pickup drivers feeling that I was getting something for nothing.

The reasoning put forth is that we need to shore up the highway fund to pay for infrastructure. Okay, fair is fair, so I did some digging about how much road damage my plug-in did in comparison to the SUVs. Turns out that according to the GAO and the Congressional Budget Office, there’s not all that much difference. So maybe the SUV folks have a point. I travel about 4,000 miles each year, compared to an average of 12,000; my contribution to wear and tear went down by a factor of three and their point was less compelling.

Doing this research led me to a greater understanding of wear and tear. Both reports showed that weight has a greater factor in the calculation than is obvious. They report that when you double the weight per axle, you increase the road damage by 16 times. It’s not something worth fighting over when we compare plug-ins and SUVs, but when you compare them with heavy trucks, the difference means real money. The math works out that an empty 18-wheeler causes 80,000 times more damage than my plug-in. When it’s fully loaded, it causes 208,000 time more damage. Both reports conclude that heavy trucks cause over 99 percent of the road and bridge damage, yet the trucking industry contributes only 35 percent of the road taxes. Looks like this proposed tax on efficient vehicles is barking up the wrong tree.

We all know that there is no free lunch; consumers will eventually pay the bill. But let’s send it to the rightful party. Let them figure out how to damage our infrastructure less, so they pay less taxes. Transferring it down only provides them with incentive to keep up the level of damage.

BILL WISHART

Concord

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