Articles by Clark Williams-Derry

Tierney calls for a gas tax — for something other than transportation

I'm a bit late on this one -- but, wouldn't you know it, as soon as The New York Times puts its editorials behind a subscription-only wall, they publish something worth reading: semi-libertarian John Tierney waxing rhapsodic about gas taxes (sorry, the link is subscription only).

To summarize, Tierney argues for a 50 cent per gallon gas tax, with all receipts used to fund private Social Security accounts. This, he says, would reduce gas consumption, pollution, congestion, and all the other costs that drivers impose on the rest of society, while enhancing retirement revenue. And if gas-tax revenues are split evenly among all citizens, the poor (who drive little) will get far more out of the deal than they put in.

I'll ignore his Social Security proposal -- which isn't a real proposal, just a sketch of an idea -- except to say that I'm skeptical, but (hopefully) open-minded. But what's important to note here is this: Tierney is calling for gas taxes to be used for something other than transportation. And that seems like a really big deal to me.

Really, they do

A sensationalist headline, perhaps, but it's apparently true: An article in the most recent British Medical Journal reports that SUVs pose a special risk to pedestrians, particularly over the age of 60.

A few relevant facts:

• Pedestrians over 60 are more than four times more likely to die if injured by a car than younger people.
• For any given collision speed, getting hit by an SUV or light truck is nearly twice as fatal (pdf link) as getting hit by a passenger car.
• Studies consistently show higher rates of severe injury or death when pedestrians are struck by SUVs.

Apparently, SUVs are so dangerous to pedestrians not because they're heavy, but because they're tall -- leading to more injuries of the head and abdomen, rather than the legs.

The report's authors recommend labelling SUVs with warning notices that they're hazardous to pedestrians. I doubt that that would do much good -- it seems to me that many people buy SUVs precisely because they're a menace to others on the road. (It feels safer that way, you know.) More effective -- though less politically viable, perhaps -- would be changes to liability laws, possibly coupled with up-front charges to SUV buyers, that make SUV owners and manufacturers pay for the safety risks they're imposing on everyone else.

(Hat tip to Eric Sorensen for the heads up.)

The U.K. is trying a huge toll-road pilot project

Here's something definitely worth watching: The UK is considering a massive pilot project to make drivers pay to use the roads. And not just on a few select roads -- the system would effectively turn every street and highway in Great Britain into a toll road. (Here's a link -- but the article is subscription only. Sorry.)

Tolls would vary based on the kind of road, the number of miles driven, and the time of day; it would cost more to use the most congested roads during rush hour, say, than an uncongested road in the middle of the night. This sort of system -- sometimes called "value pricing" -- is a much better bargain than it seems at first blush. It simultaneously cuts congestion, saves fuel, reduces accident risks, and, perhaps most importantly, relieves some of the pressure to build new roads -- an expense that only seems to grow more costly with time.

As a side benefit, this sort of system would make it far easier for insurance companies to offer Pay As You Drive car insurance. That's a big benefit to people who don't drive much -- since they drive less, they'll pay less, and will stop subsidizing people who rack up both big mileage and big accident risks.

The basic technology underpinning value pricing isn't far-fetched at all -- in fact, mobile Global Positioning Systems are already available as an option for new cars, as well as in some rentals, and their cost will only go down over time. The Puget Sound Regional Council has experimented for years with a small-scale value pricing scheme. That said, there are still all sorts of potential technical kinks to be worked out before the system can be adopted more widely -- which makes a big UK pilot project all the more valuable.

Smells like pimply teen spirit

I thought this Hummer-branded laptop was absurd. But apparently that was just the tip of the iceberg.

See, e.g., Hummer Stuff: the complete catalog for the Hummer lifestyle, and unambigous proof of the impending end-of-days. If you want, you can even smell like a Hummer. I hear it's like catnip for the ladies. Gotta get me some before that seventh seal opens...