I must also add, not every person in the United States is cut out for driving, I have a coworker whos daughter has totaled two cars in less than two years, she got luckly both times as they were single car wrecks and she was unhurt, but I can’t swim, I don’t like water so I stay out. Some people should never drive, if gas was more money that would limit who would chose to drive.
“if gas prices tripled and people went from f 150s to prius like cars, in effect they would be spending the same on gas.”
If gas prices tripled…I’d have to work my first two hours of landscaping, every day, for free. I probably couldn’t scrap metal for a profit. My life, in short, would stink.
Long run, I’d have to raise rates and hope the market would bear it.
no it would just limit it to wealthy people who are just as likely to be drunk and selfish as anyone else
most teens are bad drivers. they learn
if gas was more money that would limit who would chose to drive.
And that would be the lower income or low-middle income people. It would also be a difference between people eating 3 meals a day or 1.
I average 50 mpg, and $8/gal gas would still frost my shorts.
"America has cheap food, we waste it and eat too much of it.
America has cheap electricity, we waste it and do not conserve.
America has cheap fuel, we waste it and drive inefficient vehicles.
Let all 3 of those things go up and maybe people will start acting like they have sense."
I disagree. People would not change for the most part. They people driving the F350s would complain about the high price of gas and go about their business. Yes, there is a segment of the population that would conserve fuel: the same ones that do it today.
Rick, we’ve done this dance before. It would be devastating to the nation’s economy and commuters everywhere who must drive to work would suffer greatly… if they still had jobs at all. Prices for everything transported by car or truck… and that"s EVERTHING, would jump dramatically, killing people’s ability to even buy groceries.
It’s a horrible idea based on an extremely naïve view of the world.
Once or twice a year you start the same thread with the same nutty idea, how wonderful the world would be if only gasoline were $10/gal. Enough already.
Oh, and please learn to drive with the flow of traffic. It’s much safer, although I admit you may not get the delight of controlling the other drivers behind you. I’m sure you’ll miss that sense of power.
Now you`re just being silly suggesting that everyone should own a prius or some similar car.
Some occupations require the use of a pick-up truck, SUV or some other large vehicle.
Here`s an equally absurd and silly idea, lets outlaw motor vehicles in all towns and cities with a population of 2,000 people or more, make everyone walk or use public transportation.The only people who would be speeding then are people who can run fast.Then we could raise the price of a pair of shoes to $5,000 to encourage people not to speed by running,because running will wear their shoes out faster and they will have to pay $5,000 for new shoes.
I think there is something to be said for high fuel prices slowing people down, but to invite high gas prices is to invite another recession, which would hurt those who can least afford to pay more for fuel and can’t afford to move closer to where they work and shop.
Once or twice a year you start the same thread with the same nutty idea, how wonderful the world would be if only gasoline were $10/gal. Enough already.
TSM, I agree with many things you say, and many things I do not, If my idea is nutty, then Europe is filled with nuts.
Please show me the thread… And you respond every time, so that tells me its still worth debating. This thread is in response to current events, there is another thread here about possible skyrocketing fuel prices, and I say, let it roll, lets see what happens. I want 10 dollar a gallon gas, bring it on.
Oh, and please learn to drive with the flow of traffic. It's much safer, although I admit you may not get the delight of controlling the other drivers behind you. I'm sure you'll miss that sense of power.
So I should go 15 or 20 over in a 30k lbs truck on a curvy 2 lane road? I hope you don’t drive a commercial motor vehicle.
It would be safer if everyone went the speed limit, that is supposed to be the flow of traffic.
We have been thru this before, if everyone is doing 10 15 over the limit that makes it ok, so in your mind if many people are breaking a certain law, you should have the right to? How do I know what laws to follow and which to ignore? Im confused?
@tardis
Some occupations require the use of a pick-up truck, SUV or some other large vehicle.
True, But go to the mall, do you really need a f350 to go clothes shopping? I would venture to say most people could get by with a smaller vehicle, back in the 1960s people did without huge suvs, we all made it just fine.
I agree that we need higher fuel taxes, but drastic changes are nothing but trouble. Slow, steady annual increases, maybe every two years, will add back what we lost in fuel tax revenue over the last 17 years; the federal tax was last increased in 1997. Add to that the US fleet mileage (all of us) has been increasing and we don’t buy as much gas as we used to on average. There are more drivers than in 1997 and that increases revenues, but highway damage also increases through increased use. I don’t advocate paying for a myriad of programs with they money, but it would replace the losses from inflation and increased mileage for highway funding.
@jtsanders
I agree that we need higher fuel taxes, but drastic changes are nothing but trouble. Slow, steady annual increases, maybe every two years, will add back what we lost in fuel tax revenue over the last 17 years; the federal tax was last increased in 1997. Add to that the US fleet mileage (all of us) has been increasing and we don't buy as much gas as we used to on average. There are more drivers than in 1997 and that increases revenues, but highway damage also increases through increased use. I don't advocate paying for a myriad of programs with they money, but it would replace the losses from inflation and increased mileage for highway funding.
Well said JT.
@WheresRick, according to several theories about the stages of moral development, including Jean Piaget’s theory, the highest stage of moral development is characterized by one deciding for himself which rules should be followed and which ones should not be followed. Seeing rules as absolute, and following them because you perceive them as being absolute is a behavior usually attributed to children between the ages of 5 and 10 years.
http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=37690&cn=1272
We have been thru this before, if everyone is doing 10 15 over the limit that makes it ok
If EVERYONE went the speed limit…then it would be safer…But they don’t…at least not in New England…not even close. I can only control how I drive. I can only control the safety of me and my family. I have ZERO control over how others drive.
So how do I get the other 40k commuters to drive the speed limit to? When they do…then I’ll drive the speed limit. Until then…I’ll drive SAFE. I guess that’s not a priority for you.
MB lives pretty close to me…so I’m sure he sees the same driving conditions that I do…especially when driving in Massachusetts.
@Whitey
Seeing rules as absolute, and following them because you perceive them as being absolute is a behavior usually attributed to children between the ages of 5 and 10 years.
BWAHAWhawhaha… My wife has said I act like a 5 year old sometimes… Teheheeeeee.
You just made my day Whitey.
What rules do I follow and which ones do I not?
The Indiana State Fair prohibits carrying a firearm, I want to carry a firearm but do not because its a rule. If I carried a concealed firearm, no one would know, it wouldn’t bother anyone, so should I ignore that rule? You can rationalize breaking many rules, if I have a romp in the hay with a lady other than my wife, whats it hurting? If we both are having fun then its ok right?
@MikeInNH, when I lived in South Florida, I used the same excuse. It seemed like everyone else was driving like idiots, so I said to myself, “at least if I drive faster, I’ll get in and out of traffic faster.” However, that’s a lame excuse, because I’m a leader, not a follower. I’m not some mindless fish swimming in a school of a thousand; I’m an individual with autonomous control of my vehicle. If I decide to drive 80 MPH, I own that decision. I’m not going to passive-aggressively put the blame on other drivers.
If EVERYONE went the speed limit..then it would be safer...But they don't...at least not in New England...not even close. I can only control how I drive. I can only control the safety of me and my family. I have ZERO control over how others drive.
Yes, this I agree with. This tells me that we need better enforcement, if you get a ticket for going 20 over, your done for a year. Thats the way it is in a commercial motor vehicle. Lets get tough on speeders.
You have ZERO control how others drive, but you have 100% percent control of how you drive, two wrongs don’t make a right.
Actually, @WheresRick, when I first learned of that theory, I didn’t agree with it either, but I have a better understanding of it now, and I can explain the morality of following that rule and not carrying a firearm at the state fair. However, in the interest of not going too far off topic, I’m not going to do that in this discussion.