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paulpauper

The libertarian in me is opposed to this on principle, yet these large vehicles impose a lot of externalities:

road wear and damage due to increased weight

accidents between pedestrians due to high hood height and less visibility, other motorists of smaller cars

congestion

less parking space

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The current CAFE calculations include the FOOTPRINT of the vehicle, giving bigger vehicles lower mpg rates to pass regulations. It makes a strong incentive to keep trucks big, as more efficient engines are hard to make.

Truly the calculation is quite odd, the formula includes the Natural Log to the power of the footprint of the vehicle.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-V/p...

> road wear and damage due to increased weight

Given gas taxes typically fund roads, it would be good to what the MPG vs. Weight ratios look like. Is my Honda Pilot 2x, 3x worse than my old Honda Civic given fuel economy?

While I deeply dislike these stupidly large trucks that are hardly ever used for carrying stuff or towing, the fact is that even the Hummer EV creates negligible road wear. It's all down to 18-wheelers.

But they do create problems for people on foot and on bikes.

My F150 takes up the same parking space as my Kia Rio...

Libertarians do not necessarily oppose usage-based fees to pay for externalities. In fact, many actively propose them as an alternative to regulatory mandates. I you oppose that "on principle" I suggest you reconsider whether that particular strain of libertarianism is really moral or viable in the real world.

I’d be inclined to be ok with this, if bicyclists didn’t ride like douchebags expecting cars to avoid them.

I had one last week zoom out of an alley just in front of me. Had my reflexes been slower he’d have been a flap jack

I don’t track the logic… shit bag cyclist (whom I would also hate) did something bad so “none deserve protection?”

Full Caveat: I’m a current mom-van driver and former 8-mile by bicycle commuter… so I’ve got experience and skin in both games here.

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