Traffic and speed limits
A lot of law enforcement effort goes into enforcing speed laws. There is a lot of infrastructure monitoring equipment in place which could readily be repurposed as follows: For example, let us assume by way of illustration that the current speed limit on a stretch of highway is 65 mph. The use of this highway at speeds under 65 mph would be free. From 65 to 70 mph, there would be a premium level use fee of one cent per mile. From 70 to 75 mph, the toll would be 10 cents per mile. From 75 to 85 mph, it would be twenty cents a mile. From 85 to 100 miles per hour, it would be fifty cents a mile, and above 100 mph it would be a dollar a mile. Collecting these tolls automatically, using the same technology as red light or speeding cameras, is feasible nowadays.
No fines nor drivers license points would ever be issued on the basis of speed (on limited access highways, at least) but tolls for premium level use of roadways would discourage excessive speed.
This seems to me to be advantageous as a highway safety measure, and also as a revenue source.
I invite comments from anyone who wishes to respond.
posted by Pagan Topologist | 6:35 AM
2 Comments:
It would have an effect on a good number of people, yes
...but there would always be a small percentage of really wealthy types with money to burn who would still "plow on through", figuring "Hey, I'm not really losing THAT much, now. I can afford to live a little."
I don't know how long ago you posted this Tal Hartsfeld, but I think such people would be sufficiently rare as to reduce the overall number of accidents. Admittedly, I have no evidence for this; so far as I know the experiment has never been done. The closest is probably the highways in Germany and Montana with no speed limits.
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