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63 comments on Building Momentum for Gas Taxes

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DuncanK on October 24, 2005 - 6:24pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Yes, but quite often there is a solution which is regulated by the government, but also allows individuals to have more control.

Take your intersection example.  The perfect low-tech solution to it would have been a roundabout.  The roundabout right-of-way rules allow traffic to flow without the need for electricity to power the traffic lights.  And you don't need to wait for the green light when there is no other traffic on the roundabout.  But I guess roundabouts are not that popular in America.

You see the roundabout is an example of where a regulated solution does not hinder the users too much but still places a rigid structure that must be adhered to.

We need more 'roundabout' solutions to the coming energy crunch.  Regulated solutions that allow individuals/organisations to innovate to reduce any hindrances.  The best regulations should help to guide us, not force us, down a certain path.

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Donal on October 24, 2005 - 9:15pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
We have a few roundabouts, or circles, lots in DC.  I was sideswiped a few months ago in the one in Towson.  Guy kept driving, and I had to catch him at the next traffic light.

To your point, I like some of the regulation proposed in this thread, much of which is much more rewarding to the thrifty than a gas tax.  If the government simply stopped underwriting inefficient vehicles, that might induce thriftiness as much as any tax.

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Leanan on October 25, 2005 - 3:31pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Roundabouts are more and more popular here.  Personally, I hate them.  People don't know how to use them.  I've actually seen trucks going the wrong way on 'em.  o_O
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Donal on October 25, 2005 - 5:37pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Actually, the circles around here all have traffic lights anyway.  Some of the ones I've seen in New England do without, but the big one in Keene NH has lights.
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Stoneleigh on October 26, 2005 - 10:05am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Roundabouts aren't rocket science. A little driving re-education might be required, but the pay-off in terms of reduced driver frustration in the long run would be well worth it. Traffic in the UK would grind to a halt without roundabouts. The only one I ever came across that confused anyone was the so-called Magic Roundabout at Hemel Hempstead where there is a large central roundabout surrounded by six mini-roundabouts. That wasn't a nice feature to find on one's driving test.
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Donal on October 26, 2005 - 11:03am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
When I was in college, they showed us a plan for a community in which every intersection was three way instead of four way.  They expected it could all be regulated with yield signs instead of stop signs.  I've never seen it implemented, though.
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63 comments on Building Momentum for Gas Taxes

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