Imho….dumbest idea I ever heard…..And no, all the european automakers and sports car enthusiasts would be fighting that nail and tooth…
On the other hand, I think nevada’s got the right idea.
In controlled areas, allowing people to pay for the privilege of driving fast (with a special driver’s license that subject people to the stringent tests like they do in Europre…Class CC or X type driver’s license, requiring hours of behind the wheel training)..
.All the other folks that insist on driving like pansies can still do so in the free slow lanes or pay a hefty fine for getting into a fast lane where they don’t belong. Separates the two classes of drivers. Got kids in a SUV/minivan, fine. Go in the free slow lanes. By yourself in a sports car, pay the $25 or so and go in the fast lane. It’s that simple.
(Pre)Pay-To-Speed: Nevada Candidate’s Proposal To Fill State Coffers
By Paul Niedermeyer on September 5, 2010
Would you pre-pay $25 in order to drive at ninety for twenty-four hours on Nevada’s highway’s? Nonpartisan Nevada gubernatorial candidate Eugene “Gino” DiSimone thinks so. According to his projections, his so called “free (fee?) limit plan” would generate $1.3 billion per year, helping solve Nevada’s budget crisis. The math seems a little sketchy, but here it is:
The cornerstone of his Nevada Three Step Recovery Plan (#2 is to deport all illegal aliens) is to get enrolled in the program, have a vehicle safety check, purchase a transponder, and pay for the privilege of speeding via your cell phone. And just how did Gino cpme up with that number? (from his website):
IT IS JUST THAT SIMPLE…The FREE LIMIT PLAN… Now for the math….
By questioning numerous NV Highway Patrol Officers, I asked this question:
Question:
If there was a law that allowed people to purchase the privilege to drive fast, say up to 90 mph for $25 a day, on any given day, what percentage of drivers would do it?
Answer:
About 30 – 40%
That is about 3 or 4 out of 10 drivers! WOW! However, let us be much more conservative and lower the estimate to 10% of the drivers. (Conversely that says 90% will not be interested.) Based on my lower estimate (1 out of 10), here is the math:
10% of 1.7 Million drivers = 170,000 drivers
On any given day, at 25$ this comes to: $25 times 170,000 = $4.25 Million per day
Assume only 6 days per week we get: $25.5 Million per week
Each year this comes to: $1.3 Billion per year!!!
Call me a skeptic, but I wonder…Nevada’s current limit is 75. If Nevada enforcement is like in the rest of the West, ten miles over the limit is the grace window, or 85. That’s five miles under ninety. Will there be a grace for that too? And how many cops are there on the mostly remote stretches of Nevada’s highways?
According to a Fox News story: “The Nevada Highway Patrol isn’t keen on the idea, saying it would lead to increased injuries and traffic deaths.”
Anyway, how about a graduated plan? $50 for one hundred mph? $75 for one-ten? How about a fee to just turn the clock back to 1973, when Nevada didn’t have a posted speed limit. How much would you pay for that?
Makes something like the Ariel Atom V8 even more of an interesting option 🙂
