[symple_spacing size=”80″]I am going to talk about the Gas Tax again as the hearing(s) are actively in progress. Once again I must categorically state that the Highway Trust Fund, the fund where the Gas Tax money goes, must be a truly dedicated fund! If they do nothing else they must do this or the money will go into the General Fund and can be siphoned off for other purposes.
The idea of raising the Gas Tax a penny or two might have some merit, but I think that there are better ways than a higher tax. There are a number of problems that are not being addressed on our roadways. One of the worst is how truck drivers drive their rigs; they speed, run red lights and are constantly in the left (passing) lane. They clog up our highways with their poor and illegal driving. Please note that it might not be the majority of the drivers doing this, but there are enough to cause problems on the roadways.
Speeding is a serious problem that can and does cause accidents that can tie up our roadways for many hours. There must be a different st of penalties for truck drivers and they must be more punitive than ones for ordinary drivers. After all they are driving vehicles that can destroy an automobile quite easily. This must be addressed in new legislation with an eye to making the truck drivers think twice about speeding!
Next is the problem of trucks constantly running red lights or going through a yellow light at the last second. This one is somewhat a combination of the driver not paying attention and speeding. This one is very hard to address as the only thing that might help is the dreaded Red Light Camera and I for one would like to see them disappear forever. Not sure of any real workable suggestion(s) for this problem. The penalty would have to be high enough monetarily to prevent the running of lights.
The last one is keeping trucks out of the left lane and it is fairly easy to write legislation that would address this problem. How about something like the following:
All trucks must stay in the far right lane(s), if it is a four lane or more highway they must only use the two far right lanes, except when passing and then they must get back in the far right lane as soon as possible without exception. Driving in the far left (passing) lane would be strictly prohibited and would carry a hefty penalty.
By having high priced ticket penalties there might be enough money to prevent or lessen the raising of the Gas Tax. But, then again some people might object because the trucking companies would most likely pass on the ticket costs to the public by raising their shipping costs.
There are of course other taxes that could be imposed, such as paying so much per mile of vehicle travel to the government. Another way is to place a new tax on tires, etc. You get the idea there are many ways to tax you for the Transportation Trust Fund.
I really think that raising the Gas Tax should only be done after making sure that the fund it goes into is a truly dedicated fund and costs must be cut in how we pay for highway construction and maintenance. Excessive costs are a real problem in New Jersey and they must be addressed. That is a subject for another blog.
Update (1/12/16):
As of yesterday a bill that dedicates the Gas Tax has passed both houses. It requires a change to our state constitution. The proposed ballot language is as follows-
“Do you approve amending the constitution to dedicate all revenue from the state motor fuels tax and petroleum products gross receipts tax to the Transportation Trust Fund? The dedication includes three cents of the existing motor fuels tax on diesel fuel not already dedicated. The dedication also includes any petroleum products gross receipts tax revenue that is not already dedicated. The amendment would dedicate all revenue from the state motor fuels tax and petroleum products gross receipts tax to the Transportation Trust Fund. The current minimum dedication is $200 million per year. This fiscal year, the revenue from the tax on gross receipts of the sale of petroleum products is estimated to be $215 million. The amendment does not increase the state motor fuels tax or petroleum products gross receipts tax. This change increases the dedication of revenues from current taxes. If the tax is increased in the future, the amendment dedicates the increased revenues that would result from the tax increase.“
It will show up as a ballot question this coming fall. I urge all voters to pass this ballot question as it in your interest to do so.
