[cosmic_cheese]

The weight gap between EV and ICE is often exaggerated.

In fact, within ICE vehicles, the gap between sedans/hatchbacks/compact crossovers and giant SUVs and trucks is larger, and yet for some reason we aren’t taxing drivers of Suburbans and F-150s accordingly.

If we applied this logic fairly we should be pushing people to right-size their vehicles regardless of fuel type.

[jonfw]

We are discussing a gas tax, and there is a strong correlation between gas consumption and weight, which implies more taxes for trucks and SUVs

[atmavatar]

That's true, but gas consumption by weight is more of a linear function, while road wear follows the fourth power law by axle weight.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_power_law

As an example:

A 2026 Honda Accord LX has a combined gas mileage around 32 mpg and a curb weight of 3,239 lbs.

See: https://automobiles.honda.com/accord-sedan/specs-features-tr...

A 2025 Ford F-150 XLT has a combined gas mileage around 20 mpg and a curb weight of 4,941 lbs.

See: https://www.edmunds.com/ford/f-150/2025/features-specs/

Keeping things simple and calculating the axle weight to the fourth powers of both vehicles, the F-150 causes 5.4x the road wear of the Honda Accord while using only 1.6x the gas.

The reason this doesn't matter so much, though, is that the types of trucks used for shipping goods, when loaded, cause on the order of 10^4 the road wear, dwarfing any differences between standard commuter vehicles, which is why commercial trucks have to stop at weigh stations.

[manwe150]

The big trucks also have a lot more tires / tire surface area, to mitigate that. IIUC, the weigh stations are to ensure they aren’t overloading the truck, so that road wear is comparable instead of being that vastly greater

[eli]

We absolutely are doing that at the state and local level. Vehicle registration fees vary by weight and type of vehicle most places.