Desertsasquach

Because I have not driven for almost 3 months steady now and have saved roughly 240.00 , I have been told that if " Everyone keeps riding bikes that the bridges and roads won't have the money to keep up the roads". I am just wondering how other people feel about this attitude. I repair cell phones for a living , when a customer leaves my shop they are usually to get on the phone then start driving. To be honest it kind of makes me feel bad to send people out there knowing that I could be helping them wreck ....

ritepath

LOL....uh sounds like they meant you're bad for the highway fund (if there is such a thing) however.com I'd dare to say you've not saved that 240, and instead invested it back into the economy.

Maybe you should sell coins instead, I've never know a coin collector that killed/injured anyone in a motorcar accident.

markhr

I wouldn't worry about it as, apparently, it's bankrupt already.

https://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ta...q=highway+fund

danadear

That's a pretty weak argument. I'd have to demand some stats. That should shut them up pretty quick.

chipcom 

Well, I guess depending upon taxing a non-renewable source of fuel, for a non-sustainable mode of transportation, to maintain infrastructure that is used by all, wasn't such a good idea, was it. Imagine all the money they have lost in taxes since I quit smoking...should I start smoking again because it's the patriotic thing to do?

Desertsasquach

On the other side of the "coin" I have saved people a lot of money and information that they likely could not have retrieved other wise "pictures of deceased relatives , phone numbers , videos etc..." That is why I can justify doing this job. There is good and bad in everything take it or leave it . By the way I have only driven my Jeep 3 times in 3 months mainly to air up the tires. Ha take that you fat OIL BARRENS....

mmerner

I think only 1/3 of the road repair money comes from the gas tax. The rest comes from property and other taxes. Since your bike does about zero damage to the road compared to cars and truck, you are actually subsidizing their driving.

annc

Bad for the economy? I doubt it. Seems like a variation of the broken window fallacy. The money not spent on the gas can now be elsewhere.

Bad for the highway trust fund? Probably. A decrease in gas taxes may be offset by the decreased maintenance cost of the roads. But if cycling makes a significant impact on the tax revenue, then I'm confident that governing bodies will invent new taxes keep us paying.

Billy Bones

Why ever would you spend even a nanosecond analyzing the crap that folks serve up as cause and effect?

Billy Graham himself can't (well, couldn't) save the US infrastructure.

Cycle on.

Retro Grouch 

Yeah, there were definitely roads before we had gas taxes. There's a monument near where I live that says a certain road was originally built by Daniel Boone. It would be around 100 years before gasoline was invented and another 100 years before anybody thought to tax gasoline.

RCordone

Just think of it as helping to thin the herd.

Boudicca

Why am I not surprised that there's not a single vote for the first option on this poll?

Maybe you should cross-post to a Hummer driver's forum?

ritepath

We've almost doubled the miles we put on the jeep from last year....at this point and time we're at close to 800 miles I believe...10 years of ownership we've put 23k miles....20k come the first year when it was a DD.

Desertsasquach

Outstanding reply GREAT minds think alike

Desertsasquach

It seems I only get those comments when I am waiting for my light to cross at the Interstate exit . Bunched up stressed out people chugging coffee don't intimidate me. Older, faster, stronger and smarter they have my attention because I am always willing to listen and learn.

Yan 

You're not causing road damage either, so it balances out.

mark9950

I thought those chinese made COMMUNIST cell phones are throw away?

eofelis 

Hi, eofelis' bf here, and I've got that itch to chime in. I worked for Mesa County (Colorado) Road and Bridge for three years doing GIS and GPS work for them, so I've seen some of the inner workings. First, in this county at least, the gas tax money that's divvied out by the state ("Highway Users Tax Fund" or HUTF) pays for the majority of the repair work for the county roads, not much comes from the general fund. Having stated this, though, the county taxpayers subsidize automobiles in many other ways that aren't so apparent. One huge expense that nobody seems to think of: fire departments paid by tax money really should be called "car wreck response departments" as they (at least around here) respond to at least ten times more car wrecks than actual fires. We all also pay, monetarily and in other ways, for cars with polluted air, water, and soil that end up compromising our health. I could go on and on and on (and often do).

One other comment: cars do not cause the most wear and tear on roads. The weather does the most damage, especially here in Colorado. But here's the surprising part: big trucks cause the second most damage, and far more road damage than you might have thought. It takes 5000 car axles to equal the wear on a road caused by one truck axle (my source on this was the Road and Bridge director himself). Big trucks (18 wheelers) have five axles, that's 25,000 car axles, which is 12,500 cars. It takes 12,500 cars to equal the damage caused by ONE TRUCK!! So anyone buying gas and paying gas tax who isn't driving a big rig is subsidizing the trucking industry. Tell that to those whiners who say we don't belong on the road because we don't pay gas tax.

Somebody else can have the soapbox now.

Rowan

You (and I) live in countries where we have choice. You are exercising yours by not driving and choosing another form of transport.

wahoonc

I don't support the current consumerism economy in the US...I am notoriously frugal I only buy high quality durable goods, and quite often do without things that are of little value to me.

I am still using the Original Leatherman that was purchased years ago. I look at the new ones occasionally but have yet to justify the replacement of the old one.

I think the sociology studies of what people purchase are interesting. Many people have houses full of cheap plastic crap that they probably used once and will end up throwing away or putting on yard sale for someone else to grab up. My wife used to be this way, but with gentle direction has been doing much better.

My basic purchasing rules are: if I can't eat it, and/or it isn't medically necessary I don't need it right now. For durable goods I buy what is necessary and is going to do the job I want it to do. I look for durability, ability to be repaired (rare in this day and age) and suitability. About the only thing I "waste" money on is bike stuff, but even then I think about it long and hard before I plop my hard earned money down.

Aaron

kk4df

Don't feel bad, as you still pay LOTS toward road building, even when not buying gas. The gas tax only pays a small portion of the cost of road building. The rest comes from general taxes, which we all pay. If we were paying road taxes out of gasoline purchases, our prices would be like they are in Europe and other parts of the world.

Big M

Don't waste time on anyone stupid enough to make that kind of argument.
Just give an ambiguous shrug and walk away.

cyclezealot

So many defensive motorists are full of crap.. The trade deficit is disasterious for the US economy. Also, wars are so much about gas... Keep on riding. It reduces the need for new road construction.

CastIron

Bingo.

Podolak

You could also retort that there is a finite amount of gas available and you using less leaves more for them to waste their money on.