Very scary idea.

[smokingman]

According to a draft of the financing commission's recommendations, the nation needs to move to a new system that taxes motorists according to how much they use roads. While details have not been worked out, such a system would mean equipping every car and truck with a device that uses global positioning satellites and transponders to record how many miles the vehicle has been driven, and perhaps the type of roads and time of day.

here is the article in full on yahoo.com

Motorists' habits spur call for tax increases - Yahoo! News

 

[smokingman]

How why I see this as bad.
1.speeding ticket via gps
2.tracking every move you make. They know you,your family,friends,and everyone in the US is at all times(including the past).
3. You meet to trade a gun with someone.That person later is arrested for say bank robbery.The pull up his record of driving from 3 years ago and see you both parked side by side at a store for 20 min.They then pull your full record and see you have been near a bank robber,a child molester,a arsonist,a home grown terrorist,and now they know you have to be a criminal to.
4.What business is it of the government how much I drive! unless I am tax deducting mileage there is NO reason.
5.The ability to freely assemble would be nearly destroyed(you may still be able to assemble but they know where you parked).
wow.
I am sure there are many more reasons this is a bad idea.

 

[dburkhead]

Taxing motorists based on how much they use the roads? We already have that in the form of federal exise taxes on gasoline.

 

[Pami]

Taxing motorists based on how much they use the roads? We already have that in the form of federal exise taxes on gasoline.

The brief blurb I heard on the radio this morning led me to believe this would replace gas taxes, but it's a very real possibility I misunderstood. But yeah.. that was my thought, too. Why tax miles? Obviously, if you're buying more gas, you're using more miles. Better still, sometimes that gas goes into boats. Sometimes it goes into lawn mowers. So you're paying taxes that go into "road improvements" while mowing your lawn. I don't see the point of the newly suggested tax, except for the Big Brother theories smokingman suggested above.

 

[dburkhead]

The brief blurb I heard on the radio this morning led me to believe this would replace gas taxes, but it's a very real possibility I misunderstood. But yeah.. that was my thought, too. Why tax miles? Obviously, if you're buying more gas, you're using more miles. Better still, sometimes that gas goes into boats. Sometimes it goes into lawn mowers. So you're paying taxes that go into "road improvements" while mowing your lawn. I don't see the point, except for the Big Brother theories smokingman suggested above.

Oh, I wasn't really addressing what the proposed law itself was, just pointing out that it's "excuse" is already covered by the existing system.

 

[boredstupid]

If you have an vehicle with Onstar you already have the GPS and miles driven tracked.
I just looked and found out I can view my mileage from 2006.

 

[txgho1911]

where you bored?

 

[NateIU10]

Glad I don't have a car.

How can they do this though, people share cars etc?

 

[right winger]

The brief blurb I heard on the radio this morning led me to believe this would replace gas taxes, but it's a very real possibility I misunderstood. But yeah.. that was my thought, too. Why tax miles? Obviously, if you're buying more gas, you're using more miles. Better still, sometimes that gas goes into boats. Sometimes it goes into lawn mowers. So you're paying taxes that go into "road improvements" while mowing your lawn. I don't see the point of the newly suggested tax, except for the Big Brother theories smokingman suggested above.

Replace an tax already in use. Not likely.
DemocRats have never met a tax they would not keep or raise.
Look at the phone tax to pay for the Sapnish-American war.
It took Republicans to finally stop it from being collected.

 

[Chefcook]

Insanity, madness total utter complete ridiculous inconceivable idiocy. Not even a crack head is this stupid...

 

[DRob]

Ah-hah!

Insanity, madness total utter complete ridiculous inconceivable idiocy. Not even a crack head is this stupid...

This may be a problem. We aren't talking about crack heads. We're talking about legislators..............anything is possible!

 

[smokingman]

Oh it gets worse...there is already an ongoing test group of 300 cars.

Oregon looks at taxing mileage instead of gasoline - Yahoo! News

This will be probably end up being a law.....sigh.

 

[NateIU10]

What would stop someone from just removing the GPS unit? I know there would be legal repercussions, but really?

 

[smokingman]

What would stop someone from just removing the GPS unit? I know there would be legal repercussions, but really?

I image the way this would go is to have the manufactures install them on all new cars and wire the ignition through them or something.Not to worry though I am sure that "multi passenger vehicles"(limo) will not be required to have them(sarcasm). Plus it would give them another new law"felony tax evasion" for tampering with one of the devices(damaging government property?).

 

[repair]

Most people don't realize that most cars record sensor readings for several min and that they can be used aginst you in court.

Several courts have ruled that the information belongs does not belong to you even though it is being gathered by a car that you bought and paid for.

I'm not sure how all of the states are using the data but it has been a hot bed of discussion in the auto repair comunity.

 

[jedi]

Hum... Guess we just don't use motor vehicles anymore. Ride your bike to/from the work via the bus/train or even walk to work. Or buy a used pre-this new law car which won't have it installed or heck just become a criminal.

 

[dburkhead]

Build your own.

Locost 7

 

[DodgebyDave]

Most people don't realize that most cars record sensor readings for several min and that they can be used aginst you in court.

Several courts have ruled that the information belongs does not belong to you even though it is being gathered by a car that you bought and paid for.

I'm not sure how all of the states are using the data but it has been a hot bed of discussion in the auto repair comunity.

Afaik the OBDII system records in 30 minute loops.

I'm going to have to study how to make these fart. Like when the enemy hooks it up to download all they get is

 

[jeremy]

Afaik the OBDII system records in 30 minute loops.

I'm going to have to study how to make these fart. Like when the enemy hooks it up to download all they get is

Oh please pass this patch on when you figure it out!

 

[Archaic_Entity]

Well, wouldn't it be unfair if they only distribute it to new cars? I mean... most of America would drive pre-GPS cars. So only those people who buy the news ones are f-ed.

I dunno, strikes me as a bit backwards. Because I know good and well, I will not let them stick a GPS system in my car for that reasoning. It's my car. I own it. They don't.