Why can't the government put a limit on car sizes?
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Re: Why can't the government put a limit on car sizes?
#2Why can't they government fix my pet peeves?
This kind of thinking is what's leading us to a prison society without privacy or freedom, one little whiny step at a time.
The government should do as little as possible, and the least at the federal level.
Re: Why can't the government put a limit on car sizes?
#3I'm the oldest of 10 kids. My family needed a 15-passenger van to travel. Why can't the government stay out of my business?
Re: Why can't the government put a limit on car sizes?
#4The government addressed this a few years ago by raising taxes on larger car chassis, making vehicles like the Hummer more expensive.
This led to the instantaneous rise in popularity of so-called "crossover" vehicles. Puffy vehicles that looked kinda SUV-ish and were elevated for higher road visibility but were built on a smaller (lower tax rate) car chassis.
The article of course wants to go to the next step, banning them outright which is just not going to happen. We don't live in a dictatorship and so absolutes like "never make an SUV" bans this don't really happen. Especially because... there are plenty of real-world non-edge-case scenarios in which having one vehicle for a lot of people and stuff is much more efficient than multiple sedans.
We could keep raising taxes on those SUV chassis though, I guess.
Re: Why can't the government put a limit on car sizes?
#5The massive car sizes we see are because of government emissions regulations to begin with. That’s right, the “big truck to make up for lack of X” phenomenon was actually caused by people attempting to regulate how trucks are made without thinking through thr consequences.
People who reach for regulations tend to be bad with incentives, not always, but usually.
Re: Why can't the government put a limit on car sizes?
#6I'm also curious why (required) speed limit regulators aren't a thing, especially in cities. Why are cars physically allowed to go more than 25 MPH in NYC? I thought speed limit regulators are required on some kinds of scooters and electric bikes. Cars are a lot more dangerous.
It's not that I think NYC or the US is very progressive when it comes to dealing with potential car crashes (we aren't) but I'm also curious why this hasn't shown up in other countries/cities in Europe/Asia that are more safety conscious.
Re: Why can't the government put a limit on car sizes?
#7Why can't the government put a limit on the expression of clueless technocrats?
Re: Why can't the government put a limit on car sizes?
#8There are already many incentives in place for smaller cars:
* Use less fuel
* Easier to park
* Cheaper to buy
There is generally not much point in having the government incentivize "good" things. Whatever makes them good is already the incentive, and if that's not enough, then there are probably other issues at play that some feel-good government initiative isn't going to overcome.
Re: Why can't the government put a limit on car sizes?
#9I'm the oldest of 10 kids. My family needed a 15-passenger van to travel. Why can't the government stay out of my business?
Do you drive it on a private road?
Re: Why can't the government put a limit on car sizes?
#10I prefer approaches that incentivize positive climate behavior, like taking the bus or bikes. Make it more convenient to charge electric vehicles in cities. Etc.