I used to work for a state DOT, and was very amused to find out that it considered truckers who fueled up just shy of the state line (where gas taxes were $0.13 less per gallon) to be lawbreakers. Not in the since that the Highway Patrol could pull them and write a ticket, but they considered the lost revenue to be a form of tax evasion and we constantly trying to figure out how to resolve this issue.

Part of the problem stemmed from the fact that my state maintained a much higher percentage of road miles than the other state, which relied on counties to maintain all those expensive, out of the way roads that are little used compared to interstates. I guess the county revenue came from sales tax not gas tax, or something; anyway, for whatever reason there is a huge discrepancy.

DOTs nationwide have discussed forcing automakers to equip cars with tracking devices for calculating road miles driven, though naturally this has immediately raised privacy concerns and hasn't really been taken seriously.

DOTs in general see gas taxes as much too crude a measure, because of differing fuel efficiencies and the fact that a mile driven on a lightly used suburban road during off-peak hours costs the state a lot less than a mile driven at rush hour on an intra-city corridor ("Interstate" highways being used by local commuters).

They bitch and bitch that Priuses, etc. are costing them money because they are too efficient. Naturally one wonders why they don't tell the legislature it's either higher gas taxes or shittier roads, because with fuel efficient cars becoming more popular and construction costs soaring due to inflation (China buying more steel and concrete, etc.), gas tax revenue is not keeping up, and something's got to give.

Anyway, raising our already high-ish gas taxes is evidently not an option (even though our state's economy keeps chugging despite the recent gas price surge). I don't get it, but I'm worried about what the legislature is going to do to get road money, and I'm thinking it's not going to be pretty or equitable.

When I was a child, the state we lived in used to charge its licensing fees based on the weight of a car. The heavier the car, the higher the licensing fees. This did two things:

1. It charged the vehicles that caused the most wear on the roads a higher percent of the cost of fixing those roads. There were exemptions for farm vehicles, but, other than that, if it weighed more, you paid more.
2. It encouraged people to buy lighter vehicles, which caused less wear-and-tear on the roads and reduced expensive road repairs.

Of course, the judicious use of toll roads also helps states.

I can see the DOT's point on "road theft" for loss of revenue. The easy solution though is to LOWER their state taxes so that people would get cheaper gas in-state, and fill up there. I wonder why that never occurs to the DOT?

You were a PennDOT worker, right?

Everything you wrote sounds so familiar.

"I used to work for a state DOT, and was very amused to find out that it considered truckers who fueled up just shy of the state line (where gas taxes were $0.13 less per gallon) to be lawbreakers. Not in the since that the Highway Patrol could pull them and write a ticket, but they considered the lost revenue to be a form of tax evasion and we constantly trying to figure out how to resolve this issue. "

The issue is addressed by the International Fuel Tax Agreement (or IFTA), so filling up on the other side of the state line doesn't cost the other state anything in the scenario you use. That money is redistributed based on the mileage driven by the commercial vehicle in each member jurisdiction and that jurisdictions rates.

Hmmm, maybe they were worried about truckers using lower-taxed agricultural fuels or something...I seem to recall it being about legally purchased fuels. The largest city in the state is on the border, so maybe they were addressing commuters who popped over the line to fill up. It's been a few years since I was reading this stuff, which wasn't really my specialty anyway.

Lowering the fuel tax to compete with the neighboring state would be one solution, sure. That state's roads aren't said to be as good as ours (not that I've driven every mile of each). our legislature would have to do something drastic to come up with road money if they lowered our gas taxes, as there is already a shortfall; projects are being postponed as it is.

We have yet to go to tolls, but even though one toll road is in the works (a new bypass), existing highways aren't being considered for tolls (not sure if there are legal reasons or if it's purely political).

BTW, I didn't expect my original post to get highlighted; it wasn't as well researched as it should have been. Ooops.

Well, you're right to worry. If taking away more privacy is what they want(tracking devices on vehicles) that is what we will get. It's no mystery that more and more of our rights are being taken away. I tried to make my login name pdd51makesbushgod my login name and I was denied!! It said that was prohibited! Go figure! Do me a favor and look uppdd51 and why it makes bush god and NOT on the official government website because all you will get is a candy-coated explanation.

Ignorance is NOT bliss.

pdd51:

Well, you're right to worry. If taking away more privacy is what they want(tracking devices on vehicles) that is what we will get. It's no mystery that more and more of our rights are being taken away. I tried to make my login name pdd51makesbushgod my login name and I was denied!! It said that was prohibited!

Yes, those evil bastards at DOT have contrived with the illuminati to prevent you from using your preferred login name on a commercial site! Oh the humanity!

i have been in trucking for a few years and a trucker pays taxes even if he dont buy fuel....he pays for miles run in that state

HEY, I'VE GOT A GREAT PLAN! WHY DON'T THEY JUST HAVE GOONS WITH GUNS [COPS]TO STOP TRUCKERS, AND JUST PLAIN ROB THEM! YEP, MAKE EM STICK EM UP!

AM I THE ONLY WHO SEES THE IRONY IN THAT THE FEDS CAN FORCE MORE $$$ OUT OF TRUCKERS BY ENFORCING NEW LAWS, BUT THEY CANNOT FORCE THE AUTOMAKERS TO MAKE AN ALTERNATIVE FUEL CAR?!?!

First off, I just want to say that I'm a 17 year old female, and already I am disgusted with the constant debates about fuel taxing, and enforcing laws to get more money out of truckers, and not jumping on the band wagon to get more fuel-effecient cars.

For one thing, we all know we've reached peak-oil, and we're running around with our heads cut off like chickens screaming that we're in an energy crisis. How about instead of freaking out wondering how to get by with what little is remaining, we put our thinking caps on and say "What's a new source of energy we can use?" For example; how about electric cars, solar-powered cars, hydrogen powered cars, vegetable oil cars, and excess methane powered cars? As well as our energy factories.

And yes, the poor truck drivers are just trying to make a living, and paying so much for gas is just making it harder to get a decent paycheck in an already struggling economy.

I make 7.50 an hour as a cashier, and I work 45 minutes to practically pay for a gallon of gas. How fair is that? I need to go to college, pay for books, and pay other bills and I'm barely making cut as it is working and staying at home. How am I going to manage on my own? I'm sure I will, but we need better means of providing for our cities and states, our energy and education. We need to stop screaming at the top of our lungs, "OH no! We're in a recession!"
Why don't we hurry up and do something about it, and stop taxing workers who are barely making the cut as it is. Why don't we hurry and put more money into funding cleaner, renewable energy sources rather than funding new military weapons, and high paying government office jobs.