Would you pay a toll to use the motorway?

[Shude]

Originally posted by bloodmoon
Surely they could at least provide a decent carriageway for our tyres?

New tyres have VAT on them, the more tyres we wreck the more we pay in tax, it pays to have rubbish road surfaces! With the money they save in not gritting the road in winter, people like me who skid in the ice and wreck their cars pay more for their insurance, insurance has a "luxury" tax on it! Evil!

 

[bloodmoon]

Originally posted by Shude
insurance has a "luxury" tax on it! Evil!

Damn, so being bent over an incredibly rotund barrel is considered a luxury? I am amazed we make any progress...

It does sound strange though. Something that is mandatory and the law of the land is also considered luxurious. How does that work?

--
Antony

 

[Shude]

Originally posted by bloodmoon
Something that is mandatory and the law of the land is also considered luxurious. How does that work?

Easy - you're not legally obliged to own a car

 

[dynamo2000]

Yes, if road tax is abolished. I drive mainly weekend as it will be senseless to drive into central London given £5 a day tariff. If I have to pay £5 each time I drive into central London why can’t Ken lower my road tax burden at least?

 

[kikkthecat]

Would I pay a congestion charge to use britains roads ?
I'll probably have to at some point if I want to travel in the future but I wont do it willingly. And heaven help us when Mr lane hogger has paid to use the road, you try moving him over then !!!
But there should be a few things that should be tried before just handing the drivers yet another bill.

I believe at least a quarter of all motorway congestion could be cleared up if people were taught to use the inside lane, and at the risk of causing controversy I think this happens more the further south you travel. This weekend I travelled to Belgium from Yorkshire. Between Leicester and the M25 junction I dont think I saw anything in the inside lane apart from commercial vehicles and myself.
And when I hit the M25 I found only myself and a coach doing 75/80 mph in the inside lane passing everything while the other 2 lanes were full of people alternately accellerating and braking.
Remakably similar on the return trip, yet once past Leicester the M1 became a 3 lane road again.

 

[Mark-R]

I would pay to use a motorway if I could drive on it the way I wanted. ie no fear of being stopped for speeding and if drivers used the left hand lane to allow faster cars to overtake. I for one am sick to death of driving home at 30 mph in a 70 zone 2 lane dual carriage way with the left hand lane empty.
PS There should be an additional driving test for motorway drivers.

 

[mark.t]

never

i drive my car the way the law intended and within the highway code, i pay the tax on buying a car, tax on insurance, tax on diesel, road tax, tax on my car parts and consumables, but a get great pleasure from polishing the bloody big lump of metal and plastic wood and leather that cost me an arm and a leg.. so its all worth while. madness is here

 

[KillerHERTZ]

I thought we did anyway... car tax

 

[vdubluv74]

Jimmy, there are a lot of areas in America where it is "nice" to drive, but just like anywhere in the world in and around most cities it sucks! In california there will be 16 lanes of motorway and all of them stopped with traffic for as far as the eye can see! And about speeding, America does not have all the cameras like here just a few cop cars here and there. I am scared to death to speed here because i never know where the camera is and the exchange rate really sucks right now, that would be a really expensive ticket.

Road tolls are not a bad idea if they lower the fare and improve the public transportation system here. Thus more people are willing to take a train to work to save money which reduces vehicles on the roadway.

 

[pammy]

I voted YES:

but would have to caveat it. Only if there were improvements in the traffic flow and certain traffic was banned - altho a toll has that effect. Very rarely have any prob's in the toll roads in France. The quality of them is excellent and you can zip along at a good speed.

What we can't ignore - imho, is the fact that there are so many more vehicles on the roads now and that is set to increase even further. This increases wear and tear on the roads as well as congestion and pollution.

Personally, I would remove all forms of road tax(including congestion charging and tolls) apart from a basic vehicle tax, ie road fund licence, and fuel duty. That way those that use the roads pay a proportionate amount. The Vehicle licence acts as a standing charge so those that only do a couple of thousand miles per year still pay towards the availability of the roads infrastructure, and then through fuel duty, for the costs associated with wear and tear on the roads, polluting the atmosphere, etc etc.

jmho

 

[miro]

True but time costs money and I have better things to do than driving around for miles to avoid a toll, I would rather pay a few pounds if it is going to be quicker.

My sat-nav must save me a few hours a week even on local driving. Worth is just for that.

I can see where this is heading ..... one really needs to ask oneself if living in the city has so much more to offer as to warrant being so time poor that a diversion is too expensive.

You dont see French farmers taking vacations in London.

 

[NormanB]

1. I would happily pay tolls as long as it was in lieu of the road fund licence (tax).

2. Traffic density has only increased because we have under invested in both the road network (we should have been laying more roads) and our public transport system. The reason both are important is:

a. Road network. Vital to the economic growth of the UK. Only 4% of the UK is categorised as the built environment (houses roads industry etc) - so b******* to the tree huggers - lets have more concrete more motorways particularly east west.​

b. Public transport. Obviously the ratio of built environment/ to land available does not figure in the city so there is little 'room' for growth here. The only solution for city dwellers is not to use their cars for commuting and use a cheap, efficient, clean and reliable public transport system.​

3. Failing that, we need to moderate demand for car ownership that is not based on affordability - perhaps car ownership should only be allowed to those of an IQ of 'x +'

4. Taxi!



NormanB

 

[Barry320SLK]

I voted yes.
The M6 Toll saves me an hour or so each way. I use it probably 2/3 times a week.
I would prefer a better road infrastructure, but that isn't going to happen any time soon.

 

[jimmy]

Jimmy, there are a lot of areas in America where it is "nice" to drive, but just like anywhere in the world in and around most cities it sucks!

Thanks for that, did I say something to the contrary?

I have driven a lot in America and find it very enjoyable and stress free. I must admit I tend to drive more within the speed limits in America after being stopped by a rather large Police Officer with a rather large Firearm many years ago for cruising at 75mph on a deserted freeway.

 

[jimmy]

I can see where this is heading ..... one really needs to ask oneself if living in the city has so much more to offer as to warrant being so time poor that a diversion is too expensive.

You dont see French farmers taking vacations in London.

Errm

I literally live in the middle of nowhere, my nearest neighbour is 1/2 mile, my nearest shop or pub is 2 miles. I used to be a farmer so I am quite happy to drive at 20mph holding up miles of traffic on a Bank Holiday Monday.

What I meant was that I willingly pay £2 to travel the M6 toll road on a regular basis to make up for the hours I have spent in traffic jams on the M6 over the years. I have relatives in Cheshire and the new toll road has cut at least 30-40 mins from the journey to see them, I think it is worth spending £2 to spend an extra 1/2 hour with my family

 

[gareth_r]

There was a time when motorists paid for a "Road Fund Licence" which was intended to pay for the maintenance of the road system.

Somewhere along the line it became "Vehicle Excise Duty" and the link with the maintenance of the road system was lost. Now it's just another part of the general tax system.

Why should we have to pay tolls when we already make a contribution which far exceeds the amount spent on the roads?

And if you think that any increased cost in the way of tolls would be balanced by a corresponding reduction in other forms of motoring tax, I have the deeds to Buckingham Palace and I can get you a really good deal .....