Would This Change People's Gasoline Buying Habits?

Man, you sure are old, I remember the hand pump gas station, only one grade then and the guy would pump 5 gal up into the globe and run it in the tank, that was a dollars worth.
The bicycle thing wouldn't work, at least not to make us healthy.

HEALTH MESSAGE:
>
> 1. If walking/cycling is good for your health, the postman would be
immortal.
> 2. A whale swims all day, only eats fish, drinks water and is fat.
> 3. A rabbit runs and hops and only lives 15 years.
> 4. A tortoise doesn't run, does nothing ...yet lives for 450 years.
>
> AND YOU TELL ME TO EXERCISE!
>
> I'm retired, Just go around me.

Need that on a bumper sticker.

 

I'm also thinking that, it we shortened the lane lines on freeways and reduce the distance between them, it would give a greater sensation of speed and traffic would slow down.

Right...?

We could always return to the 85mph speedometer, with '55' highlighted boldly. Remember that? How fun it was to keep accelerating and wrap it all the way around to zero? That's what I've heard, anyway.

How about this: We limit a car's gas tank capacity to five gallons. So, if you want to drive a SUV, you need to stop for gas every 15 minutes.

 

You could use Hans Monderman's model and remove all the road markings. Lack of markings makes drivers feel less safe and slows them down.

Wired 12.12: Roads Gone Wild

 

i thought that was kramer?

 

Yes!

We could also add obstacles to freeways. I've always thought it would be cool if overpasses were replaced with jumps.

Like those Motorific sets from the '60s, where they'd sell kids pretty little cars, and the track with obstacles designed to destroy them.

How about just paving over everything, and letting people drive wherever they want, in any direction, at any speed?

_______

I'm actually liking the limited gas capacity idea. Maybe bring it down to three gallons.

 

i thought we already did that?

 

I thought we were already doing that.

(edit: OK, bisco said it first. I was still typing the rest....)

On a more serious note, I still think the most logical and effective way to do it is to charge the full cost for the fuel. Gasoline is highly subsidised, as are roads. Consumers can't possibly make the correct decisions if we're given incomplete and inaccurate information.

 

Always being logical...

I'm going to have to stick with the jumps idea. We could just cut the centers out of overpasses, it'd be a snap.

Perhaps making folks pay for our oil wars up front would at least be a step in the right direction.

 

great minds think alike my friend, at least some of the time!

 

I'd settle for 1 year in arrears. It's pretty unpredictable.

 

I suspect that gas fumes plus electric shock would quickly render the whole issue moot. ... and in little pieces.

 

Logic strong in this one, it is.

 

Actually, that's a benefit. It'll make people re-think the flammability of those pesky Volt batteries.

"No way am I driving a car that needs a tank of inflammable liquid!"

Actually, it might also teach the difference between flammable, non-flammable and inflammable.

A win-win.

 

Not good enough. Some places have nice weather some or all of the time. Install shower heads over the pumps and big fans. Spray drivers with ice water under a 20 mph wind.

I really like this idea!!!

Another great idea! Reminds me of a slogan from a couple of decades back: Give the schools all the money they need, and make the Pentagon hold bake sales to pay for war.

There should be a separate flat tax for all military expenditures, and it should require a national referendum. Ballot item: "Should YOU be taxed 10% of your net worth so the military can buy weapons, fight a new war, etc." Let everybody vote.

 

Usually

 

How Much Did The Average American Household Spend On Gas This Year?
BY JOHN VOELCKER December 21, 2011

How Much Did The Average American Household Spend On Gas This Year?

 

that sounds about right. Rough estimate we spend ~3800, and Prius had saved ~1000

 

At a guesstimate, I drive the Prius maybe 1,000 miles a year. All highway, almost all summer (up to Canada for hiking) with a very few miles to the airport and back, distributed around the seasons. I get 50 mpg highway, so I burn about 20 gallons of gas a year. With gas (IIRC, I haven't looked lately) between 3.50 and 4.00, call it $3.75, that means I spend $75 per year on gas.

It was a bit more, maybe $100, before I got the Tesla, because I drove the Prius if there was snow on the roads. Low clearance is not an issue because I don't even drive the Prius until the roads have been plowed after a storm. But the Xebra was no good on slippery roads, and worse if there was even an occasional low snow mound in the middle of the lane, on account of the front wheel.

 

This year, I drove 2,300 miles in 2.5 days, crossing the country. Since then, bicycle mostly.

I really like simple solutions to complex problems. Especially when they work.