Quote:
Originally Posted by aberdeen5698
Bridge tolls surgically target the exact points in the road network that are the bottlenecks. A gas tax won't dissuade someone from using a congested bridge because they've already paid the tax and the bridge trip doesn't cost them any more. But if you can directly associate a cost, even a small one, with use of a choke point then it's surprising how many people will try to avoid it.
The Port Mann Bridge toll showed this exact behaviour when a significant number of motorists diverted to the much more heavily congested Patullo bridge. They say time is money, but apparently for a lot of folks it just isn't worth anywhere near as much.
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The ideal (but unpopular) solution is to toll all the bridges and have the toll change depending on the time of day (thus discouraging the very behavior that causes congestion.) That's the same thing done with the existing Skytrain fares.
However a better tech option that doesn't involve making things worse on the roads in the first place is to actually create mandatory vehicle GPS trackers as a condition of having vehicle insurance, which is permanently installed by the dealership or garage.
At that point, ICBC or other insurance provider will query the data log from the tracker when you renew your insurance. Any accident claims, the data must be downloaded. When the vehicle is parked, it downloads/uploads over wireless mesh networks (eg BC Hydro's smart meters) all the data for the day as well as the vehicle performance metrics (so that vehicles that need service and fail to be serviced are removed from the road.) The user could also use their own WiFi devices or "internet equipped" car with the tracker for more real-time feedback.
If the device fails to send/receive data over a period of time (Eg the tracker was disconnected from the CANBUS during servicing) then the insurance company can levy a fine for any "missing mileage" not recorded.
People don't want to be tracked, I get that. However the carrot for doing so is much bigger than the benefits for opting out.
- Vehicle theft, makes it nearly impossible to steal a tracked vehicle without damaging it.
- Crime reduction. People are less likely to commit smaller crimes if they believe they are being monitored. This covers everything from smuggling to speeding/DWI.
- Reducing in insurance costs by transferring the costs to people who are more careless with more expensive vehicles.
For government and law enforcement it also provides an easy revenue source as a consequence. If you don't want people speeding through school and construction zones, you can nail people who frequently do so, within the day it happens. If people are running red lights, failing to stop at stop signs, and so forth, you can "encourage" them to stop doing so by having AI analyze their driving pattern, and sending fines to those that are careless drivers.
Then when people are "well trained" the automated drivers could be deployed based on those driving analysis.
Like the average driver is really a rather poor driver. Think about how many times you see people do rolling stops half way into intersections or U-turns when both are illegal.
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