[Vwdiesel] Diesel Prices

[William J Toensing]

Erik Lane, you are not the only one with the idea of including insurance premiums in the form of a gas per gallon tax. I first got the idea some 20 or more years ago when a caller suggested this on a talk show on KABC radio in Los Angeles. The current Lt. Governor & former insurance commissioner of Calif., John Garamendi, has also suggested this, that the cost of auto insurance be included in the cost of gasoline. At a prior Calif. Democratic State Convention I asked him how much it would cost per gallon to fund his "Pay at the Pump" insurance. He said it would cost only .17 cents per gallon. Such a program would go a long ways towards what we have to pay for auto insurance & would also reduce oil consumption. I would be in favor of a pay at the pump insurance plan, even if the cost was 5 or more times what Lt. Gov. Garamendi said it would be. This would also solve the problem of people driving with out auto insurance. I have heard from 20% to 50% of the cars on Calif. roads are not insured, & this is a nationwide problems, as well. I would also like to see annual license plate fees lowered to $10 a year with the lost revenue recovered by an additional  gas tax.

With a system like this in place, you could have a diesel VW Polo or Smart to drive for 95% of your driving needs & could own or rent a pickup truck to handle those serious hauling needs. I don't know if such a "Pay at the Pump" program has ever been used by any government in the world. I do know the governments of Sackatchewan, Manitoba, & British Columbia have government run auto insurance programs but the cost is included in their annual license plate fees. Canadians, please correct me if I am wrong & also tell us how you or don't like these government auto insurance programs from first hand experience.