The real price of gas in Germany (and EU for that matter)

namasteflc is directly on point. Steiner's (2009) $20 Per Gallon. Grand Central Publishing lays out all the arguments. The inevitable rise in the price of gasoline will change our lives for the better. This will translate to more compact, more efficient buildings, more human-centered communities, cleaner air, and greater savings. Others have pegged the price of fuel in Europe correctly, it pays for health care and other needs. Most Americans think they are over taxed and want everything for "free". The VAT in the United Kingdom is steep (27%), but people think long term before making a purchase (vs. the US where we are encouraged to make purchases on impulse).

 

They have a way of dealing with uninsured drivers here - crush their car! Still, with 1 in 20 drivers uninsured here, despite being a requirement it obviously isn't a deterrent. There again, a maximum fine of £250 and 6 penalty points on your licence isn't exactly a deterrent either. I mean, when was your insurance £250 for a year? 1987? 1992? Crazy eh?

 

It's the same here - but that doesn't stop them! Simply put - the penalties are no deterrant.

 

In Ontario, you can't get a validation (license) sticker for your plate without proof of insurance. No sticker and it is only a matter of a few days before you are caught.

 

It's illegal here in the US too but just like GrumpyCabbie said, it sure doesn't stop people. All too often, I hear of serious accidents where the other driver was uninsured. The penalties in the US aren't nearly as severe: cars aren't crushed if you're caught driving uninsured.

To go off on a tangent, usually the above drivers tend to not wear their seat belts either, despite it also being law.

 

The above drivers also have fairly high rates of driving without a license, and even driving unregistered vehicles.

 

Yes, let's hear what gas actually costs, before we complain about the price. I strongly suspect the taxes collected on fuel sales don't begin to cover the costs of roads, policing, accidents, pollution and related illnesses, wars....

As for insurance, distance-based pricing seems the fairest policy. Instead of paying a flat rate no matter how much or how little you drive, the cost would be commensurate with the risk.

 

Not to mention the CO2 emission costs! One thing most North Americans have no clue about is the net/net carbon cost of oil that comes from the Tar Sands in Alberta, Canada!

Canada has made a huge suckers bet with the devil to develop the single biggest CO2 source net/net. Tar sands oil. First, deforest the area, (with the resulting loss of carbon sink capability, adding huge strip mining, along with the fossil fuel required to do that, then pump in tons of water, fire boilers to make steam (with natural gas!!!!) producing huge amounts of CO2. What you are left with is a fairly small amount of liquid oil that then can be refined into,,,,liquid gasoline/diesel/fuel oil, along with huge tonnage of very polluted waste water and tailings! The BTU content of the refined product is dwarfed by the BTUs in getting it! Does this make any sense, except in the eyes of the petro-kleptocracy that is the Alberta government (and to some great extent the current Harper government)!

At the very least, why not avoid the middle man, compress the natural to make CNG fuel, pipe it south of 60' and use it directly in vehicles, or better yet for HEATING applications, while we begin to wean ourselves off of other fossil fuels. Burning Nat gas comes with it's own sets of environmental concerns, but they are dwarfed by the lunacy of burning millions of CuFt of it to "make" oil, from tar!

If you want a real primer of the lunacy of this technology I suggest yo read : Tar Sands: Dirty oil and the future of a Continent , by Andre Nikiforuk isbn 978-1-55365-407-0

 

Fuel tax covers the majority of road maintanence costs, Also covers about 50% of your state patrol costs. County sheriff and local PD comes out of your property taxes and state and federal income tax.

Auto accident costs dont come out of fuel taxes. They dont need to. Thats why we carry auto insurance and unisured motorist coverage along with it.

As to distance based pricing. Most insurance companies offer rates based on miles driven. They just arent very open about it. You have to ask them. I know for fact that State Farm, Progressive, American Family, Acuity, and many others do. They range anywhere from 7500 mi per year up to however many you drive.

 

Do you have any statistics on this? Is it generally the same percentage from state to state? How about country to country? Any idea of what the total transportation costs by mode would be?

 

The law only considers HPs produced by the gasoline engine (100 HPs) therefore the Prius would only pay 190€/year. Hybrid, LPG and natural gas (methane) cars can get up to 5.000 EUR of state fundings (3.500 EUR in any case plus 1.500 EUR if you trade in a EURO 0, 1, 2 car). Along with that and depending on the region or city those cars can benefit of some privileges such as: free parking, access to areas with restricted traffic, etc.

The state funding expires on 31st December 2009. The government is planning to extend the period but some rumors say that hybrids are going to be excluded this time. The reason is that FIAT has almost its entire fleet equipped with OEM methan gas engines and has no hybrids.

Fuel prices are too high here and every government has increased the taxes on fuels to gather money for a particular project or investment and once that project had been completed "forgot" to cancel the tax. Just a few examples:

0.098 Euro cents to finance war in Etiopia (wanted by Mussolini) in 1935;
0.723 Euro cents to overcome Suez crisis in 1956;
0.516 Euro cents to overcome Vajont disaster in 1963;
0.516 Euro cents to overcome the flash flood of Florence in 1966;
0.516 Euro cents to overcome the earthquake in Belice in 1968;
5.113 Euro cents to overcome the earthquake in Friuli in 1976;
3.873 Euro cents to overcome the earthquake in Irpinia in 1980;
10.587 Euro cents to finance the war in Lebanon in 1983;
1.136 Euro cents to the finance the NATO mission in Bosnia in 1996...


Many people here are therefore switching to LPG or methan powered cars or simply converting their old car. The benefits are: very low price for fuel (0,828 EUR per kg of methan) and environmentally "friendly" fuel (CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O).
On the other hand engine valves lack the usual lubrication of gasoline and need to be checked/lubricated regularly, along with the integrity of the gas cylinder, along with other problems I am not aware of as I am no methan lover. Mileage is not that great honestly, but Euro per KM is astonishing.

 

FWIW, I just moved away from California (where I'm originally from) and err, despite being high ([ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_taxes_in_the_United_States]Fuel taxes in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]) the fuel taxes must be insufficient for California to get the dubious distinction below.
KCBS - California Roads Are the Worst
California Ranks Among Three Worst For Roadways - KESQ.com Palm Springs, Coachella Valley - Weather, News, Sports:
Reports slam Bay Area, state roads - San Jose Mercury News

As for insurance based on miles driven, for some states, the # of miles you tell them you drive makes no difference. For some, it definitely does.

 

The problem of high fuel taxes is that money collected is not being spent wisely. Not in Europe and not in California.

And the biggest problem is, that many countries have become quite dependent on high taxation during the good economic times by spending all the tax money immediately. And now during bad times, they are going almost bankrupt. From many EU countries and to California.

While high fuel taxation brings benefits in development of more fuel efficient cars it also brings problem that it is easy money for governments. And easy money always gets spent unwisely.


Ogo

 

I can see what i can dig up again. I got that from a WI DOT pamphlet a couple years back.

The reason california has road issues is the government there doesnt know their head from their well you know where. They keep borrowing from different areas of the state budget to pay for insanely stupid social programs.

On the insurance based on miles driven I agree not all states are like that. But you cant blame the insurance companies for it. Blame your state insurance commision

 

ENERGY POLICY??? we don't need no stinkin' Energy Policy!
We'll just use all we can or want then fight another war for more oil!

Can you imagine where we would be today if we had stuck with the last real Energy Policy this country had? (Jimmy Carter, 30 plus years ago)
We would all be driving energy efficient cars when we were not riding affordable, frequent mass transit. Our houses would be powered by the sun. Our auto industry would be thriving because it was the leader in energy efficiency. We would not be giving money at the gas pump to our enemies. Our electric grid would be 50% powered by renewable, carbon free energy.

Why would a country that is 5% of the world population, consumes 25%of the world's fossil fuels, but only has 4% of the world's fossil fuel reserves, want or need an Energy Policy?

 

I wish I still believed, as I did in my 20's, that it's not necessary to "force" drivers to act in our best (energy) interests. Unfortunately, higher gas prices is the only real way to "entice drivers to use efficient autos."

Americans know there are more fuel efficient choices than what most of them purchase, they've walked right past them at the dealer they bought at for decades. I'll guarantee you there were be fewer full sized cars/trucks/SUV's sold if our gas costs were the same as EU - wouldn't take any education or enticing at all.

"Europeans have been driving more efficient vehicles for at least six decades now" precisely because of significantly higher gas costs thanks to consistent energy policy across the EU. Do you think it's because Europeans are just smarter than Americans? I don't.

Where on earth have most drivers/consumers ever been enticed to do other than what they want/can afford?

 

Yes, I agree - what a horrible vision, indeed .

BTW, in my opinion, Jimmy Carter was the best president, or among the best at least, the U.S. ever had.

 

That is exactly what I think. That's why I am content with our rather high gas prices and even play a devil's advocate here, although it hurts my *own* wallet.

 

I hate to say this but just think of the state your auto industry would be in if it produced fuel efficient vehicles for the last 30 years?

They don't sell well here at all despite being desirable. I had an old Jeep a few years back and loved it. I didn't love the 10mpg round town or the 25 mpg max though.