Electric-vehicle owners pay same fee no matter how many miles driven

Q

I am thinking about buying an electric car and was talking to a person who already bought one. He told me that when he registered for new registration tags, the Department of Motor Vehicles charged him $200 above the normal registration fee because of not paying a road tax, like he would at the gas pump. I can understand this, if true, but are all electricvehicle drivers charged the same? I average less than 10,000 miles a year, so I would pay the same as a person who drives 100,000 miles a year? Hope you can clear this up for me and others.

A

Honk’s father once gave him sage advice: Life isn’t fair, and most would agree that taxes often aren’t, either.

The state knows it has a big problem that is getting worse — vehicles depend less on gas because of hybrids, electric cars and trucks, and those that rely on gas are much more efficient these days.

Beginning July 1, 2020, owners of zero-emission vehicles were hit with an annual $100 assessment, called a road improvement fee.

It is waived the first year if the vehicle was bought via a licensed dealer, affects vehicles model year 2020 and newer, and can climb based on the Consumer Price Index, a DMV official told Honk, “regardless of the number of miles driven.” Some heavy-duty commercial vehicles are exempt.

That fee is a deal, with the state’s excise tax raking in 51.1 cents on each gallon of gas at the pumps. Last fiscal year alone, it raised an estimated $6.6 billion.

Your friend might have come up with the $200 figure by adding in the transportation improvement fee, more bucks to fix roads, that took affect in 2018. Most vehicle owners pay that one, based on the value of the vehicle. For example, on a $30,000 car, the tab is $110.

Eventually, Honk figures, the state will just tax motorists for each mile driven, perhaps using on-board computers to figure out the bill.

Q

Dear Honk: Have the laws changed recently regarding unmarked crosswalks? I have had numerous encounters with drivers who seem unaware of the rules — some are downright rude. I walk regularly and when I approach any intersection, I always try to let the drivers pass when possible. But sometimes traffic is such that I eventually need to cross, and drivers need to slow or stop. Unless something has changed in the law, I think drivers need a reminder on the rules regarding crosswalks, marked or unmarked.

A

No, the state laws haven’t changed, Jerry.

Honk read your question to Detective Scot Martin, who is in the traffic unit of the Redondo Beach Police Department.

“I would say that’s fair and accurate,” he said of your assessment. “Drivers definitely need to be reminded.”

There are many factors that could go into whether a driver is cited for not yielding to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, such as that walker’s mobility — could he or reach the lane the vehicle is turning into?

Martin says he prefers drivers just letting pedestrians “own” the crosswalk when they step into it, whether marked or not — with drivers just stopping and waiting.

(Unmarked crosswalks are at intersections where there isn’t striping.)

Safety, of course, is way more important than the law — so pedestrians should look at the driver’s eyes. Martin sometimes sees them buried in their cellphones.

“It just blows my mind,” the detective said.

HONKIN’ FACT >> There were 73 pedestrian and 15 bicyclist deaths in Long Beach alone in just five years ending last June, according to police data analyzed by the Southern California News Group.