State might charge drivers more for heavy vehicles

California could consider charging weight-based registration fees for heavier passenger vehicles, such as trucks and SUVs, under a proposal making its way through the state legislature.

Assembly member Chris Ward, a San Diego Democrat, wants the California Transportation Commission to study the costs and benefits of levying a weight fee for heavy cars to pay for street safety improvement projects.

Ward’s bill, AB251, would require the commission to submit a study to the legislature by the end of 2025. The study would include recommended legislation as well as an “analysis of the relationship between vehicle weight and vulnerable road user injuries and fatalities,” according to the bill’s text.

A vehicle weight fee wouldn’t be imminent if Ward’s bill gets signed by the governor. But the proposed study comes as car manufacturers introduce increasingly heavier truck and SUV models that street safety advocates say imperil efforts to reduce traffic deaths and severe injuries.

“We know there are studies suggesting fatality rates can be higher for crashes involving heavier vehicles –– especially models weighing several thousand pounds,” Ward said in a statement to The Chronicle. “AB251 will look further into the relationship between vehicle weight and injuries to help inform policy in the future.”

The proposed study is expected to examine how much revenue California would generate from a weight fee for passenger cars and what weights would be used as cutoffs for the potential fees.

Currently, California is among the handful of states that charge registration fees largely based on a vehicle’s value. At least 14 states, including Florida and New York, already charge weight-based vehicle registration fees, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, though their structures vary.

In Florida, for example, someone registering a truck that weighs between 6,000 and 8,000 pounds must pay $87.75 along with other required fees. New York state charges a weight fee every two years that includes 55 tiers ranging from $26 for cars under 1,650 pounds to $140 for cars that weigh more than 6,951 pounds.

Last year, the council in Washington, D.C., approved a weightbased registration fee that takes effect in 2024. Owners there of cars that weigh more than 6,000 pounds — the highest weight tier — will have to pay $500 per year in a weight fee, more than triple the cost of current registration fees.

Weight fees could have a broad impact on California car owners. About 1 in 6 cars registered in the state are trucks that could be subject to a weight fee, according to data from the Department of Motor Vehicles.

A recent study by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety analyzed recent federal crash data and found that drivers of SUVs and pickup trucks were more than three times likely to hit a pedestrian while turning, compared to smaller vehicles.

The federal government is awarding $800 million in grant funds to states and cities for road projects that would reduce fatalities on roads and highways. Some cities have also aggressively pursued street redesigns and policies meant to curtail deaths and injuries on streets. “Yet, at the same time, we’re seeing vehicles get bigger, heavier, faster and more dangerous,” said Leah Shahum, executive director of the Vision Zero network project to eliminate traffic fatalities.

A weight fee in California could push other states to follow, Shahum said, adding that federal regulators should impose restrictions on how big and heavy manufacturers design their vehicles.

“While we’re working on one aspect of the problem, we’re really ignoring another really big and important one,” Shahum said. “So, we hope California could take a lead in this and other states follow suit, and that the feds follow suit” with tougher regulations.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images 2022 Under legislation, higher registration fees could be considered for pickup trucks and other heavy vehicles such as SUVs.