Washington, D.C. Wants to Charge Residents More to Register Heavy Trucks and SUVs

Legislators in Washington D.C. have proposed a regulation that might enhance the price of registering autos that weigh over 6,000 kilos. The proposal is supposed to discourage D.C. metropolis residents from utilizing large, heavy vans and SUVs to get round, in keeping with Bloomberg. If handed into regulation, the annual value of registration for these large vans and SUVs would go from $155 to $500.

The proposal impacts heavy-duty pickups just like the Ford F-250 and Chevrolet Silverado HD, which regardless of their work-truck engineering are changing into in style passenger autos. It would apply to giant SUVs, too, just like the Jeep Wagoneer and Chevrolet Suburban. Considerably surprisingly, the Cadillac Escalade — a perennial favourite amongst VIPs within the U.S. capitol — manages to slip underneath the 6,000-pound cap in sure trims.

If handed, this might be the primary proposal of its form within the U.S. Legislators say it’s all they will do to scale back the variety of heavy autos on metropolis streets. It’s a method for lawmakers attempt to remedy the issues triggered by heavy vans and SUVs: greater numbers of visitors and pedestrian fatalities, elevated air pollution, and accelerated put on and tear on roads and bridges.

D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh got here up with the proposal and outlined its sliding-scale payment construction. Listed below are the registration value hikes, as defined by Bloomberg:

Annual charges for machines underneath 3,500 kilos would stay at $72/yr, whereas these from 3,500 to five,000 kilos would now value $175. The payment for registering a automotive between 5,000 and 6,000 kilos would rise to $250. The most important hit is geared toward a brand new class created for SUVs and vans weighing over 6,000 kilos: Their homeowners would now must shell out $500 per yr.

The rise would find yourself costing $2,500 over a five-year interval of registration for the heaviest autos, versus the $775 it could value underneath D.C.’s present charges. Councilmember Cheh stated, “You’ll be able to’t ban gross sales of these items, however you may make them pay their very own method.” So, large truck and SUV patrons beware.

There’s one different notable element, and it’s about EVs. Many electrical automobiles in the marketplace in the present day weigh much more than their typical counterparts, because of heavy batteries, so the proposal features a weight credit score of 1,000 kilos for electrical automobiles. Sounds cheap. The metropolis council definitely appears to assume so, having unanimously accredited the proposal. It’s now pending Mayor Muriel Bowser’s signature earlier than changing into regulation in Washington D.C.