USA: Colorado to charge extra fee for owners of large trucks & SUVs

The addition of the extra fee on large vehicles is expected to generate close to $20 million per year.

According to reports, the state of Colorado, USA is proposing to introduce a new bill which could make owners of large pickup trucks and SUVs pay an additional fee, before driving them on the roads. The new bill is aimed towards the protection of pedestrians and other road users from these heavier vehicles.

The bill states the introduction of a "vulnerable road user protection fee" for heavy vehicle drivers. Owners of both heavy ICE vehicles and EVs will have to pay the additional fee, with the revenue generated used to fund pedestrian & bike safety projects.

If passed into law, Colorado will be the first state to specifically create a "vulnerable road user protection enterprise cash fund". The addition of the extra fee on large vehicles is expected to generate close to $20 million per year. However, the state will be charged only in the 12 most populous counties where pedestrian and bicycle accidents happen the most.

Lisa Cutter, state Senator, stated, "Data shows us that higher vehicle weights directly correlate with vulnerable road user deaths. It just makes sense to tie funding to that. It’s not about disincentivizing the purchase of [these] vehicles; it’s about recognizing that these are the cars that are disproportionately involved in these fatalities.”

Source: Jalopnik