they get around 6 MPG so the fuel tax per mile is a good 5x more than a large car
Five times the fuel tax for 10,000 times the damage? What a deal!
It may not be 5x but there is a realistic factor and we all know it's nowhere near 10,000. Clearly you've already made up your mind that trucks are the bad guys, and this is no longer a logical argument. You pay either way - if trucks pay more in taxes, transportation costs go up and so do the cost of goods. I stand by my second point - if states actually used the money responsibly, there would be enough to maintain the roads.
...most road damage is caused by heavy trucks. A fully loaded 18-wheeler causes 10000 times as much damage as a typical car, and even more if it is overloaded. If big trucks actually had to pay their way, much of their cargo would move to trains.
Trucks do pay their way. Their tolls are much higher than cars, and they get around 6 MPG so the fuel tax per mile is a good 5x more than a large car. You will always need trucks on the road. Trains don't stop at your local Target or Home Depot and are expensive to maintain as well. Fuel tax seems fine as is - more gas generally means more driving or driving something heavier. Any changes to that are just attempts to get more money. In the end everyone will get screwed. If states actually managed their funds better maybe we wouldn't have to be trying to squeeze more money out of everyone in the first place.
Everybody likes a kidder, but nobody lends him money. -- Arthur Miller