Drivers Should Get What They Pay For

* Gordon Fielding, a sociologist, and Daniel Klein, an economist, parroted exactly what their financial supporters, the questionable “Reason Foundation” wanted to hear and neither is qualified to pass judgment on a transportation issue. Amongst their quotes published by The Times (“Study Suggests Toll for Car-Pool Lanes” Nov. 7); “Current (car-pool) lanes are not very effective at reducing traffic” says it all.

With the average life of an Orange County car pool being 16 months, over 50% of them are “new” on any given day. Of all car pools, less than 2% are organized to make use of the HOV lanes. Less than 15% of the cars on the freeways are multiple occupancy while over 25% of the freeway is given over to car-pool lanes--pavement that would better serve the 85% majority of the commuters as general purpose lanes.

Every driver pays the state and federal governments over 9 cents per mile in taxes and assessments directly related to owning and driving a car.

For the last 20 years Orange County drivers have received less than 50% of these funds back to build and maintain local roads and freeways. Now the state has reinvented toll roads to suck even more indirect taxes from the motorist. It’s time the citizen drivers take back our transportation network and (receive) what the drivers demand and have paid for.

HUGH BROESAMLE

Costa Mesa