Common knowledge that the extra taxes and fees paid by trucks don't cover the cost of the damage they do.

Per this source [0] it appears you are correct. Trucks contribute 99% of wear and tear on the roads but pay only 35% of the cost.

My take is that cars/pickups/suvs are overpaying by a lot and commercial trucks are underpaying by a lot.

My biggest concern is that taxes, like inflation, only ever seem to go up, never down.

In this case I would be in favor of correcting this inequality if we reduce gas taxes for standard vehicles while increasing taxes on commercial trucks, but given their track record I suspect governments will never reduce taxes, only increase them.

[0] https://truecostblog.com/2009/06/02/the-hidden-trucking-indu...

Personal vehicles are a luxury, why shouldn't they pay relatively more than commercial traffic?

In America personal vehicles are a necessity unless you live in the core of a city with adequate public transit of which there are only a handful.

They are a necessity if you live in a small town, the suburbs, a rural area, an area with extreme weather, have a family with young children, etc.

* In the US, 93% of households have access to a personal vehicle [0].

* 77.3% of respondents think owning a car is necessary [0]

If we increase taxes on personal vehicles it would disproportionately impact lower income workers who can barely afford to get by as it is. Forcing a single mom on a low income such that she could no longer afford to drive would tax her 10’s of hours every week resulting in untold hardship. It would be a disaster.

What you are advocating would only work if we invested trillions of dollars in transit infrastructure.

Taxation or more debt isn’t enough to pay for that transformation without absolutely destroying the economy and the quality of life of hundreds of millions of Americans.

Personal vehicles are only a luxury if you live in a fantasy.

[0] https://www.thezebra.com/resources/research/car-ownership-st...