A taxation model for road vehicles in the kingdom of saudi arabia has been developed on the hypothesis that vehicles should pay their fair share for roadway maintenance. A number of load- and traffic-counting stations were selected on the main highway network in the eastern province of the kingdom. Representative ranges of truck loadsand dimensions, traffic volumes, and pavement deterioration were monitored at these stations. Data related to kilometers traveled per day were also collected on the basis of driver interviews. At all survey stations, a large number of trucks were found to exceed the loadand dimensional limits of the ministry of communication. The pavement condition survey indicated a prevalence of load-associated damage. Assuming pavement maintenance costs for major and routine maintenance operations, a model to assess vehicle taxation in terms of an annual tax as well as a load violation charge is presented with illustrative examples. As a result of this study, 11 weight control stations have been installed on major truck routes in the kingdom. Early results of the weight control program are encouraging. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1305, Finance, planning, programming, economic analysis, and land development 1991.
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