The European Union is considering a proposal that would allow its member states to tax truckers for "the costs they incur on society," a list that includes congestion and health problems relating to air and noise pollution and yes, sleep disturbance.

The early draft of the European Commission plan, uncovered by EurActiv, would take into account other so-called welfare costs caused by commercial trucking, including increased fuel consumption and vehicle maintenance expenses caused by greater congestion on the roads. About the only thing not included in the plan are costs related to traffic accidents. We're guessing that omission has something to do with the insurance companies.

Even crop losses and damages to the ecosystem caused by truck pollution could be included in the new tax equation, which would be assessed in the form of an electronic toll system for larger vehicles.

The proposal under consideration would would revise the 15-year-old Eurovignette Directive, which first allowed EU countries to enact tolls for the use of road infrastructure by heavy freight vehicles. Unlike previous versions of the Directive, this proposed plan would cover all European roads.

This is where we're supposed to insert a joke about Europeans and their love of taxes. But what we love about this proposal is that officials are actually examining the secondary costs caused by trucks (or as the EU calls them, heavy goods vehicles). This is an encouraging sign, though probably not one we're likely to see in the U.S. anytime soon.