Have you tried to drive the speed limit lately? 55 mph and stick to it. Or have you tried to slow to 50? It feels odd. There’s a significant amount of fuel to be saved and also significant carbon to be unspewed. Wired looked at a Dutch study and found:
Still, the underlying point is valid — generally speaking, cutting your speed reduces emissions. The faster you go, the more fuel you burn because wind resistance increases exponentially. Lowering your speed by 5 mph when traveling at 35 to 45 mph will boost fuel economy as much as 10 percent, according to a report the General Accounting Office prepared in 2008.
Of course, different cars achieve their optimal fuel economy at different speeds. The GAO examined 13 vehicles produced between 1988 and 2005. The 1997 Toyota Celica achieved 52.6 mpg at 25 mph, while the 1995 Oldsmobile 88 achieved 34.1 mpg at 65 mph. Regardless of that, studies have shown efficiency falls precipitously above 65 mph. Cutting your speed from 70 mph to 55 mph reduces fuel consumption 25 percent.
I really should add the final sentence from the story: “A more effective way to curb fuel consumption would be to increase the gas tax. But that’s a whole ’nother story.”
I’m with you and Al Gore. Raise the tax 50 cents. Better make it a dollar. Half for the Feds and half for the States.