Reducing fuel consumption in medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (regulation, of course)

National Academy of Sciences ^ | Mar 30, 2010 | Unknown

[decimon]

Medium- and heavy-duty vehicles -- such as tractor-trailers, transit buses, and work trucks -- consume about 26 percent of transportation fuel used in the U.S. Congress has charged the U.S. Department of Transportation with developing fuel economy standards for these vehicles, whose fuel consumption currently is not regulated.

TECHNOLOGIES AND APPROACHES TO REDUCING THE FUEL CONSUMPTION OF MEDIUM AND HEAVY-DUTY VEHICLES, a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council, assesses technologies that could lower the fuel use of this group of vehicles. The report also recommends approaches the federal government could take to regulating these vehicles' fuel consumption. The report will be released at 11 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 31.

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Reporters can obtain copies by contacting the Office of News and Public Information at tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu. Advance copies will be available to reporters only starting at 3 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 30. THE REPORT IS EMBARGOED AND NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE BEFORE 11 A.M. EDT ON MARCH 31.

[mountainlion]

Alcohol in gas causes more fuel consumption and destruction of fuel system parts. The new diesel fuel is not good and requires much additives to protect the engine and fuel system. It seems that sulfur was a lubricant for fuel pumps and injectors.

[Pontiac]

U.S. Congress has charged the U.S. Department of Transportation with developing fuel economy standards for these vehicles, whose fuel consumption currently is not regulated.

What a waste of time.

The fuel economy of cargo hauling vehicles has been steadily increasing for decades because freight haulers demand it.

Government involvement will do nothing but increase the cost of compliance with regulations and thereby increasing the cost of the vehicles.

[RW_Whacko]

I think they want to change the “laws” of physics.

[Pontiac]

I think they want to change the “laws” of physics.

These will be some of the most complicated regulations to ever be written and therefore nearly unenforcible.

The mileage a freight hauler gets is highly dependant on the amount of freight it is hauling and the size and shape of the freight.

The only standard that would make sense is that the engine would be expected to generate a certain horse power at the drive wheels per BTU of fuel expended.

[Niteranger68]

True....they are asking for an underwater hairdryer, dehydrating moisturizer, and non drowsy sleeping-pills.