"I used to be a speed demon, but no more," said Dawson, based at Tacoma, Wash.
Looks like folks are starting to get a bit of religion...though it has taken market forces to push the change.
In an article entitled Truckers Slowing Down to Save Fuel we find out that higher fuel prices are FINALLY having an impact on the easiest way to cut fuel consumption...the speed at which you drive.
Now I'm not sure how it is impacting your average driver around the country, but it sure is impacting truckers, the folks who pay the most for gas (Diesel is +$/gallon), use the most gas, and to whom the price of gas is a huge bottom line issue.
Dawson said she's cut her speed by five to 10 miles per hour to save money for her company. Many independent owner-operators have slowed even more, she said.
America imports about 60% of the oil it uses each day, adding to the trade deficit and keeping world prices high. Think about it. Every gallon not used is one gallon less imported and one gallon less on the trade deficit.
Truckers and industry officials say slowing a tractor-trailer rig from 75 mph to 65 mph increases fuel mileage by more than a mile a gallon, a significant bump for machines that get less than 10 miles per gallon hauling thousands of pounds of freight. Even sitting still with the engine idling, a rig gulps about a gallon of diesel every hour.
Now obviously few are cutting their speed solely for the good of the planet...they are doing it out of necessity and because it makes damn good economic sense.
Wlazlowski said the U.S trucking industry expects to spend $135 billion on diesel this year, up from $112 billion in 2007. There are 3.5 million truck drivers in this country, she said.
"For every one-penny increase in the price of diesel, it costs our industry $391 million," she said. "In the last month, it's gone up 50 cents."
And if truckers don't see the benefits them selves there are always the speed governors on the trucks...
Trucking company Con-way Inc. of Ann Arbor, Mich., announced this month that it adjusted speed governors on the engines of the 8,400 semis in its less-than-truckload division, Con-way Freight.
Con-way spokesman Gary Frantz said the maximum speed of the trucks has been cut from 65 mph to 62, a move that should cut fuel consumption by 3.2 million gallons a year.
So there you have it, cutting speeds by 3 miles per hour, cuts consumption by 3.2 million gallons, or about $12.8 million! That's just for one company.
So what are you doing?
Personally I have cut my highway speed to the point that I hang out in the slow lane, with a few other solitary souls. Where we are, the speed limit is 60-65, the middle lane runs at 75 and the fast lane...well...
I have cut back even though I get better gas mileage than almost anything else on the road with my diesel. Then I see these humongous SUVs powering along at 80+, or perhaps worse, the tiny subcompacts with sewing machine engines trying to go 80+. I always wonder how they can afford it...or if they even realize what they are doing and how much it is costing them.
So if you don't like the price of gas you can at least try the one thing that will save you a bit of money, without costing much...slow down! As a side benefit, each dollar you don't spend on gas cuts the income of the Saudis, Venezuelans, Russians etc, and helps reduce the trade deficit.
Update:
The issue is an interesting one pitting economic market forces against government intervention.
One can argue that we should let economics decide the issue. Let higher gas prices change behavior. The problem is that so far gas prices have had only limited impact of consumption.
It's a bit like having a small fever. You really don't want to take medicine at that point. Better to allow the body to use its own defenses and fight of the fever, and in the process strengthen it's own immune system.
The situation with gas prices though is that it is symptomatic of a wider problem. There is a huge trade deficit which is at least 1/2 due to oil imports, we are facing peak oil, and consumption in developing countries is soaring putting more pressure on oil suppliers and on prices. With these factors it will take a very very high price to cut consumption enough.
So here we have a fever (higher prices), but strong indications that other factors are involved and that the situation could get worse quickly. Maybe at this point we should be taking some medicine (government intervention...on prices, speeds and gas consumption standards).