Title: MOTOR TRANSPORT FUEL CONSUMPTION RATES AND TRAVEL TIME
Abstract: FUEL CONSUMPTION AND TRAVEL TIME MEASUREMENTS ARE A PRIME CONSIDERATION IN THE ECONOMICAL DESIGN OF HIGHWAYS AND CONTRIBUTE A SUBSTANTIAL MONETARY VALUE IN BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS. ONLY LIMITED UP-TO-DATE ON-THE-ROAD DATA ARE AVAILABLE, NOT ONLY FOR PASSENGER CARS BUT ALSO MAINLY FOR VARIOUS SIZES OF COMMERCIAL VEHICLES. THE PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT IS TO RECORD THE PROCEDURE AND FINDINGS OF AN EXTENSIVE SURVEY DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS OF 1959 IN WHICH FUEL CONSUMPTION AND TRAVEL TIME WERE MEASURED ON NEARLY EVERY POSSIBLE CLASSIFICATION OF TRUCK AND TRAILER COMBINATIONS, AS WELL AS ON URBAN AND INTERCITY BUSES. BOTH GASOLINE- AND DIESEL-POWERED VEHICLES WERE TESTED UNDER VARYING CONDITIONS OF GRADE, SURFACE SPEED, WEIGHT, STOPPING AND SLOWING. ONE OF THE PRIMARY USES OF THE DATA WILL BE TO PROVIDE A COMPREHENSION OF THE DIFFERENTIAL FUEL AND TRAVEL TIME BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH CLASSIFICATION OF THE HEAVIER VEHICLES OPERATING IN GREATER NUMBERS EACH YEAR ON THE HIGHWAYS. COMBINING THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY WITH A SIMILAR INVESTIGATION OF SINGLE-UNIT TRUCKS AND PASSENGER CARS WILL COMPLETE THE RANGE OF VEHICLE TYPES. THE DATA PRESENTED IN THE REPORT SHOULD BE HIGHLY BENEFICIAL TO THE ECONOMICAL PLANNING AND DESIGN OF HIGHWAYS AS WELL AS TO ASSIGNMENT OF COST RESPONSIBILITY. COMPARISONS AND ANALYSES ARE POSSIBLE FOR FUEL AND TIME SAVINGS BY IMPROVEMENT OF ROADWAY SURFACING, REMOVAL OR REDUCTION OF STOPS, ELIMINATION OF CONGESTION AND SLOWDOWNS, REDUCTION OF GRADE, SHORTENING OF GRADES, OR CONTROL OF OPERATING SPEED. PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF THE PRETESTING DATA OBTAINED ON EACH VEHICLE AND CORRELATED WITH THE ACTUAL DATA RECORDED DURING THE ROAD TESTING INDICATES A POTENTIAL METHOD OF PREDICTING THE OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS UNDER ANY CONDITIONS. VERIFICATION OF THIS METHOD WOULD ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR SUCH A DETAILED STUDY AS THIS IN THE FUTURE, ASSUMING NO RADICAL CHANGES IN THE MEANS OF MOTOR TRANSPORTATION. /AUTHOR/
Publication Year: 1960
Publication Date: 1960-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 5
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