In their discourse over climate change legislation, lawmakers continue to propose reduced vehicle travel as a strategy to lower fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The transportation industry must further its commitment to the environment, but impeding our nation's mobility by enacting policies to limit growth in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) should not be a national policy. In addition to eliminating personal freedom and threatening our nation’s productivity, getting people out of their cars and off the roads also means less revenue for the ailing Highway Trust Fund (HTF).

Instead of limiting vehicle use, we must become more efficient and utilize technologies to decrease fuel use and limit carbon emissions. It’s pleasing to see support for a few of the sustainability recommendations already supported by the trucking industry.

Through a strong partnership with engine manufacturers, new over-the-road truck engines far exceed the EPA’s diesel engine emission standards set in 2007. Hold a white cloth over the exhaust stack of a new truck today and the cloth stays white.

Regulatory policies to limit and enforce speed limits are also important, not only for highway safety, but also for the reduction in fuel use. Enacting a national speed limit not to exceed 65 miles per hour and governing speeds of all trucks manufactured at no more than 65 miles per hour would drastically reduce fuel consumption and reduce CO₂ emissions.

Reducing traffic congestion is another vitally important strategy for lowering fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

Source: www.corrosioncost.com

The Texas Transportation Institute estimates that Americans waste 2.8 billion gallons of fuel each year because of congestion on our highways. We must have a system for highway infrastructure funding that will effectively support these necessary environmental goals.

The federal fuel tax is still the most efficient way to collect revenue for the HTF, but it must be updated to keep up with our current needs. The current tax – 18.4 cents per gallon charge for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel – has not been adjusted since 1993, yet costs of highway projects continue to escalate. This is a very poor formula for maintaining a healthy trust fund. The trucking industry supports an increase in the fuel tax, so long as the revenue goes directly to highway infrastructure and is not diverted to non-highway uses, as it has been in the past.

The trucking industry is deeply committed to reducing fuel consumption and GHG emissions, but these objectives do not have to come at the expense of a safe and effective highway transportation system.

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