Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight (TS&W) Study. Phase 1-synthesis, working paper 12 : energy conservation and truck size and weight regulations

007624391995PDFResearch PaperFuel conservationEnergy conservationVehicle characteristicsTruckingFuel consumptionTechnological innovationsSize and weight regulationsTruck technologyTrucking regulationsUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationBattelle Memorial InstituteNTL-FREIGHT-Trucking IndustryBTS Data Directory;Federal Highway AdministrationThe research on various truck size and weight considerations and energy conservation is limited. Following the energy crisis in the mid 1970s, there was significant interest and research on energy conservation. Most of the references cited in this working paper are from this period. With the stabilization of fuel supplies and the decline in fuel prices, interest and research in energy conservation was greatly reduced. However, there has been renewed interest in energy conservation in the 1990s, and it appears that some recent research has been conducted which addressed some of the weaknesses of the older research. This paper covers research into the effects on energy conservation of the following: vehicle weight, vehicle dimension, intermodalism, tires, environmental laws, equipment specifications and technology, vehicle performance, and indirect energy consumption