Drivers slow down their tractor-trailer rigs to save fuel

Coast-to-coast trucker Lorraine Dawson says fellow drivers used to call her "Lead Foot Lorraine." But with diesel fuel around $4 a gallon, she and other big-rig drivers have backed off their accelerators to ...

[Rudym]

If the long haul truckers really want to save fuel, they should piggyback their loads on trains instead of clogging up highways. Trains use one fifth the amount of fuel as trucks.

[larry]

Hope they are also laying off the crystal meth!

[Mark]

Just got back from South Carolina. Wished I had read this article sooner, I would have showed it to the truckers. Oh wait, I couldn't catch up to them.

[Joe]

Does this mean their going to stop trying to kill me? Just kidding the vast majority of truckers are good people but a few....watch out!

[MIKE GRANT]

I wonder how much they could save if they avoided the expressways through the cities during rush hours?

[40 mpg]

Put the trailers on flatbed (piggy back) railcars, much more fuel efficient than trucks and will reduce the number of trucks on our highways which are dangerous to automobiles and destructive to the pavement.

[throbak]

We should all do all of the above.

Take the bus or train to work. Give up the dope. Slow down. Stay off congested freeways at rush hour.

Those are all great suggestions for saving the resource and yourself.

[Grayson]

throbak wrote:

We should all do all of the above.
Take the bus or train to work. Give up the dope. Slow down. Stay off congested freeways at rush hour.
Those are all great suggestions for saving the resource and yourself.

That and buy a horse since feed is cheaper in the long run! Also can avoid rush hour by bypassing the freeways now for those city ordinances? Yes this post is meant to be a little humorous.

[Roxanne]

throbak wrote:

We should all do all of the above.
Take the bus or train to work. Give up the dope. Slow down. Stay off congested freeways at rush hour.
Those are all great suggestions for saving the resource and yourself.

go plant some flowers. thats a great idea if u live in mayberry. have u ever seen the metra comerical some guy is reading the paper looking out the window . how it really is you are all cramped in some cage to some guy who has not bathed in a month hanging on for dear life when the train stops and goes

[Mark]

40 mpg wrote:

Put the trailers on flatbed (piggy back) railcars, much more fuel efficient than trucks and will reduce the number of trucks on our highways which are dangerous to automobiles and destructive to the pavement.

How bad do you think the trains are for the environment?? Diesel engines spew out so much pollution. It's not a good trade off.

[Grayson]

Mark wrote:

<quoted text>
How bad do you think the trains are for the environment?? Diesel engines spew out so much pollution. It's not a good trade off.

Trucks use diesel too the difference is that trains can haul a bit more than a truck.

[rockdalian]

I will have to say the sheer ignorance of some posters is amazing.
Trains are powered by diesel engines that are much larger than truck engines. Common sense applied, trains in no way get 40mpg.
Just exactly how do trains get fresh produce to your supermarkets? Anybody?
Trains can get frozen loads to the nearest city, but not fresh perishable produce.
The overwhelming majority of truck engines are governed at no more than 67mph. Couldn't catch the trucks? A little hyperbole perhaps.
As to a factual error in the article, while 300 gallon tanks may exist, the typical over the road truck has two 150 gallon tanks.
Folks, I have over 1 million miles behind the wheel of a truck. The overwhelming majority of car/truck accidents are caused by the car driver. All it takes is a cursory glance at the NTSB statistics to confirm this.
Any time you see a truck on the road, the driver is working. Try to remember that.
Finally, if you purchased it in the store, a truck got it there.

[Dan OHallaron]

Actually, diesel fuel in 1997 ranged nationally from 1.12 to 1.41. Not $1.97 as quoted, so it is even worse.

[Rev Al Sharpton]

I believe that the black truck drivers are being charged more for diesel fuel than white drivers.

[port trucker]

Rev Al Sharpton wrote:

I believe that the black truck drivers are being charged more for diesel fuel than white drivers.

dammit al you something else!!!

[JUST 18 WHEELS]

LET THE MASSES BE COLD, HUNGRY, HOMELESS AND NAKED.....TRUCKERS BOYCOTT THE SYSTEM SHUT UM DOWN APR 01 08.............

[Rudym]

rockdalian wrote:

I will have to say the sheer ignorance of some posters is amazing.
Trains are powered by diesel engines that are much larger than truck engines. Common sense applied, trains in no way get 40mpg.
Just exactly how do trains get fresh produce to your supermarkets? Anybody?
Trains can get frozen loads to the nearest city, but not fresh perishable produce.
The overwhelming majority of truck engines are governed at no more than 67mph. Couldn't catch the trucks? A little hyperbole perhaps.
As to a factual error in the article, while 300 gallon tanks may exist, the typical over the road truck has two 150 gallon tanks.
Folks, I have over 1 million miles behind the wheel of a truck. The overwhelming majority of car/truck accidents are caused by the car driver. All it takes is a cursory glance at the NTSB statistics to confirm this.
Any time you see a truck on the road, the driver is working. Try to remember that.
Finally, if you purchased it in the store, a truck got it there.

You are wrong about trains using the same amount of MPG as trucks. Check it out. Trains use i/5 the amount of diesel fuel than trucks. Less friction on rails and greater efficiency of power. Trucks are obsolete except for short hauling from rail depots to end users. The only thing preventing this from happening now in America is our stupid Government leadership. Europe is 50 years ahead of the US when it comes to trains.

[Roxanne]

Rev Al Sharpton wrote:

I believe that the black truck drivers are being charged more for diesel fuel than white drivers.

yes they are. pay back for public assistance

[Rudym]

In the June 95 issue of Smithsonian, Per Ola and Emily d'Aulaire wrote an article entitled, "Freight Trains are Back and They're on a Roll." The article describes a diesel-electric dual locomotive that puts out 7700 hp. The 200 car train speeds along the track at 70 mph. They are cheaper and more efficient than trucks as they can move 200 times more freight than a truck. A train needs fewer workers per volume of cargo than a truck and they use less fuel per mass of cargo than a truck. A locomotive moves one ton of freight 300 miles on one gallon of fuel compared to a truck that moves one ton of freight 100 miles on a gallon of fuel.

This statistic says a lot about the efficiency of trains. A train might move 5000 tons of cargo compared to a truck's 25 tons. To do a fair comparison, one train will use 20,000 gallons of gas to move 5000 tons of freight 1200 miles. It would take 200 trucks and 60,000 gallons of gas to move 5000 tons of freight 1200 miles. Also, it takes 200 people to work the 200 trucks but only 2 people to work on the one train.

[throbak]

I think the horse is a step backwards. It takes a lot of pasture or hay to keep one going and they would present a hazard on the roadway, it's not sustainable on a large scale as you'd need a team of about 400 of them to pull the average tractor-trailer. I also suspect that a horse consumes more water in one day than I've ever put into a car a truck. And what do you do with 400 pee bottles?

What City Ordinance forces anyone to drive on the freeway at rush hour? Or is it a requirement of the job that the employee must drive on the freeway at rush hour? I don't have a job that requires me to drive on the freeway at rush hour and no one can make me get one.

Planting flowers anywhere is a good idea - how can that be negative? I've lived in Mayberry and Brooklyn, planted flowers in both places - never thought someone would be hostile to that.

Spread some cheer, pay down your credit cards, get a job closer to home or get a home closer to job or, become one of those scowling, frustrated and indignant commuters riding the Metro cursing $4/ gallon gas, while drinking a 12-ounce,$5 drink from a paper cup.

Get some control over day to day life and people will find you more attractive and pleasant to be with.

Happy Easter.