According to a report by Laura A. McLay of VCU heavier drivers consume more gas than petite drivers. “Americans now pump 938 million gallons of fuel more on a yearly basis than they were in 1960 because of their increasing weight.”
“The report’s conclusions are drawn from mathematical computations of weight gain applied to passenger vehicles, including cars and light trucks driven for non-commercial reasons.”
The study will be published in the upcoming edition of The Engineering Economist.
I can not believe Laura A. McLay is saying this. I want to see the formula where this is proven. I know that having more weight in your car can eat up fuel, but honestly how much can weight factor into how much gas you waste?
This just seems like another way to get Americans off the idea of rising fuel costs and place the blame on those Americans who are overweight. I’m not the smallest person in the world, but I can not believe they would go as far as subliminally telling us to lose weight in order to save money on gas.
This makes absolutely no sense to me. Sure, extra weight will of course put extra weight in your vehicle, but we’re talking about machines that usually weight over a ton. An extra 50 lbs isn’t going to make a huge difference. I think Americans use more fuel because of the SUV/big truck obsessions.
Comment by cinnamonspider — October 27, 2006 @ 1:56 am
There are far more drivers now than there were in th 1960’s. The average family in the 1960’s had only one car because only one person in the household was usually working. The cars and trucks made then got better gas mileage than some of the larger cars and trucks we drive now.
I did not see anything in this research stating that the cars made then weighed much more than the cars made now. They were made from metal instead of plastic. Due to this fact, I don’t see how people weighing more could have any impact on the gas consumption.
Comment by kjamrozy — October 30, 2006 @ 10:47 pm