Gasoline prices have gone up to a level that we had hoped we would never see again. The government has decided to release many barrels of the oil that has been held in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This release is aimed at alleviating the shortage that has caused the increase in prices. That release will result in a reduction of gasoline prices somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 cents per gallon. Let us think about that.
Assume a car with an EPA rating of 33 miles per gallon. Driven at a constant speed of 50 miles per hour (mph) the car will deliver 47.6 miles per gallon (mpg). But if a driver increases his/her speed to 70 mph the mpg drops to 36.1mpg. That 11.5 mpg drop in efficiency can be related to the cost of gasoline. To consider this I suggest we use $4.76 per gallon as a typical current cost to fuel our cars. The question becomes: What is the amount of money that can be saved by slowing down? Gasoline costs $.10 per mile at 50 mph. Gasoline costs $.13 a mile at 70 mph. Three cents a mile, when considered over a daily commute of 50 miles, is $1.50. Might it not make sense for all of us to slow down?
Doug Lowe
Concord