Americans Drive Trillions of Miles Every Year, Reports the FHWA

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration released its final calculations for the year 2016 on the number of miles Americans drove on public roads, highways and interstates: a staggering 3.2 trillion miles.

It isn’t just the total number of miles Americans drive that is concerning, it is the rate of increase that is eye-popping. In just 20 years, the number of miles Americans drive annually increased by roughly a trillion, or 33 percent.

And, there is no indication that Americans will begin driving less anytime soon. If the last 20 years are any indication, Americans are just going to drive more. Considering that the United States population is expected to exceed 330 million by 2020 and 400 million by 2050, it is important to ask what more drive time means for pollution, emissions, and global warming.

More importantly, we must ask ourselves what steps and measures can be taken to minimize the consequences of increased drive times and miles.

Fuel Catalysts

While there is a causal relationship between drive times and mileage and the amount of fuel that is consumed on American roads and highways each year, only fuel consumption leads to pollution and global warming. Theoretically, decreasing fuel consumption can occur even as drive times and mileage increase.

In other words, it is more important to increase fuel efficiency than trying to reduce drive times and mileage, an almost impossible prospect.

Of all the potential solutions for reducing fuel consumption, fuel catalysts are easily the most effective with respect to increasing combustion efficiency.

Increased Fuel Efficiency Equals Both Lower Emissions and Savings

In the United States, around 35 trillion gallons of diesel are burned each year. While considerably less than the 120 trillion or more gallons of gasoline consumed by non-commercial vehicles, the number is significant and continues to rise each year.

Fuel savings for heavy equipment can mean reducing overhead substantially. As fuel is the most expensive operating cost for heavy equipment and trucks, a 3 – 12% reduction in fuel costs is overwhelmingly noticeable.

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