According to a new study by civil engineers at MIT, when the tires of a car or truck roll over a roadway, the maximum pavement deflection is just behind the path of travel. This has the effect of making the vehicle’s tires roll continuously up a slight slope, increasing the vehicle's fuel consumption.
Using stiffer pavements on the nation’s roads, the researchers say, could reduce vehicle fuel consumption by as much as 3 percent — a savings of up to 273 million barrels of crude oil per year, or $15.6 billion at today’s oil prices, and an annual decrease in CO2 emissions of 46.5 million metric tons.
Shown above is an image by MIT's Mehdi Akbarian showing an exaggerated pavement deflection beneath a car's tires.
