Climate Change & Energy Demand
Personal Transportation
Montanans, as with most Americans, meet many desires and needs through personal transportation. For most of us in Montana, that means cars and trucks. All carbon footprint calculators ask questions – some more detailed than others – about the number and types of vehicles used and the estimated mileage driven. Not surprisingly, these are two major contributors to carbon emissions.
Clearly, larger vehicles such as SUVs and trucks consume more petroleum than do smaller compact cars. In Montana, these types of vehicles are possibly justified, given the rural nature of the state and the propensity for difficult driving conditions. The average number of miles driven over the course of a year by Montanans is considered near the national average – a little more than 12,000 per registered vehicle.
According to U.S. Department of Transportation statistics for 2005, Montanans registered 295,000 pickups, 55,000 vans, and 123,000 SUVs. These vehicles were driven by 715,500 licensed drivers. The data shows that Montanans register about 1 million vehicles, a vehicles-to-drivers ratio that ranks among the highest in the country. In 2005, 455,000 Montana workers traveled an average 17 minutes per day to work places. About 75 percent of them commuted alone in cars, trucks, or vans.
The data indicates what we know intuitively – that Montanans own a lot of vehicles and use them for different purposes. The pickup truck out back gets used for chores and occasional recreational trips. The family cars do the heavy lifting and rack up the most mileage.
The first steps to conserve transportation emissions involve good maintenance practices: tune-ups, air filter and tire pressure checks. A major reduction in fuel consumption can be achieved by simply slowing highway speeds to 65 or 60 miles per hour. Almost all vehicles yield measurable conservation benefits through this simple practice. Better short-trip planning is another easy step that most citizens can adopt. Vehicle conservation products are already available – such as real-time tire pressure alerts and miles-per-gallon monitors – and can significantly reduce fuel use.
For many Montanans, the comparatively high price of fuel may already have prompted habits just short of the dangerous and illegal practice of coasting down hills. But another light vehicle conservation measure may soon become more available: low-rolling resistance (LRR) replacement tires. Vehicle manufacturers currently use LRR tires on new vehicles to meet federal fuel economy standards. But the tires are not readily available to consumers as replacement tires and development of LRR snow tires has been slow to arrive to the marketplace. The Montana Climate Change Advisory Committee (MCCAC) has recommended that tire manufacturers and retailers be required to provide information about the fuel efficiency of replacement tires. For more information about LRR tires and the MCCAC recommendation, see recommendation TLU-2 (pdf).
Longer-term carbon reduction from personal vehicles requires long-range planning about your driving needs, vehicle capacity, and a hard look at personal preferences. Where possible, retire and recycle low-mileage vehicles and minimize the use of ones you must keep. As you consider a replacement family car, select carefully from the higher-mileage vehicles coming onto the market. Visit this site for information about new and used automobile mileage per gallon. The MCCAC recommends that consumers receive current information about vehicle mileage as well as encouraging financial and market incentives to purchase lower emitting vehicles. For more information about these recommendations, see TLU-3 and TLU-4 (PDF) in the MCCAC Action Plan.
