The Politics of Reality: Driving 10 mph slower saves more than repealing the Federal gas tax

I always enjoy perception versus reality problems, although sometimes they make me sad, too (see this story about how "clean" biofuels are causing more environmental devastation than the Exxon spill). But, I also enjoy watching politicians squirm, and this great calculator from the NY Times shows how much you spend on gas per trip.

Using the calculator, you can see how much you'd save by having your tires properly inflated, by driving 10 mph slower, or by having the Federal Gas Tax repealed. If you click on "Drives 65 mph instead of 55 mph" and "Repeal Federal Gas Tax," you can see that driving just 10 mph faster negates any savings you might get from repealing the tax. Very revealing, I think.

I highly recommend the article it came from, too; I know that we've been spending our weekends biking the kids around town, rather than driving up to the mountains like we used to, in order to cut our costs.

Of course, our commuting now is with the 167cc scooter, and I can't tell you how smug my husband is everytime he has to fill up. "I haven't filled up for two weeks," he said last weekend, "And filling up today cost me $5.67." We took a gamble by selling the station wagon and buying the scooter (the scooter cost twice as much), but we're saving over $65-120 a month just in gas, and about $600 a year in maintenance and $500 in insurance. It looks like that scooter will pay for itself in another year or so, and I have to say -- thinking about that makes me slightly less tired than usual.