4 ms·

The ever increasing size of trucks is a regulatory hack. Fuel efficiency is mandated as a function of the weight and it is just cheaper to make them bigger and

The ever increasing size of trucks is a regulatory hack. Fuel efficiency is mandated as a function of the weight and it is just cheaper to make them bigger and less efficient than to keep them a reasonable size and efficient enough to be sold in the US. Until this gets fixed, we are making things worse not better.

robertlagrant 4y ago
Is it a function of total weight or maximum cargo weight? I ask because the latter seems reasonable. Thinking about it, the former also seems reasonable given making something burn more fuel than necessary is probably not anyone's first choice, so if they're doing that it's possibly because there's no practical solution to the regulations. Solving the engineering problems required to do this will be the real issue, not writing different regulations.
- blamestross 4y ago
  So in good news it looks like recent changes are fixing this! https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/final-rule-and-related-materials-control-air-pollution https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engin... https://toddofmischief.blogspot.com/2022/05/why-are-trucks-getting-bigger.html?m=1 https://toddofmischief.blogspot.com/2022/05/why-are-trucks-g... is a reference to the old problem. Basically "heavy duty" trucks were unregulated but "medium duty" is. > Solving the engineering problems required to do this will be the real issue, not writing different regulations. Why would they bother until somebody incentives them to do that? That requires new regulations.
  - robertlagrant 4y ago
    > Why would they bother until somebody incentives them to do that? That requires new regulations. Well, people have been trying to make electric semis for years now because they will be better. Regulations are the last-ditch and worst incentive. But even when they are useful, they don't do anything. That's what I get a bee in my bonnet about. They shouldn't be credited with improvements. The improvements come from people with money risking it in R&D, and R&D folk being smart enough to invent a good solution, and manufacturing and supply chain and ops folks being skilled and dedicated enough to scale and roll out the solution. Writing some regulations is orders of magnitude easier than any of those.
    - blamestross 4y ago
      Necessary != Sufficient. Agreed. Without regulation, we don't have any way of handling emissions externalities other than public shame, and that is a really inconsistent to try way to save a world.
      - robertlagrant 4y ago
        For some things. In this case we have fuel price as the main reason things are already as good as they are.

robertlagrant 4y ago

Is it a function of total weight or maximum cargo weight? I ask because the latter seems reasonable. Thinking about it, the former also seems reasonable given making something burn more fuel than necessary is probably not anyone's first choice, so if they're doing that it's possibly because there's no practical solution to the regulations. Solving the engineering problems required to do this will be the real issue, not writing different regulations.

blamestross 4y ago
So in good news it looks like recent changes are fixing this! https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/final-rule-and-related-materials-control-air-pollution https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engin... https://toddofmischief.blogspot.com/2022/05/why-are-trucks-getting-bigger.html?m=1 https://toddofmischief.blogspot.com/2022/05/why-are-trucks-g... is a reference to the old problem. Basically "heavy duty" trucks were unregulated but "medium duty" is. > Solving the engineering problems required to do this will be the real issue, not writing different regulations. Why would they bother until somebody incentives them to do that? That requires new regulations.
- robertlagrant 4y ago
  > Why would they bother until somebody incentives them to do that? That requires new regulations. Well, people have been trying to make electric semis for years now because they will be better. Regulations are the last-ditch and worst incentive. But even when they are useful, they don't do anything. That's what I get a bee in my bonnet about. They shouldn't be credited with improvements. The improvements come from people with money risking it in R&D, and R&D folk being smart enough to invent a good solution, and manufacturing and supply chain and ops folks being skilled and dedicated enough to scale and roll out the solution. Writing some regulations is orders of magnitude easier than any of those.
  - blamestross 4y ago
    Necessary != Sufficient. Agreed. Without regulation, we don't have any way of handling emissions externalities other than public shame, and that is a really inconsistent to try way to save a world.
    - robertlagrant 4y ago
      For some things. In this case we have fuel price as the main reason things are already as good as they are.