Legislation would force EPA to get realistic about fuel-efficiency stats
A bill debuting in Congress today would require the U.S. EPA to revamp its gas-mileage tests to more accurately reflect real-world driving conditions. Currently the EPA determines mileage ratings for vehicles by using 30-year-old tests that allow vehicle engines to get warm, never push the speed above 60 mph, never run the air conditioning, and never accelerate quickly. Enviro groups have long argued for reform of the tests, but now the bill has garnered the support of behemoth auto club AAA, which has conducted its own tests and found that the EPA is overestimating average gas mileage for several vehicle models, sometimes by almost 10 miles per gallon. The AAA’s test, though not scientific, involves drivers around the country “getting groceries, getting stuck in traffic jams, driving the same way you would,” says AAA spokesdude Mantill Williams. Now if only AAA would stop lobbying for more highways and fewer emissions standards …
