San Diego Bay Photos 

In stop-and-go traffic, a Ford Expedition gets 12mpg, but if you can keep it moving at 65 mph, it gets 19-21 mpg,  a  60-70% increase. Even the most fuel-efficient vehicles have  mileage ratings that  are significantly higher, if they can  just keep moving. Do you think the price of gas would drop if all of us got even 20% better mileage?

GRIDLOCK is killing us in terms of time and wasted energy resources, and it is costing us at the pump. America has the greatest scientific minds in the world, and we can fix this if we try. What needs to be done?

Eliminate rush-hour traffic jams on our freeways.  A few simple steps;

1. Get the 18-wheelers off the road during rush hours. This is not as hard as it seems, in fact Los Angeles accomplished it during the 1984 Olympics. It would have to be mandated, but it would save the trucking companies money as well. Their mileage would increase enough to cover the additional compensation for drivers and support personnel  to work such a program. This step alone would end most rush-hour traffic congestion in many large urban areas. BIG trucks take up BIG space in traffic!
   
2. Give tax breaks to companies that have high percentages of employees on 3 or 4 day work weeks. Short workweeks are a double benefit; they take drivers off the road one day a week and the days that they are on the road, they are in traffic 2 hours earlier or later, missing the prime congestion hours. All non-essential government offices should be on this program, especially since in many cities up to 1 in 6 workers are government employees.
3. Require that ALL retail stores open no earlier than 10:30 am.  Automobile sales, malls, outlets, you name it. If their employees are on the road later, rush-hour traffic opens up. We can adjust our shopping habits to accommodate this, but if it is not mandated, every retailer will have the "I want to get a jump on the competition" mentality and screw it up for the rest. Most retail stores are pretty empty before that time anyways, and their employees would relish the idea of having a couple free hours in the morning. This one should be EASY.
4. Give incentives to companies who have high percentages of work-from-home employees. 'Nuff said on that.
5. Rethink busing kids across town. It is tough on the kids, their parents, and on traffic. Do we know if it has had any effect on education or student scores? It wastes gas and the taxpayer pays for all of it in terms of equipment, manpower, and fuel. Yes, this would take huge litigation, but it would be worth the effort. Buses have the same effect on traffic as semis do, they are a hindrance to smooth flowing freeways.

Get the geeks to synchronize traffic signals. How hard can it be to invent a synchronized traffic-signal system? We have the brains to do this, so why haven't we? We need to synchronize signals to keep traffic moving. We may have to make some streets one-way, may have to eliminate left-turns during certain hours, but it can be done. Everyone gets 0 mpg when their vehicle is idling at a red light!

Use Intelligent Signal Technology. You have probably sat at a signal while it was red, stopping 40 or 50 cars, and the cross traffic (green-light side) had NO cars going by. Or a light on a major street turns red for 35 cars so that one vehicle can enter, and does this every couple minutes.  So we waste gas for multiple drivers because the traffic signal is set up wrong.  We need signals that can 'read' traffic and adjust accordingly, with minimal stop-time for drivers.

Eliminate redundant services. In some neighborhoods, there are three different trash-pickup companies on the same street, three different days a week. Divide up the territory, and let them run efficiently by staying in 1/3 the area and conserving gas. This could be accomplished with a number of services. It doesn't have to eliminate competition, just encourage cooperation for the sake of our resources.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand that this would work!

Yes, the public and many companies would have to make some changes that may seem inconvenient at first. But $100 fill-ups are inconvenient as well, not to mention the time savings and quality-of-life benefits for all of us.

So forward this to your state and federal representatives and tell them to get to work on it!  Feel free to copy and paste this page in an email to everyone you know...

If you have any additional suggestions, I will be happy to add them to this list. The original list can be found at   Keep Traffic Moving!

 Contact us