VEHICLE OPERATING COSTS, FUEL CONSUMPTION, AND PAVEMENT TYPE AND CONDITION FACTORS

This report presents updated vehicle operating cost tables which may be used by a highway agency for estimation of vehicle operating costs as a function of operational and roadway variables. These results, partially based on fuel consumption tests on a group of late model vehicles and on a survey of truck fleet owners, are representative of the advancement in vehicle propulsion technology and increase in unit prices since the last comprehensive study of vehicle operating cost was conducted in the United States. To make the procedure flexible to changes in unit prices, consumption rates of the major vehicle cost components are presented in tables of constant speed on vertical grades, constant speed on horizontal curves, speed change cycles, and idling for each vehicle classification.