laws that same money

Recently there are lots of these funny looking truck trailers on the road, with side skirts and what's called a trailer tail.  I looked at these trailer tails and thought boy that must be a pain in the ass for the driver to fold up.  At a machine shop a few days ago I saw a driver jump out, walk to the back and open the doors, the trailer tail folds automatically as the door swings, it didn't take any extra time.

California started the trend, with a law about truck fuel use tied to trailer aerodynamic drag.  Truckers bitched up a storm.  Guess what.  They save 6 - 7.5% on fuel use, combined with side skirts 12%, with low rolling resistant tires even more.  The ROI (return on investment), depends on miles and speeds but in most cases 1 year.  Truckers everywhere are adding them.  That's lower freight costs for consumers, less pollution, less pressure on fuel prices, 12% fewer hours parked at a fuel pump.  Damn the government and their anti-business laws.

In Europe some trucks now have flat hubcaps of cheap material, they save 1%, and also claim 1 year ROI, I have seen a few of these here.  Bonus for other drivers, trailer tails reduce the mist cloud behind the truck in wet conditions