Green Daily

Sometimes everyone wants to talk about the Yankees, and sometimes everyone wants to talk about gas prices. Personally, I'd rather not talk about either. But gas is on everyone's lips, from Hillary Clinton to Chris Matthews, the price of crude is just crude.

But gas prices are only one factor in how much consumers are spending for fuel. Congestion, vehicle size and distance also play major roles. According to Forbes cities like Houston have the cheapest gas, but drivers there are spending the most on gas.

You see, while drivers in Houston are paying a mere $3.44 a gallon for gas, they're also driving huge vehicles. According to a U.S. Department of Transportation study 20-percent of drivers in the south drive trucks and another 16-percent drive SUVs.
That data is about 10 years old. But remember that where gas prices tend to remain inexpensive, habits remain steady. So it's unlikely the numbers have shifted to compacts.

Not only does that mean drivers in Texas get fewer miles to the gallon, they halve that number again with traffic. Congestion and commutes in Houston and Dallas are some of the worst in the nation, according to Forbes. Washington D.C. and San Bernadino are up there as well.

A vehicle gets its best mileage at a steady 55 mph, stop and go traffic at 20 mph is a serious cut to efficiency. It's not just the idling and accelerating, speeds above and below 55 are simply less efficient. An 18 mpg SUV might get 10 mpg in rush hour. Account for an incredibly long commute where every driver is driving by himself and you've got a lot of wallets opening for Mr. Oil.

[via Forbes and me]