Better pavement means better mileage?

Ways of stretching more miles out of a gallon of fuel run from the practical, keep it under 65 mph, to the extravagant, buying premium gasoline, to the outright anti-Texan, buying a smaller vehicle.

Now scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology think they have found a solution. But they’re not looking to improve the vehicle, but rather what it drives on.

Researchers are studying what they describe as “Pavement-Vehicle Interactions,” namely how road quality or the lack thereof affects vehicle efficiency.

“PVI leads to excess fuel consumption, which is wasted fuel consumption beyond what is required to move a vehicle,” MIT’s website reads. That “contributes to smog and greenhouse gas

emissions, and impacts drivers, states, and municipalities financially.”

The road factors being researched are roughness, texture and something called deflection — apparently roads bend when they are driven on, creating a drag effect on the vehicle.

A study of California road data found that the condition of the pavement increased fuel consumption by 1 billion gallons over a five-year period, accounting for 1 percent of total fuel consumption.

The solution, scientists say, is to build smoother and stiffer roadways, minimizing vehicle resistance while also reducing tire wear.

Houston Chronicle file Road quality or the lack of it affects vehicle efficiency and the consumption of gasoline, MIT researchers have found.