Simple Solutions for Truck Freight Efficiency

I'm not one for "me-too" posts but it's been a couple of weeks now and I'm feeling the need to publish something. Green Car Congress carried a story about the development of a simple boat-tail attachment to a trailer that reduces the coefficient of drag of semi-tractor trailer vehicle by 0.12.

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/11/new_boat_tail_d.html

This just goes show how simple it could be to improve the efficiency of freight transport by truck. There's a number of other improvements that could be refited to existing truck fleets, like shrouding the tires and creating a flexible connector between the cab and trailer. Once it became clear that truck manufacturers weren't about to make improvements to the aerodynamics of their vehicles the government should have stepped in with legislation. Sometimes industries need a carrot to get them over a hill. In this case they need a kick in the ass to get them moving in the right direction.