Save Fuel By Improving Your Driving Habits
It is easier to improve your fuel economy than most people think. Most people do not realize how they drive can directly influence their fuel economy. With over 65 percent of U.S. and Canadian households owning two or more cars, our recent gasoline price hikes has forced us to rethink our driving habits. According to U.S. Department of Transportation, the average Americans drives an average of 29 miles and can spend somewhere around 55 minutes a day in a car.
A surprising fact is that the national average miles per gallon for cars is around 24.4 miles per gallon, which is the lowest since 1986 when the nation’s overall average was about 25.9 miles per gallon. With fuel efficient 4 cylinder cars it is surprising to hear that the numbers are actually going backwards and not forward.
As a group, people in North America have taken cheap gas for granted. Inexpensive fuel costs have allowed us the freedom to jump in our cars and go anywhere we want. The good news is that there are ways to increase gas mileage and get more from your gasoline buying dollars. With just a few minor driving adjustments, and a change in driving mentality we can still enjoy our driving freedom and save some money in the process.
First and foremost driving more sensibly is how to increase the gas mileage you are currently getting. If you are an aggressive driver who enjoys speeding, the thrill of high acceleration and high breaking, you are actually wastes gas. Most fuel is wasted by unnecessary high speed accelerations or high speed braking. If you condition yourself to press your gas pedal less often the more money you will save. When going down a hill, coast. Do not brake excessively and then find yourself needing to hit the gas. Whenever you are driving at highway speeds this type of driving can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent
Many of us cruise around town with no particular destination in mind thereby wasting fuel. We waste gas by at least 5 percent each year by just cruising around. This 5 to 33 percent waste can result in a 7 cent to 49 cents a gallon wasted money. If you own a car with a 15 - 20 gallon tank, the amount of waste quickly adds up and after just a few fill ups you can see a dramatic difference.
Make sure you are aware of the speed limit when you are driving. By adhering to the speed limit you will save a lot of money. Gas mileage lowers quickly when you are driving at speeds that are above 60 mph. As a rule of thumb, for every 5 mph that is driven over 60 mph, you are paying an extra 10 cents per gallon.
I have found that using cruise control on the highway helps you to maintain a constant speed which can help you save money on gas. Cruise control is an excellent way to save fuel, but also be aware that using it while going up or down hills can affect your overall gas performance. I like to make sure that I control my speeds on hills to really help save fuel.
Consolidating all of your trips and errands will cut down on the driving time which will result in your own gasoline discount.
Have you taken a look in your car’s trunk? How much space is taken up by unneeded or worse yet garbage? Take the time to clean out that trunk because the heavier the load in your car is, the more gasoline you use. We understand that some things are important, first aid kit, small roadside tool kit but make sure the stuff you carry is actually needed or useful.
Summer time rolls along and people start to use the air conditioner and this culprit actually uses more fuel then having the windows down. Try to use your air conditioner sparingly as A/C puts more force on the engine and uses approximately 20% more fuel as a result.
Making these sensible adjustments to your driving habits will help you get the most from your car’s fuel economy. Making better driving decisions will not only help you get the best miles per gallon of gas, but will also make you a much better and safer driver.
June 5th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
Another idea that was sent in via the contact form is to stop using the drive thru. How often do you sit in the drive thru waiting 10-20 minutes with the car running? We tend use the convenience of the drive thru too often and find ourselves wasting gas. Todays society has a person using a drive thru on average of 3 times a week. If you wait an average of 10 minutes in the lineup you are wasting 30 minutes of fuel a week and 2 hours a month. Great suggestion Mary!