My husband is a real stickler on fuel efficiency. So much so that he actually measures his gas mileage every month. Hypermiling is the art of beating the fuel rating given to your car by the EPA – and that he tries to do with any full tank of gas. As for me, I am quite at peace with my mileage without measuring it as long as I do the routine maintenances. He recently purchased a Toyota Prius (hybrid) for his company to ease the impact of higher gas prices and on the environment and is diligently looking to convert the company diesel truck to run on water.
He hates when I drive the cars he uses the most because I mess up his fuel consumption performance due of what he calls my bad driving habits. Don’t get me wrong, I do not get into accidents or get lots of traffic violations. He calls me a gas guzzler because of the way I use the accelerator and brake pedals when I drive.
I must admit that he is mostly right. I just do not pay that much attention to fuel efficient driving habits when I drive. That is why I drive an automatic transmission and hate the manual ones! When driving, besides scoping out the road and traffic, my mind is usually hopping from task to task that needed to be done yesterday, and not think about coasting up to the next red light 800 meters away. To make matters worst, I get terribly annoyed when my husband drives with the goal of fuel economy rather than getting to where we are going. I become my children in the back seat wondering if we’ll ever get there!
So I need to change my driving habits to help save fuel which in turn helps same money and helps the environment. I was reading a recent article in Good Magazine that highlighted the driving tricks of Wayne Gerdes who runs an online resource and forum for “those interested in squeezing every last mile out of their gas tanks.”
“He once took a Prius from Chicago to New York on a single tank of gas, and holds the current record for the highest sustained mpg and longest tank: 220 mpg and 2,254 miles, respectively (both in a Honda Insight hybrid).”
I realized that my husband has been using many of these techniques for a few years now. Here are some of them and more can be found from the Good article.
- Choose your route before you turn on the car. A more direct route may have less traffic, even is the speed limit is lower. “Speed is the enemy of fuel economy.”
- Roll if you are on a slope instead turning on your engine. No need to generate energy when you get it for free. Put the car in neutral, off the brakes and let it roll until your stop.
- Wait until it is clear before pulling onto a main road. “The more space you give yourself to accelerate gently and smoothly, the more fuel you’ll save.
- Coast to red lights or ending green lights to maintain momentum. “Slowing down will improve your stats, and increase the chances that you’ll coast through the light at 15 mph, rather than having to accelerate from zero again.”
- Shut your engine off at a long stop light. A hybrid does this automatically.
- Use your breaks less – you’ll be safer and more efficient as you pay more attention to the road and better plan your next move on the road.
- Limit the amount of heat and air conditioning you use. “Air conditioning can lower fuel economy by as much as 30 percent.
- Go slower – Remember, “Speed is the enemy of fuel economy.”
- Pulse and glide – whereby you accelerate to the speed limit then coast in neutral until you lose too much speed.
The toughest one for me to adapt to is number eight – go slower. I need to get more disciplined in the area of time management first to get this one right. I seem to always be rushing out of the house. See the complete list at Good Magazine. While you’re there consider subscribing to the magazine. 100% of what ever amount your donate goes to a charity of your choice and you get a great magazine.
What are some other tricks that you do to save gas?
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