Given the high gasoline prices and the general tendency of liberals (and progressives) to be pro-environment, I thought that I'd share some of the things I do to drive in a fuel efficient manner. Keep in mind that I have just recently driven across the country from Massachusetts to Oklahoma in a move. I drove our '94 Ford Taurus wagon loaded to capacity with many of our most precious belongings along the interstates of our fair land, and I managed to squeeze out about 25 mpg along the way. At one point, I got 27 mpg. I'm proud of it.
Anyway, I want to spread wisdom beyond "buy a fuel efficient car."
Before you drive:
- Buy a fuel-efficient car... if you can. Lots of folks talk about it, and lots of folks talk about not buying gas-guzzlers. But, yeah, look at the car's rating and buy it.
- Don't load extra weight in your car. Adding weight to your car decreases efficiency, so get rid of it, if you don't need it. The candy wrapper on the floor isn't bad, but the box of books that you just haven't removed is.
- Don't put stuff on the luggage rack, if you can avoid it. Putting things on top of your car increases drag, which is especially important for highway driving. Just put it in the back, and if you must, learn to use your side mirrors instead of the rear-view mirror on your windshield.
- Check and adjust your tire pressure. Look in your owner's manual for the recommended tire pressure. Over-inflated and under-inflated tires have suboptimal traction and will reduce efficiency. You might want to check the pressure from time to time.
- Plan your trip. Don't waste miles, as miles = gasoline.
Driving Technique:
- Don't drive too fast. At speeds over 55 mph, your fuel efficiency begins to drop off. Don't drive dangerously slow on the interstates, of course, but don't go 80 mph.
- Don't accelerate excessively. Take it easy. Keeping your RPMs low is good for fuel efficiency.
- Don't speed up only to brake immediately. Unless you drive a hybrid, braking is wasting fuel.
- Don't tailgate. By keeping about 1 car-length per 10 mph behind the car in front of you, you will avoid braking. As previously meantioned, braking wastes fuel.
- Don't try too hard to maintain speed on hills. By downshifting to maintain speed, you waste more fuel than simply allowing your car to gradually slow down. Of course, there is a reasonable limit to this advice, as you do not want to be going 50 mph on an interstate. (In hilly terrain, cruise control will downshift automatically, so unless you are in flat country, turn off cruise control.)
- Don't force other drivers to waste fuel. By cutting people off and other such activities, you force other drivers to brake, thus wasting fuel. As liberals, we know that we're all in this together, and we want to save the earth.
- Use your AC sparingly. The AC saps fuel economy. Don't use your AC on short trips, as it barely cools the car before you get out. If you're driving slowly, roll down your windows instead (unless you live in the South in August.) When driving at higher speeds, don't roll the windows down, as the drag created will be worse than running the AC.
That's my advice so far. If you have other tips, I'd be happy to learn them.