Drive Wisely
Driving efficiently can lower your fuel costs by around 10%. Follow a few simple tricks on how to drive fuel efficiently, and you can save money, increase your safety, and extend the life of your vehicle!
Your Impact
Your Action Plan
Introduction
1Adopt smart driving habits
Cruise your way to savings. One of the easiest ways to save money at the pump is to cruise your way through the day. Meaning—don’t punch it! Accelerating heavily from the stop sign significantly reduces your fuel efficiency, wasting gas and putting extra wear and tear on your car. When coming to a complete stop, let the engine do the work to slow you down instead of speeding to the stop sign and then pushing hard on the brakes. This will lower your fuel costs and reduce the amount of brake maintenance needed for your vehicle.
Drive the speed limit. Driving closer to the speed limit will improve your miles per gallon (mpg). If you drive 65 mph instead of 75 mph you can reduce your fuel costs by up to 13%. Use the cruise control setting on long drives to maintain your speed, and to keep you from pushing 75 mph. Remove the setting on hilly terrain as it is often more fuel intensive for your engine to maintain the same speed when going up or down hills.
Reduce idling. If you have a gas vehicle, idling (running the engine while the car is not moving) wastes gas and produces a significant amount of climate and air pollution. If you know you will be stopped for more than 30 seconds, turn off your vehicle or put it in neutral to turn off your engine.
Open the windows, reduce AC use. When traveling at speeds below 60 mph, if it’s not too hot, open your windows for air instead of turning on the AC. Above speeds of 60 mph, it is actually more efficient to turn on the AC rather than open the windows as the wind resistance causes drag, making your vehicle exert more energy to maintain the same speed. Try to park in the shade on hot days when possible to lower your AC use.
Limit drag and lighten up. Speaking of drag, roof racks also increase drag and thus should be removed when not in use. This will also reduce the weight of your vehicle, which increases fuel efficiency. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by about 1-2%, so remove any unnecessary items when possible.
2Maintain your car & inflate your tires
Service your car regularly. Servicing your vehicle regularly can help save you money on fuel costs and improves the safety of your vehicle. For gas vehicles, make sure your oil and air filter are changed when due and keep the engine tuned (if you have an electric vehicle you don’t need to worry about this). For all vehicles, make sure your tires are properly maintained. Check your tire pressure and wheel alignment once per month, especially before long journeys as under-inflated tires can increase fuel consumption by as much as 6%. In fact, it has been estimated that if everyone in the U.S. properly inflated their tires then we would save up to 1.2 billion gallons of gas a year.
Inflate your tires. To inflate your tires, first, check the correct tire pressure needed for your vehicle by looking in the owner’s manual or on the yellow sticker inside the door jamb on the driver’s side. Second, check your tire pressure when the tires are cold, early in the morning or before driving as the tires heat up changing the internal pressure. It’s easy to inflate your tires. Most gas stations have air gauges and pumps that you can use, though buying your own gauge is extremely convenient and only costs around $10. Under-inflated tires not only increase fuel costs but also accelerate wear and tear on your tires, causing you to need to replace them more often! That fuel gauge will pay for itself in a very short time.