Aggressive
driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas.
It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds
and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for
you and others, so you may save more than gas money.
|
Fuel Economy Benefit: |
5-33% |
|
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: |
$0.16-$1.07/gallon |
Observe the Speed
Limit While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy
at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually
decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. As a rule of thumb, you can assume that each 5
mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.20 per
gallon for gas.
Observing the speed limit is also safer.
|
Fuel Economy Benefit: |
7-23% |
|
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: |
$0.23-$0.74/gallon |
Remove Excess
Weight
Avoid keeping unnecessary items in
your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your
vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2%. The reduction is based
on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle’s weight
and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones.
|
Fuel Economy Benefit: |
1-2%/100
lbs |
|
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: |
$0.03-$0.06/gallon |
Avoid
Excessive Idling
Idling gets 0 miles per gallon. Cars
with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than do cars
with smaller engines.
Use Cruise ControlUsing cruise control on the highway helps you maintain
a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas.

Use Overdrive Gears When you use overdrive gearing, your car’s engine
speed goes down. This saves gas and reduces engine wear.

Note: Cost savings are based on an assumed fuel price of $3.23/gallon.
Estimates
for fuel savings from sensible driving are based on studies
and literature reviews performed by Energy and Environmental
Analysis, Inc., Washington, DC.
Estimates
for the effect of speed on MPG are based on a study by West,
B.H., R.N. McGill, J.W. Hodgson, S.S. Sluder, and D.E. Smith, Development and Verification of Light-Duty Modal Emissions
and Fuel Consumption Values for Traffic Models, Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, March 1999.
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I’m an aggressive driver! This is a helpful article especially now that gas price continues to increase.