Did you know that regardless of the vehicle you drive, there are ways to drive more efficiently that can yield big savings over the course of a year? This means savings not just in your pocket from the gas spared, but also saving the resources of the planet and creating less pollution in the place we all live.
The number of miles driven has steadily increased over the years. With that growth comes the increasing impact of our driving habits on our planet, which makes now a better time than ever to practice driving more efficiently.
There are some easy things that we all can do to save fuel. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite ways that everyone can test-drive to drive greener.
Control accelerations.
By accelerating slowly and steadily to our cruising speed, we let the vehicle work more efficiently at becoming an object in motion from an object at rest. If we gun the gas and try to get to speed quickly, then we stand the greater chance of needing to slow down again, losing all of that momentum.
Empty the trunk.
An extra 100 pounds in the trunk will reduce your fuel economy by 1 to 2 percent in the typical vehicle—Edmunds
So you’re still carrying around that camping gear from last summer in the trunk and the golf clubs have taken up permanent residence in the back seat? For every extra pound you carry, you pay the price to accelerate it and slow it back down each time you drive. By cutting down on the extra unneeded junk in the trunk, we save all that energy required to drive it around town.
Turn off the air conditioning.
Using the air conditioning in a vehicle can increase fuel consumption by up to 10 percent. This is an easy way to save fuel. And just imagine if you suddenly had 10 percent of all the money you spent on gasoline last year in your hand.
Keep the vehicle maintained.
It’s important that a vehicle gets serviced at regular intervals. Dirty oil is not only bad for your vehicle, but it requires more energy to work an engine through sludge. Also, maintenance can save you from having large repair bills down the road. Not to mention that a non-serviced vehicle may leave you stranded on that road when it suddenly fails. Vehicle maintenance saves money, saves the environment, and could save you from being stuck in the middle of nowhere-ville.
Lose the clown shoes.
Driving footwear must have a sole thin enough to feel the amount of pedal pressure needed to meet the necessary braking and accelerating. One of the most important tools you have in driving greener is making the connection between your foot and the response of the car. A big shoe with a few inches of padding removes the sensitivity of the foot, making that connection harder to make. Is it any wonder that racecar drivers like wearing extremely thin-soled shoes?
Keep the vehicle streamlined.
A vehicle that moves through the air more efficiently takes less energy to push, and this translates to less fuel consumption. One good way to do this is to keep the windows rolled up. Open windows create drag, and drag cuts fuel economy. The same can be said of sunroofs at highway speeds.
Another way to keep the vehicle streamlined is to remove those roof and bike racks when not in use. Such racks interrupt the flow of air, again creating drag. Another thing to consider is that the racks add weight to the vehicle, costing more in energy to move the vehicle.
Finally, if your vehicle tends to look like it has won the mud bog championships, then give it a bath. An irregular surface from caked mud and dirt can create drag as well. Plus, you’ll actually know what color the vehicle is instead of just guessing.
