HOW YOU DRIVE:

  1. Don’t accelerate when you are going to have to stop anyway. If you are approaching an intersection and the light is red, or there is a stop sign, don’t keep your foot on the gas until the last moment. Let off the gas and coast up to the stop and brake as necessary. This method of driving is also easier on the brakes.
  2. Don’t accelerate hard away from stops. Press the pedal smoothly and evenly to get up to speed.
  3. Reduce your freeway speed. Your car has to push its way through the air and the faster you go, the greater the resistance. For most cars going 65mph instead of 75mph will increase your miles per gallon between 15 to 20 percent.
  4. Use your cruise control whenever you are maintaining a steady speed.
  5. Don’t tailgate. If you are following too closely, every time the driver in front of you taps their brakes, because of reaction time, you have to slow down more than they did. Use the two second rule.

WHAT YOU DO:

  1. Avoid using the air conditioning as much as possible, it puts more load on the engine and burns more gas.  If you must use it, turn it on while traveling on level ground or down hill, but turn it off while going up hill.
  2. Drive with your windows up and use your fan.  Driving with your windows down creates more drag on the vehicle.
  3. When starting the engine cold, let it warm-up between 20 to 30 seconds and then begin to drive.  The purpose is to give the oil enough time to begin to circulate.  Any longer is just a waste of gas.
  4. Don’t let your engine sit idling for long periods.  Shut your engine off, and restart when you are ready to go.