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The high cost of gasoline in California and our reliance on daily car travel means we can save money, reduce emissions and improve road conditions by taking steps towards fuel conservation and efficiency. Easy Steps to Improve Your Gas Mileage
While Driving:
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While Driving:
- Drive sensibly. 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.
- Observe the speed limit. While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed, 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 $0.21 per gallon for gas.
- 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 percent. The reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle's weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones.
- Avoid excessive idling. Idling gets zero miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than do cars with smaller engines.
- Use cruise control. Using 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.
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