DID YOU KNOW:
...That if your money matters to you, you’d better start to practice driving to gain miles per gallon? Don’t shoot the messenger, but gas prices will likely double by the end of the year, maybe sooner. At first plush, you wouldn’t think you’d need to practice driving to improve your mileage, but you’d be surprised how much your right foot affects how much money you spend at the gas pump. With today’s smaller engines, which work amazingly well, just dropping your engine’s rpm by 1,000 on the freeway can return another 2 miles per day every day. Since the first of the year we’ve watched, and paid for, gas going up as much as a dollar a gallon. In my midsize pick-up, which gets 24 miles per gallon, that’s added $12.00 more per tank. When gas goes to $7.00 a gallon, that’s really going to hurt.
Let your vehicle coast more! These fancy eight and ten-speed transmissions with their total lack of compression braking will allow you to coast a quarter mile or more at freeway speeds. Remember, most vehicles to weight around 4,500 to 5,000 pounds; they will coast. Not leaving a traffic light like a drag racer and no longer using panic braking as your normal driving style will all contribute to miles to gas savings efforts. I mentioned “practicing” mileage conscience driving because trust me, it’s a whole new muscle memory to drive slightly slower and I should add damn few of our fellow commuters will share the same interest at first. I’ve dropped down from 80 mph (the standard here in Las Vegas really is 85) to between 70 and 75 mph. You can forget about using the fast lane for a while; going that slow comes with road rage punishment from those who have not yet figured out why the can’t afford to eat out anymore. In short, if you want to save a lot of money at the pump, you’re going to have to become a more aware driver...a lot more aware.
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