Tips for Driving Your Existing Vehicle in Environmentally Friendly Ways
A. Put the road rage aside and get comfortable with cruising! Just smile at every tree you pass and remember to drive at a controlled, steady pace. Don’t immediately speed up to the speed limit just to hit your breaks at the next stop light. And try to shift into the next gear as soon as possible, instead of letting the RPGs get too high.
Why does this help? Because sudden acceleration and braking burns far more fuel. More fuel being burned means greater emissions. Also, the best speed for fuel economy is between 50-60 mph. If you’re on the freeway and traffic moves at a faster pace, try not to go above 75 mph as anything above this seems to burn inordinately more fuel.
B. Especially important for Los Angelenos: if you get stuck in traffic, or behind an accident, turn off your engine. Idling uses fuel, especially if you drive a manual vehicle and must constantly rev the engine or ease the car forward.
C. Save air conditioning for must-need moments. Running your air conditioner will actually increase fuel consumption by as much as 10%, so roll down your windows and suck in the fresh air you’re trying to protect! If you must run your air, recycle it within your vehicle and turn it off once the temperature in the cabin goes down.
D. If you’re in the market for a new vehicle, of course go smaller and more compact when possible.
E. Take off any racks, boxes, or other items that may be on the roof of your vehicle. These cause wind resistance and add to the weight of your auto. Unfortunately this will reduce your fuel economy - sometimes significantly.
F. Car pool. Yes it’s obvious, but still people forget to do this. More importantly, unless you’re hauling a family of 7 or the entire soccer team, go with the smallest vehicle possible that gets the best fuel economy. And if you’re meeting a friend somewhere, take turns picking each other up for your get togethers. That can also save on parking costs and hassles in highly crowded cities.l
