Better Driving Habits for Better Gas Mileage

in trouble. Have you ever noticed how the price of gas seems to go through a vicious cycle where it will go up really high, then drop down a bit (but never quite as low as it used to be), before going back up again? While there isn't a whole lot that we can do that would affect the overall cost of gas (except for not buying it that is) there are a few things that you can do that will help you reduce the number of times you have to refill your tank. The best way is by learning some better driving habits for better gas mileage. You would be amazed at just how quickly these savings will add up.

• Check your tires regularly. Having your tires at the proper psi can do wonders for increasing your gas mileage. According to some, this simple action can help improve your fuel efficiency by as much as 5%. While it may not seem like much, it is more than what many credit card companies offer for cash back incentives.
• Don't speed. Unnecessarily speeding, or going for the quick start as if you were in a race, can suck up quite a bit of gas. In fact, if you are able to reduce the overall number of times that you accelerate and decelerate you can help reduce the amount of gas that you use. A simple example of how you can do this is to simply remove your foot from the gas pedal when you see a red light ahead of you, only push on the brake when you need to. Often times, if you are far enough away from the light it will turn green again before you reach it. By properly anticipating such stops and starts, and limiting your speeding on the highway, you can increase your gas savings by as much as 47%.
• Limit your air conditioner. If you are simply driving around town, and not going to be going very fast then limit the use of your air conditioner. In fact, simply roll down your window and allow the car to be "naturally" cooled by you driving around. Save your air conditioner for when you are going to be going on long trips, and traveling above 50 miles per hour.
• Avoid idling as much as possible. Another simple method for getting better gas mileage is to reduce the amount of idling that you do. Simply put, when you idle you are using the gas in your tank. Since you are not driving anywhere you are not getting very much use out of it. If you will be sitting at a single location for longer than a couple of minutes. Considering that the average red light doesn't last for more than five minutes, this should be a good round number to use. If you have local ordinances that say otherwise, make sure that you are following those instructions to avoid getting