Here in my car, saving money

Most people I know and most Americans for that matter own a car/truck/SUV or some kind of vehicle for get them from home to destination and so forth.  If you've bought a car lately, chances are the MPG of the model was a key factor in your decision to buy or at least something you considered in the process.  You feel good that your car is rated one of the more fuel-efficient in its class -- that's why I bought a Corolla.  But if you're feeling good about your vehicle getting great gas mileage compared to that SUV you almost bought, you may not always get the mileage per gallon your car was rated at the dealer.

Living in a highly populated area, I've been in my fair share of traffic jams and seen a large enough population of drivers to come to one conclusion:

The majority of us are not conscious of our driving habits.  I'm not talking about obeying stop lights and yielding correctly (for which I still see some major issues) -- I'm talking about the foot-on-the-gas-or-brake phenomenon.  You see it all the time, especially in tight traffic situations where the mentality of accelerating to keep up with the car in front of you with minimal space in between (only to have to brake on a dime once the traffic comes to a halt once more)……….you know what I mean??  Another largely unconscious, widespread habit occurs at a spotlight.  You stop at the red light and a few seconds later another car stops right next to you.  You, the competitive one, immediately feel the need to accelerate at the green light in front of the car next to you, despite having no practical purpose for doing so.

Now there is the obvious observation to me that this behavior is foolish and provides no means to an end, other than more agony for this unconscious driver and frustration for the sane drivers.  But the more practical observation of these driving habits is this:

You are wasting gas and wasting money.  Ok, it's not a lot of money each time you hit 4,000 on the tachometer, but it adds up just like other bad habits add up monetarily.  By constantly accelerating and braking, you are requiring your engine to work harder and consume more fuel.  I can also mention that you are contributing to a level of unnecessary consumption of fuel by society as a whole because these habits are imitated and become the norm.  They are imitated by kids, brothers and sisters, and by strangers who think hey, he accelerates and drives fast, I can do that too.   I am not in any way an environmentalist or someone who thinks we need to regulate this behavior in any way, however, I am a practicalist (I know that is not a word but it makes sense if you don't think about it).  It is not practical for you to waste gas and therefore waste money in times when we all need to save more.  My request of you is become aware of your driving habits.  You may be surprised at how unaware of your lead-foot syndrome and your excessive braking.  You may always obey the speed limit but still have a tendency to use your accelerator and brake too much. Fueleconomy.gov claims that "aggressive driving" (aka too much gas and brake) can lower your gas mileage by up to 33%, which can approach $1 per gallon.

I get a thrill out of seeing how efficient I can drive, especially on long drives.  If you are up for the challenge to improve your fuel-efficiency through changing your driving habits, try WABL "wabble" (Will's Accelerating & Braking Logic)

1)      Avoid pounding on the gas when you're at the stoplight.  Ease on the accelerator and let your car more naturally work its way up through the gears. 

2)      This guideline works with my car and it would probably work with yours too.  If your RPMs hit above 3,000, you are accelerating too fast.  Obviously if you need to switch lanes and accelerate quickly to move in front of someone else, you may not be able to always follow that guideline.

3)      Try to use the accelerator and brake as little as possible; keep your foot on the floor.  This means you have to be a more tentative and alert driver (a lot to ask) who is always looking ahead and anticipating the behaviors of other drivers and also thinking about when a light will turn red to green or green to red. 

4)      Turn your engine off while going down a hill to achieve maximum efficiency! (just kidding, please don't do that)  Move on to the next tip:)

5)      Brake early to avoid braking late and nose-diving.  If you are approaching a red spotlight and there are several cars stopped at the light, brake preemptively so you may not have to fully stop.  They taught us this in Driver's Ed, right?

6)      Limit your use of cruise-control in hilly areas.  Your car will probably have to work harder to climb a hill and is programmed to maintain the speed you have set.  Your car will probably kick down to a lower gear to make the hill, but when you have cruise control on, your car can't anticipate a hill like you can, so it is going to shift only when it needs to.  You can instead vary your speed slightly in order to avoid your car kicking into a lower gear and then back to a higher gear, and so forth, thus, wasting fuel.

7)      Limit your distractions when driving so you can be alert and responsive.  I am guilty of distracted driving, we all are, but plan your trips to avoid having to talk on the phone or text someone while driving.  Instead, text or call before you leave.

8)      Limit the amount of stuff you are carrying around with you in your car to only the necessary things.

Thanks for reading my driving-efficiently tips.  If you are someone who hates being told how to drive or thinks I am crazy, my apologies, you can keep driving the way you always do.  Those of you who enjoy being a "practicalist", have fun with figuring out ways to boost your fuel-efficiency and start telling those who hate to be told how to drive, how to drive for me.