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Marc Breslow
Director of Transportation and Buildings Policy, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
As we head into the summer driving season, you can cut your gas costs by a quarter or more, and emit less pollution, by “smart driving” – maintain your car well, keep to the speed limit, accelerate less, and idle only when necessary. Every gallon of gas emits about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming.
The U.S. energy (DOE) and environmental (EPA) agencies estimate that you can cut gas use 8% to 9% through good maintenance practices. These include using the recommended grade of oil, tuning your engine and replacing air filters at the proper times, and keeping your tires inflated correctly. Just having the right tire pressure can save up to 3% of your gas. You can also save on gas by buying tires that have higher efficiency. While at present there is no central source for finding such tires, some manufacturers have models that they market as being high efficiency – search for them on the web.
For the greatest savings, follow the example of the office supply chain Staples, which reports that it has cut diesel fuel use on its nationwide fleet of delivery trucks by more than 25%, through limiting their speed and acceleration and minimizing idling time. The graph shows how miles per gallon (MPG) varies with speed – you get the best MPG between around 40 to 60 miles per hour, with gas use increasing rapidly at higher speeds. Accelerating quickly and braking hard also uses a lot of gas. Driving more gently will save you money.
A few other easy ways to improve MPG:
• Don’t store extra weight in your car.
• Remove unused roof or rear racks.
• When using air conditioning, use the “recycle inside air” setting, so that the car does not have to continually cool hot outside air.
• Don’t keep the car running (idling) unnecessarily.
The Mass. Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) Smart Driving brochure is here.
If you’re in the market for a new or used car, remember that MPG varies widely, even for similarly-sized cars.
Of course you can also save gas by getting around through other means than one person in a car. Information on carpools and vanpools is available through MassDOT’s MassRIDES program. Or, check out Info on public transit for the Boston metro area , regional transit systems throughout the state, and bicycle trails.
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Great post. On-point for so many.
Great blog Marc! Very practical ideas for the average Joe to follow. Linda
Thanks for such an informative article. I’d love to see more! You summarized so much, so well. May I print up and pass it out? Tina Montague, MA
I get angry when I see someone letting their SUV idle while they get gas or run into the grocery. Have you thought about starting a Facebook cause page to advertise some of these suggestions? It won’t stop the oil spilling into the Gulf, but maybe we can slowly start to change these simple wasteful practices. Thanks Marc.
@Tina Clarke – thanks a lot for your positive response. It’s fine to reproduce the blog, as long as you don’t change the content, and please give attribution. We’re happy to have you get the information around.
Do these all apply equally to the Prius? I do these things and also try to take my foot off the accelerator and coast sometimes, like going downhill, and when approaching a stop, and it shows 100 MPG when I do that, but I don’t know if the car is really using no energy or less energy. We get 36 MPG in the city, because we drive mostly very short trips and the mileage is worst that way. Still pretty good. And we get over 50 MPG on long trips.
@Becky – yes, everything applies equally to a Prius or other hybrid. For example, on the highway, without traffic, my Prius averages about 52 MPG on a long trip if I keep to the speed limit, but if I speed up to 70 miles/hour the fuel economy drops to the low 40’s. And on the rare occasion that I drive on uncrowded country roads, if I’m going 40 to 50 miles/hour I can get an amazing 70 MPG! I’ve also noticed that when I have a bike rack on the back, highway mileage drops to around 40 MPG. You wouldn’t think that a lightweight item hanging off the back would have so much impact, but it does. Finally, if you are coasting, you aren’t using any gas, so your gas mileage is infinite.
Just took a 5 hour trip from Boston to NY (then home again) and set cruise control to 65. It freed my mind to think about less aggressive things than passing the car in front of me and I got 5-8 mpg better mileage than I’ve been getting in my 2007 Subaru Outback. I also NEVER worried about being stopped for speeding. My whole trip improved and I thank Mark for the inspiration.
Steve,I guess I’m one of those eco-fanatics you complain about. We’ve only got one plnaet earth and if we foul it sufficiently life will get a lot tougher real soon. It seems that the market place, i.e., the price of gas and diesel is only one of the factors that can spur positive change and innovation. Sometimes government, we the people, in order to care for the commons , need to make some behavior illegal, like black and white restrooms or housing or sexual preference discrimination.
My opinion is that the Big 3 US auarktmeos deserve all the bad they get as they have been in lock step with Big Oil for decades and havn’t offered diesel alternatives, and are still way behind the curve in gearing up for what is so obvious. I think my next family car may very well be the BMW 520d, and I have no regrets about buying a foregin car from a company that seems to know what is going on.