For those times when you've just gotta drive your own car, here are some tips to help keep you fuel-efficient.
From the website greenercars.org:
• Avoid “jack rabbit” starts and aggressive driving. Flooring the gas pedal wastes gas and creates more pollution. According to the site, one second of high-powered driving can produce nearly the same volume of carbon monoxide emissions as a half-hour of normal driving.
• Think ahead. Try to anticipate stops and let your vehicle coast down as much as possible. Avoid the increased pollution, wasted gas and wear on your brakes created by accelerating hard and braking hard.
• Follow the speed limit. (We know. It’s difficult sometimes.) Driving 75 mph instead of 65 mph will lower your fuel economy by about 10 percent, the site says, and can dramatically increase tailpipe pollution in many vehicles.
• If you can, avoid rush hour. Stop-and-go driving burns gas and increases emissions of smog-forming pollutants, the site says.
• Combine trips. Warmed-up engines and catalysts generate much less air pollution, so combining several short trips into one can make a big difference, the site says.
• Carrying around an extra 100 pounds reduces fuel economy by about 1 percent. Take a few moments to unload your cargo area. Also, says the EPA: Try to avoid using roof racks and remove them when not in use: Doing so can improve your fuel economy by as much as 5 percent, according to the EPA.
• If your have it, use overdrive gear at cruising speeds. If you have a manual transmission, shift up as soon as possible. Running in a higher gear decreases the rpm and will decrease fuel use and engine wear, the site says.
• See if you can avoid using the air conditioner. Try vents and windows first: Air conditioner use increases fuel consumption, increases NOx emissions in some vehicles and involves environmentally damaging fluids, the site says.
• Unlike many older cars and trucks, modern vehicles don’t need to warm up and they have automatic chokes, so you don’t need to step on the gas pedal before starting the engine.
• Heat: Try to park in the shade and leave your windows slightly open; it will help cut down on the need for air conditioning and minimize evaporation of fuel.