Day 16 –
Today MallMom filled up the good ‘ol minivan for the first time since this project began. It cost more than $70. Yikes!
I’d always heard that driving 55 or under helps conserve fuel. Mall Dad wouldn’t be caught dead doing to speed limit (or less), but I’m game. This is what I found out.
Fueleconomy.gov, a website hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy, says, “Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money.”
They also say, “As a rule of thumb, you can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional 0.20 per gallon for gas.”
Okay, but can you really trust those government types to tell you the truth?
autoMedia.com, a site maintained by “automotive professionals,” says, “Motorists need to do a number of things that will in turn reduce their usage of fuel: combine [short] trips into one; keep one's car well-maintained, including proper inflation of tires as well as regular checks of the vehicle's air filter, oil levels and brake pads; roll down a window and use the car's air conditioner less at non-freeway speeds; and naturally, drive slower. Each one mph increase over even 55 mph causes an equal percentage decrease in fuel economy.”
Nigel Powell, a columnist for the London Sunday Times and a contributing editor for Popular Science, has a list of
“104 driving techniques to conserve fuel” on his weblog, Red Ferret. Check it out at: http://www.redferret.net/?p=10398
Tip for Day 16 – Take the pedal off the metal. Drive the speed limit to save gas.
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