Drive better to save at the pump

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/03/2015 (3842 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Better fuel economy starts with better driving.

It really is that simple.

If you take any fuel-efficient driving course, you might be surprised to find it’s a lot like taking any high-speed, advanced-driving course.

High speed? Advanced driving? To save fuel? Really?

Yes, the same techniques that help racers win races or avoid calamity can help you save money at the pumps. 

Advanced-driving instructors will tell you they can usually get a 25 per cent improvement in a driver’s fuel economy, without increasing — or at times even decreasing — travel times.

The first step is to plan your trip: Can you minimize left turns? Can you sequence your trip in a more fuel-efficient manner? Whether it’s because you have to wait for oncoming traffic or because you can’t turn on red or because you have to wait for a directional traffic light, a left turn is the least efficient way through an intersection.

The next step is basic driver preparation: is the seat adjusted correctly? Does the driver use the right footwork? Is the driver positioned for maximum use of the steering wheel?

Your seat is adjusted correctly when you can push with all your might on the floorboard behind your brake pedal and still have some bend in the knee. Your seat back and steering wheel are adjusted correctly when, while holding the wheel at the nine o’clock and three o’clock positions, your elbows form a 90-degree angle and you can freely turn the wheel 180 degrees both ways. A final check is whether you can rest your wrist on the top of the steering wheel and still have some bend in the elbow.

Your car is set up properly when the tires are at their recommended pressures (cold) and any extraneous materials are removed (ski racks, cargo carriers, heavy loads in the trunk (you can get your new laminate flooring home, just don’t take it out for dinner), etc.).

Fuel-efficient driving is much like racing, only at street speeds and with economy, not victory, in mind. You should be looking far enough ahead to anticipate stoplights, green lights, turns, acceleration zones, etc. Plan for them. The more you can maintain momentum (when safe to do so), the less fuel you will burn. It takes considerably more fuel to return to the speed limit than it does to stay there.

Look through turns, not only so you can do it safely (you should do this even when you’re not trying to save fuel), but also so you can anticipate having to brake. It makes no sense to race through a turn just to have to stop for oncoming traffic.

Don’t slow down more than you need to.

As for acceleration and braking, you should be thinking in terms of small movements. Don’t stab at the gas and jab at the brakes. You’ll burn more fuel than you need and go through brake pads that much more quickly.

Ease into the throttle. Ease your way on to the brakes, assuming you need to use them at all.

Steering input should be similarly minimized. With early application of steering, you can get through a corner much more smoothly, often more quickly, and burning less fuel to do so.

Adding too much steering means the car is fighting inertia more than it needs. Fighting inertia, whether to start from a stop or to scrub in excess steering angle, wastes fuel.

Of course, in a panic stop, all thought of saving fuel goes out the window — slam those brakes as hard as you can, try to break off the brake pedal, even.

If you see a light that’s going to be red before you get there, get off the gas. Coast as much as you can, because you’re not only not burning wasted fuel, you’re also buying yourself time for the light to turn green.

If you can time your arrival at the light such that you don’t have to stop entirely, you save fuel. Of course, never time it so tight you run the risk of hitting a straggler running a red: Arrive a few seconds after it turns green and keep your eye on the cross traffic.

Adopting better driving techniques to save fuel is something you can do today, right now, whether your credit is good or bad. It’s not something you have to go out and buy something new to do.

It applies to all vehicles, big or small. Trucks or compacts. Gas, diesels or hybrids.