Working with Seattle car accident cases is my main focus as a Bellevue personal injury attorney, but just like so many people, I drive to work and have seen the effects of rising gas prices on my wallet. If you are not on a bus line and have no chance of carpooling, you may feel stuck as you pay upwards of $60.00 every time you fuel up. To help you save some cash, we have provided a list of easy options to help increase your fuel efficiency without costing you a dime or impacting your life too harshly.
Top Fuel Savers
You may be shocked by how big a difference the following tips can make to your bottom line.
Cruise Control:
Cruise control can actually save you in more ways than simply preventing a speeding ticket – according to Edmonds.com research it can save you big bucks at the tank. Edmonds compared a Land Rover LR3 and a Ford Mustang’s fuel consumption while using cruise control at 70 mph vs fluctuating between 65 and 75 mph without cruise control.
The Land Rover had 14% better gas mileage with cruise control and the Mustang saw a 4.5% in fuel economy. Showing that, particularly for larger vehicles, using cruise control can make a big difference.
Accelerating and Braking Slowly:
Edmonds.com also discovered that avoiding slamming on the gas and brake can save a considerable amount of fuel. In fact, the Land Rover experienced a 35.4% increase in fuel efficiency and the Mustang saw a 27.1% increase. The difficult part is realizing how much is too much—according to experts, the gas pedal should not be pushed down more than an inch from the resting position unless absolutely necessary. Instead, slowly accelerate when picking up speed and when a light turns yellow or red in front of you, gradually coast to a stop rather than slamming on the brake right at the stop line.
Putting the Savings in Perspective
The percentages seem high, but what exactly does it all equate to? Putting these numbers into perspective, on average, if you get 22 miles per gallon in your vehicle, you can bring that up to 30 miles per gallon by simply following the tips above- for a 20 gallon tank that is an extra 160 miles you can travel per tank!
Food for Thought
Other ways to save money include decreasing the weight your vehicle is hauling (remove heavy tools, bikes etc.) and making your car more aerodynamic by removing bike racks or other oddly shaped storage space from the outside of your vehicle.
Car pooling and taking the bus are also great options to save money on gas as well as reduce maintenance cost on your vehicle and your carbon footprint.
Edmonds.com also discovered some gas-saving tips that you may have heard which apparently do not save much at all. Most notably- using air-conditioning rather than having your windows rolled down DOES NOT earn you much fuel economy and keeping your tires at the proper air pressure, though better for safety reasons, does not decrease your fuel usage.
Jason at premier law group is truly an outstanding individual. Our particular case was not something that their firm usually sees but they were more than willing to help us and give us all of the information they had available. I can't recommend them enough.