Driving Factoids and Tips

Tips 11-20

• Accelerate and decelerate slowly and smoothly – it’ll save you up to 2 mpg. Anticipate stops and coast up gradually: It takes 20 percent less gas to accelerate from 5 mpg than from a full stop. Plus it’s safer, reduces brake wear, and, on average, gets you to your destination just as quick.
• Did you know it’s best to refuel by moonlight? Gasoline generates fewer hydrocarbon vapors when it’s cool and dark outside.
• Americans use more than a billion gallons of motor oil each year.
• A single gallon of used oil, if improperly managed, has the potential to contaminate up to one million gallons of drinking water!
• Americans waste two million gallons of gas each day because our car tires are underinflated.
• Gas mileage drops about one percent for every pound of tire pressure below the recommended level. But beware of over-inflation, which can lead to handling problems and uneven wear on your tires. Properly inflated tires are safer and last longer.
• Check tire pressure more frequently in winter because for every 10 degree drop in temperature, tire pressure decreases by one pound.
• You get four percent less gas mileage for every 100 pounds of excess weight carried in your car. Clean out that trunk today!
• A car in tune consumes 20 percent less fuel and spews less heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
• Large trucks benefit from lowered speeds. For every 1-mph increase above 55 mph, fuel efficiency generally decreases 2.2%.