5 Ways to Conserve Fuel in Your Car

Whether you're interested in saving the environment, or just saving some money in a down economy, these 5 tips for conserving fuel will help.



1. Be proactive with traffic lights. Get in the habit of looking 10 to 15 seconds ahead of where you are. Notice upcoming traffic lights and signals. If a light is green when you first notice it, chances are it will be red by the time you get to it. In this case, take your foot off the accelerator and begin to coast up to the light. Avoid the temptation to speed up so you can make it through the light - accelerating unnecessarily wastes a lot of gas. In the case of stop signs, you know you'll have to stop. So as soon as you notice one coming up, take your foot off the accelerator and start slowing down.


2. Don't let your car idle to warm it up. Cars warm up much faster at traveling speed than they do just idling. If you let your car idle in the driveway until it warms up, you'll burn a lot of fuel unnecessarily.



3. Minimize air conditioner use. Air conditioners place a significant additional load on your car's engine. In my own vehicle, I experienced about 4 miles more per gallon when I quit using my air-conditioner. I'm not suggesting you quit using your A/C all together, but get in the habit of assessing your need each time you drive your car.



4. Combine errands. With just a little bit of advanced planning, you can combine several errands in one trip. So rather than running over the the shopping center for groceries today, dry-cleaning tomorrow and videos the next day, do all three in the same trip.



5. Coast whenever possible. If you're traveling downhill, take your foot off the accelerator and coast. This is especially effective on long trips, and you can even make a game out of it.



These are just a few simple ideas on how you can save fuel in your car. I encourage you to let these ideas spur your own creativity to find more ways to conserve fuel and save money.