- Stop-and-go traffic wastes gas and doesn't help to maintain your car's engine in the long run. Avoid stop-and-go traffic if at all possible by choosing an alternate route. Another way to save gas and maintain your car is to avoid starting your car's engine to drive short distances. This can be avoided by combining errands and simply walking from one store to the next. For example, when people visit multiple stores in a shopping center, they tend to visit one store, then drive just a few hundred feet to the next. Drop off your packages if you have a lot of them; walk, instead of driving just a few stores away.
- Accelerate slowly, especially when faced with a red light or stop sign, where you'll likely end up stopping again anyway. When you brake and accelerate evenly instead of suddenly, you conserve gasoline. Using cruise control also saves on gas and is ideal to use when driving on the highway. It can't be put to use all the time while driving, but turn on cruise control when you can to avoid uneven acceleration.
-
The more weight your car is carrying, the more gas it will use to transport everything, so keep your car's trunk free of unnecessary clutter. It is not uncommon for people to use their car's trunk as a storage area and many do not realize that by simply organizing their trunk and eliminating extra baggage they can conserve gas.
Having properly inflated tires also saves gas and is something that many overlook. Regularly check to ensure your tires are inflated to their recommended psi, the number of which can typically be found on your car's door jamb.
