Driving Safely = Saving Gas

In addition to having taught US History, AP US History, Modern World History, Health Ed, and Career Ed, I've also taught Driver's Education. I've always been a safe driver, but teaching the class has refreshed my memory of some obscure laws (turning immediately after an intersection MUST be preceded by signaling in the middle of the intersection), and general tips like obeying the speed limit and basic car maintenance.

With gas prices as high as they are, it occurred to me that driving safely saves on gas:

1. Obey the speed limit. Cars are designed to get peak mileage at 50 or so mph. Since speed limits tend to be around that range, driving 70+ will absolutely cripple your mileage.
2. Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Cars that race to stop signs are wasting energy from unnecessary acceleration. It's better to imagine that you have eggs on the hood of your car that you don't want to drop off. By eliminating unneeded acceleration and deceleration, you waste less gas.
3. Make sure your tires are properly inflated. According to Paul Roberts' The End of Oil, having over- or under-inflated tires can result in a 5-10% drop in fuel efficiency.
4. Don't carry extra weight. The obvious exception is extra people, since fewer cars on the road is better. But having a ski rack all the time is a waste, as is carrying around extra stuff in the cabin in your car.
5. Don't drive an SUV. You may imagine yourself to be safer, but you're not. SUVs have longer braking distances, worse close-range visibility, and are more prone to tip-over. At the same time, they weigh far more and have have a greater front profile, so they have to displace more air as they move. The end result is that they get abysmal gas mileage at absolutely no benefit to you.
6. Don't drive a pick-up truck. According to Paul Roberts' The End of Oil, 90% pick-up trucks have nothing in their bed. That's right, nothing. Which means that there's extra weight and drag on your car (even if you leave the foot of the bed open) slowing down your car and making it work harder.
7. Drive an electric car ... whenever they start making them again. Due to the nature of chemical reactions, approximately 90% of the energy contained in gasoline is wasted in the form of ambient heat. That's why cars need cooling systems. In contrast, electric cars get basically 100% of their energy (from electricity) transfered to the wheels to move. Some critics of electric cars claim that they're not good because the electricity has to come from somewhere, usually coal-powered plants. But it's still far cheaper in terms of money and carbon emissions. And who says all electricity has to come from coal>