Here are some driving tips to help maximize your gas mileage this spring:
Drive consistently and carefully: Avoid braking hard or accelerating unnecessarily quickly. You waste gas each time you accelerate just to brake a few seconds later.
Do Your Research: Calculate how much a trip will cost in gas (you can use AAA’s gas calculator at http://fuelcostcalculator.aaa.com/) and then compare it to bus, train or air fares.
Cash not credit: Pay for gas with cash instead of charging it to a card, you’ll save a few cents per gallon. Sometimes you can buy gas cards at a discount on sites like Beezid.com.
Fill ‘em up: Check that your tires are inflated according to the manufacturer’s recommended pressure. By maintaining well-inflated tires, you ensure your car is getting better mileage than on under-inflated tires.
Invest in a GPS: Using a GPS cuts down on the chances of getting lost while driving to your destination which can waste time and gas.
The one minute rule: If you’re going to idle your car for more than a minute, it’s worth turning off the engine. If it’s going to be under a minute, just leave the car running.
The more, the cheaper: Try and carpool to destinations and split the costs of transportation costs.
Quality goes a long way: Make sure to have your car or motorcycle inspected before you take a road trip, it’ll save you money to fix anything that might need repairs before your trip instead of potentially breaking down on the road which can become a costly inconvenience.