My friends sometimes give me a lot of flack for owning a Honda CRV. They say, “How can you speak about environment when you yourself drive a gas guzzler’. I admit my car is not a hybrid (which by the way partially runs on electricity generated by coal) but I don’t think it’s a gas guzzler either.
Besides, I do the best thing to save gas which is restrict my driving. The reasons are not very altruistic though; I just don’t enjoy sitting behind wheels, in traffic, being over attentive and getting annoyed at others!
But for those of us who have to drive, here are a few suggestions that I know work and have been tested by a host of people, including yours truly!.
1. Anti-idling– this is one of my biggest pet peeves. To see people parked for 5 mins while they get money out of an atm or 10 mins while they go grocery shopping or wait for their date to come down..Come on guys; how selfish is that!. And what a great polluter and waste of gas too. Here are some statistics on that: http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/baq/docs/edu/B2/Facts%20about%20Car%20Idling.pdf
2. Hypermiling– Hypermiling is the act of minimizing braking while driving. Fuel economy is maximized when acceleration and braking are minimized. So a fuel-efficient strategy is to anticipate what is happening ahead, and drive in such a way so as to minimize acceleration and braking, and maximize coasting time. My cousin told me about this concept and demonstrated it on a ride to his office. I have been doing it ever since and find besides increasing my gas mileage substantially makes me more focussed on my driving.
3. Attend a driving clinic– Hybrid owners groups are popping up in cities around the world – and non-hybrid owners are often welcome to attend regular meetings. Fuel efficient driving techniques are commonly discussed, and clinics are sometimes offered by experienced members.
4. Clean junk from your trunk-The additional weight you carry in your vehicle doesn’t ride for free. It takes energy to move it around. Removing unnecessary stuff from your vehicle saves fuel.
Here is a much more comprehensive list..but doing the first two should help a lot
And lastly, this is a link to an interesting tip sheet from WSJ on better driving habits; read, digest and share..
#betterdriving, #sustainability, #greenliving, #hypermiling, #anti-idling