Here are the things you should do in order to drive in a more fuel-efficient fashion. First off, avoid driving aggressively. Why? Aggressive driving as though you're a race car increases fuel consumption to as much as 40% according to studies.
Doing jackrabbit starts and hard braking like you're in a Hollywood movie reduces travel time by only 4% while you get 5 times the toxic emissions for your trouble. Accelerate smoothly and slowly.
Things to Take Note Of
- Save Fuel by Getting to Higher Gear ASAP: Get to high gear as quickly as possible when traveling on the highway. At the very least, get into 2nd gear as soon as you start moving then 3rd gear when in a subdivision and you're approaching the main road. 50% of the energy to power your car should go to accelerating if you're city driving. Your fuel efficiency is affected by deceleration as well. Anticipate traffic flow instead of braking every time to stop your car. Slow down then brake or slow down then speed up for maximum mileage.
- Coasting to Decelerate: If you're driving a fuel-injection car, the flow of fuel to the engine halts until your engine speed drops to idle whenever you remove your foot on the acceleration. This is to ensure that your car doesn't stall when the engine starts again. You can also coast to decelerate your vehicle in order to save your brakes from wear and tear. Anticipation and coasting is a method of saving fuel and preventing stalling from your engine as you start it again after it drops to idle.
- Drive Steadily at Posted Speed Limits: Those speed limits aren't suggestions. Following them isn't only good for your traffic record. It's also good for reducing fuel consumption. You can consume as much as 20% to 48% more fuel with the little speed variations on speed limits. Don't allow small speed dips followed by acceleration bursts. Instead, maintain a steady speed as you drive. When you're on hilly terrain and when traffic requires it, slow your car down naturally when uphill driving then speed it up when going downhill.
- Avoid Speeding: The most sensible way to reduce fuel consumption is also usually the most broken rule of thumb. Increase our highway speed from 55 miles per hour to 75 miles per hour or 90 kilometers per hour to 120 kilometers per hour by driving at 55 miles per hour instead of 65 miles per hour or 104 kilometers per hour. The sweet spot of driving speed and efficient mileage for most cars are between 30 miles per hour to 50 miles per hour or 50 kilometers per hour to 80 kilometers per hour. After 60 miles per hour, the efficiency naturally drops.