SLOW DOWN.
According to CNN Money, every 10 miles per hour you drive over 60 is like the price of gasoline going up about 54 cents a gallon. That is HUGE! That number goes higher the more your car is a gas-guzzler (inefficient cars like Hummers, SUVS, etc) that have a worse miles per gallon rate to begin with.
Allow me to cut and paste the scientific explanation....don't worry, it's in plain english:
"When cruising on the highway, your car will be in its highest gear with the engine humming along at relatively low rpm's. All your car needs to do is maintain its speed by overcoming the combined friction of its own moving parts, the tires on the road surface and, most of all, the air flowing around, over and under it.
Pushing air around actually takes up about 40% of a car's energy at highway speeds, according to Roger Clark, a fuel economy engineer for General Motors.
Traveling faster makes the job even harder. More air builds up in front of the vehicle, and the low pressure "hole" trailing behind gets bigger, too. Together, these create an increasing suction that tends to pull back harder and harder the faster you drive. The increase is actually exponential, meaning wind resistance rises much more steeply between 70 and 80 mph than it does between 50 and 60."
Of course, not only does slowing down save you money on gas...it can very well save you a $100 speeding ticket.
Know any other ways to cut gas costs?
PS....while you're at it, please get off your cell phone when you're driving. Trust me, you're a nuisance, even if you think you can drink coffee, tune the radio, talk to your best friend about last night's episode of American Idol and STILL drive....you can't. This won't save you money, but it might keep you from killing someone else.
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