As Oil Prices Rise – Tips To Save Fuel
Thursday, 28. July 2011
The latest, and potential ongoing, problems with the US economy means that the future of the US dollar is becoming a lot less predictable. One of the downsides to this is the global use of the US dollar to set oil prices. Whilst countries around the world have pushed to change this method of establishing prices it looks as though we’re stuck with it for the near future. It also means that it looks as though we could hit £7 a gallon for diesel next year. Personally I would say that this is optimistic as that is only £1.53 per litre and we’re already at £1.41 in some garages. But the point here is that fuel consumption is becoming more and more of a deciding factor.
But you know what? It can be the way you drive that really affects your fuel usage, more so than the predicted combined fuel consumption, carried out under strict test conditions, and shown in your drivers manual. I found this out myself recently.
Anyone that knows me knows that I’m pretty much late for everything in life which means that I’m continually booting it to get to my destination on time.
This means that on an average longish trip of say 80 – 100 miles I have continually returned around 38 – 40 miles per gallon of diesel. But on a recent trip to Birmingham, something had gone dramatically wrong and I was ridiculously early so instead of the !X?!X miles per hour that I normally drive I sauntered along at a steady 60mph.
Guess what? My fuel consumption thingy said I had averaged over 51mpg, an improvement of over 25%! So whilst I’m recommending that you consider the fuel consumption when selecting your next car you may be able to save much more by keeping a check on your driving style, drive more slowly, no sudden braking or fast acceleration and only use you’re a/c when really necessary.
Oh and another tip, if you have a load of heavy junk in your boot that you carry around, take it out, it affects fuel consumption. By Graham Hill
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