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Try these gas-saving tips

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Contributed by: William Kus on 6/23/2008

If you have no choice but to drive and don't feel like trading in your car for a hybrid or a motorcycle, just changing your daily driving habits can save you some gas.

1. Don't drive so fast. The speed limits aren't there just to make you late or to fill CHP quotas. They were implemented nationally during the first gas crisis in the 1970's to conserve fuel. Try driving slower than your normal pace and see if you save some gas. But don't drive so slow that you cause an accident. This one takes some practice living in Los Angeles around so many speed demons. But with so many cars I often find myself driving between 30 and 40 mph.

2. Don't accelerate and decelerate so much. If you have to, do it slowly with as little pressure on the gas pedal as possible. Try to keep your driving pace as constant as possible.

If you do get a new car, consider things like ...

3. Get a manual transmission. You are able to control what gear you're in, saving gas by being in the most efficient gear. Although it may take years of practice to get to the point of being an efficient manual transmission driver. It's a problem if your car takes a long time to shift to a higher gear at high speeds or if your car decides to remain in a high gear when going up a hill. Although you can waste just as much fuel or more if you decide to drive your manual like a drag racer. Your car also might idle at a lower speed because you're able to disengage into neutral easier when sitting in a drive-thru.

4. Buy a smaller car with a smaller engine, consider getting a hybrid. You won't be able to blow by all the other cars in your V8 SUV anymore, but you will have a more fuel-efficient car. This one is probably the most obvious.

5. Get a motorcycle. They are extremely dangerous ... but great on fuel! Getting full coverage insurance on a motorcycle is 10 percent of what I pay for just liability on my Nissan.

I don't know if I was hallucinating or something but it seemed I was getting about 40 mpg traveling between USC and San Fernando. I am able to make the round trip of about 60 miles on $7 of gas and still have some left over.

I drive a 1994 Nissan Sentra with a manual transmission. I drive between 60 and 65 mph. This in relation to the majority of people around me driving 75 mph and faster.

Take notice of how the big 18-wheelers drive. They are on the road all day long as their job, they have the most experience. They also use the most fuel so they have the biggest incentive to drive economically. That's where I learned to drive with a common-sense approach.

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