Efficient Driving Tips

Last night I read up on Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency's Driving the Auto$mart Way tips. (Thank you, Canada.)

I did some unit conversions and calculations and found that following just one of the tips (not speeding) can save a lot of money. Check it:

Let's say you're taking a trip across town that involves a 20 mile stretch of highway. You drive a 2003 Ford Taurus (like my mom) that claims to get 36 miles per gallon on the highway, at around 60 mph. If gas costs $2.75 a gallon (ouch), you're burning about 5/9 of a gallon, or $1.53 on this strech of highway. The stretch takes 20 min to cover.

Now say you're in a rush to get where you're going, so you go about 72 mph for the entire stretch of highway. At this speed, it will take 16 minutes and 40 seconds to cover the stretch. The Office of Energy Efficiency says that an increase from 100 to 120 kph (60 to 72 mph) causes a 20% increase in fuel consumption. Now you're using 2/3 of a gallon, or $1.83. You're paying about 30 cents to save a little over 3 minutes on your trip. Say you do this twice a day for a five-day week- that's $3.00 a week, $12 a month, $156 a year.

This is assuming that 1) Your car actually gets the mileage it's supposed to, 2) There's no traffic and you're able to maintain top speed for the entire stretch of highway, 3) You don't get pulled over for speeding and lose a lot more time and a lot more money, and 4) The price of gas doesn't go up any higher (yeah, right.)

Higher speeds also mean less safety. Figures aside, you're more likely to be killed in a 72 mph crash than a 60 mph one. Speeding is totally not worth it. I will have to remind myself of that.