Save money on gas and reduce your carbon footprint by adopting green driving habits.
Welcome to Week 18 of the 50 Ways to Reduce Your Waste Line. Last week, we asked you to turn off your personal computer and monitor at the end of the day to save energy. This week we provide suggestions on how you can save money and the environment by incorporating a few simple to adopt driving habits into your daily commute.
Five Things You Can Do
Natural Resources Canada has numerous online resources to help you reduce your impact on the environment any time you have to get into your car and drive.
When it comes to fuel-efficient driving habits, they have a list of suggestions called the “Fuel-Efficient Five” which can help save you up to 20% at the pump!
Accelerate Gently – accelerating to 20 km/hr over 5 seconds (or imagining that there is an open nearly-full cup of coffee on your dashboard while accelerating) can save you up to 15% on gas costs. Manual transmission shifting should occur between 2,000 – 2,500 rpm to maximize savings.
Maintain a Steady Speed – heavy fluctuations in speed variation can cost you an additional 20-50% in fuel costs, depending on your acceleration profile. Consider utilizing your on-board cruise control, and taking opportunities to coast (i.e. downhill or in slowing traffic) wherever possible.
Anticipate Traffic – read the road ahead, anticipate road disruptions, monitor the movements of pedestrians and other vehicles, and keep a comfortable distance between your vehicle and the one in front of you. These driving techniques will enable you to keep your speed as steady as possible and avoid unnecessary fuel consumption and safety risks.
Avoid High Speeds – Most vehicles operate most efficiently between 50-80 km/hr, or around 2,000 – 2,500 rpm. Vehicles traveling at 120 km/hr use about 20% more fuel per km than those traveling at 100 km/hr. Over a stretch of 25 km, that equates to only a 2 minute time differential… so how quickly do you REALLY need to get where you are going?
Coast to Decelerate – by anticipating traffic slowdowns as early as possible, you can decrease your speed, conserve fuel and save money by simply taking your foot off the accelerator. You also save wear and tear on your vehicle’s breaking system this way.
Some Facts
- Burning 1 L of gasoline results in 2.3 kg of CO2 being released to the atmosphere
- Similarly, burning 1 L of diesel results in 2.7 kg of CO2 being released to the atmosphere
- Some insurance companies utilize telematics smartphone apps to monitor policy-holder driving patterns, rewarding those that adopt safe (and cost effective) driving habits via reduced rates
- Numerous other telematics apps exist on the various smartphone app stores… for those that don’t like feeling like “big brother” is watching over them!
