Saving Gas by Changing How People Drive

In addition to my regular and customary personal and work life activities, for the past few months I also have been working with colleagues on four new books, under contract and with hard, publisher deadlines. Thus, as you may have noticed, I have been remiss in posting Posts on my blog. Nonetheless, I repeatedly have been observing something that I feel a need to address: how we Americans drive.

We all are aware of the ongoing oil crisis around the world. For example, it is estimated that the world may have enough oil to year 2030 at current consumption, and enough natural gas to year 2060 if all known reserves were recoverable. Moreover, we all are vividly aware of America’s energy crisis and the myriad of posited solutions to it – from solar panels, smoke stack strubbing and ethanol fuel to modern sail tankers and hybred solar lighting. Not only have we witnessed $4.00+ per gallon gas prices, but we also have read about such things as flex fuel vehicles and hydrogen car kits. And as I ride around the barrier islands of the west coast of Florida in my 6-cylinder Jeep or on my 50 mpg Harley – on most roads doing 35 mph and on the interstate in the far right lane doing 60 mph – I continuously see my fellow drivers in their V-8 SUVs catapulting away from red lights and driving 70-75 on the interstate. The thought repeatedly coming upon my cerebral radar screen is: we need to drive differently!

Driving differently will save gas:

1. Minimize driving with a cold engine. Engines run most efficiently when they’re warm. In Consumer Reports’ city-driving tests, making multiple short trips and starting the engine from cold reduced fuel economy for both the sedan and SUV. Engines also produce more pollution and wear faster when they’re cold. To minimize cold-engine driving, avoid making a lot of separate short trips with a cold engine. Instead, combine short trips into one so that the engine stays warm.

2. Drive smoothly. Avoid hard acceleration and braking whenever possible. In Consumer Reports’ tests, frequent bursts of acceleration and braking reduced the Toyota Camry’s mileage by 2 to 3 mile per gallon and the Mercury Mountaineer’s by about 1 mpg. The harder you accelerate the more fuel you use. Unnecessarily hard braking wastes the fuel you use to get up to speed. Drive smoothly and anticipate the movement of traffic. Use your brakes as little as possible, since every time you hit them you are wasting fuel. Once up to speed on the highway, maintain a steady pace in top gear. Smooth acceleration, cornering and braking not only save fuel but also extend the life of the engine, transmission, brakes and tires.

3. Reduce unnecessary drag. At highway speeds, more than 50% of engine power goes to overcoming aerodynamic drag. Don’t add to that drag by carrying things on top of your vehicle when you don’t have to. Consumer Reports installed a large Thule Cascade 1700 car-top carrier on its sedan and SUV. Keep in mind, however, that the effect varies, depending on the model. Driving with the carrier cut 6 mpg from the normally aerodynamic Camry, dropping it from 35 mpg to 29. Even driving with empty racks on the car reduces its fuel economy.

4. Slow down. Aerodynamic drag exponentially increases on the highway the faster you drive. Consumer Reports tested its vehicles’ fuel economy at 55, 65, and 75 mph. Driving at 75 mph instead of 65 reduced the Camry’s gas mileage from 35 mpg to 30. For the Mountaineer, fuel economy fell from 21 mpg to 18. Slowing to 55 mph improved the gas mileage by similar margins: The Camry improved to 40 mpg and the Mountaineer to 24 mpg.

The question I ponder is: How can we get Americans to drive in the above four ways?

In my doctoral education in counseling psychology, I embraced the excellent work by Dr. Soloman Asch, a world-renowned American Gestalt psychologist and pioneer in social psychology. He basically said there are three ways to change peoples’ behavior – in my words and with my pertinent examples, they are:

1. Compliance – for fear of punishment. “I will drive slower because I am afraid of getting a ticket.”

2. Conformity – wanting to be like everyone else. “I will drive lower because everyone else is.”

3. Internalization – knowing and believing what is the right thing to do. “I will drive slower because it’s the right thing to do.”

Obviously there are pros and cons to each of these three options (e.g., Compliance is quicker but only works if the fear is present; Internalization takes the longest to institute but it also lasts longer). Personally, I’d like to see initiatives focused on all three – for example: (1) having our interstates return to a maximum of 55 mph (and I realize the crisis that could cause – we may have to eave for work five minutes earlier); (2) having celebrities and respected members of our society do commercials (“See, I drive 55 mph and am proud of it.”); and (3) convincing multimedia efforts to explain why driving differently is the right thing to do.

I realize that it may take a generation of drivers to see an appreciable difference in the way we drive in America. But in the meantime, I will drive me Jeep and my Harley consistent with the above four gas-saving tips, and I invite you to set your alarm five minutes earlier and do likewise.

Bill