Fear not...Help is at hand...GET A BICYCLE!

Seriously, there are a few things that can be
done without throwing your car keys away and
walking everywhere. (PHEW)!

A lot of the things you can do to save fuel are
easy and free.

When was the last time you checked your tires to
see if they were inflated to the correct pressure?
Under inflated tires are one of the main causes
of excess fuel consumption. It's easy to check
your tire pressures daily with a cheap tire
pressure gauge; if you don't know how asks your
local garage mechanic to show you (A free beer
works wonders).

When you buy your fuel can have an effect on what
you get. Gas is sold by volume and as we all know
from school, liquids expand when warm, so if you
buy your gas at the hottest part of the day you
will get less than if you buy when it is cold. So
the logical time to buy your gas is just before
dawn (Who's Dawn?) when it's coldest.

With 24 hour shopping it would make sense to do
your weekly shop while others are asleep and fill
up your tank at the same time. The roads will be
quieter so less traffic to get stuck behind and
waste fuel.

There are various (free) websites that will tell
you the cheapest gas prices in your area.

How about just washing your car. It causes less
drag, ... Honestly. Why do you think that
swimmers shave their heads (i.e. Duncan Goodhew)?
Or what about those skin tight smooth figure
hugging suits worn by downhill skiers? (Just
going for a cold shower).

Make car washing fun, get all the family involved.
Hose down the dog, hose down the kids. Hose down
the whole neighbourhood. (If winter you may
ignore this one)

Sitting at the lights revving the engine may
impress the boy racers but it uses gas. Rev the
engine 15 times and you use enough fuel to travel
one mile. Remember this next time you have to
push your car to the gas station.

Is your car due for a service? (I know a good
priest who can give the last rites at a
reasonable price). I know it costs money for
servicing your car if you are unable to do it
yourself. But the cost in extra fuel if your car
is not running right is even more. (Blocked air
filter, worn spark plugs, sticking brakes, etc.)

Best of all drive safely. Do not tailgate! if you
do you will have to brake harder when the car in
front does. Give some distance to the car in
front. You will use your brakes less and still
get there at the same time. Watch the traffic far
ahead and try to read how they are going to act,
if you see brake lights up ahead you can react a
bit sooner.

If you are driving in the wet you can sometimes
see the reflections of brake lights on the wet
road surface. This allows you to slow down sooner
and avoid harsh braking.

John Beck