There is an activity that is the single biggest gas robber. You must constantly battle this gas robber to prevent it from stealing your gas. Any time you drive your car you encounter this problem.
The greatest gas robbing problem is: allowing your car to run when your car is not moving. To state it more simply, allowing your car to idle. Idling is the greatest single factor in decreasing your fuel economy.
When your car is running and you are stopped you are getting zero miles per gallon. This is worth repeating. When your car is idling meaning the motor is running but you are not going anywhere, you are getting zero miles per gallon.
If you are on the freeway for 15 minutes and getting 20 miles per gallon, and all of a sudden traffic stops and you idle without moving for 15 minutes your average miles per gallon just dropped from 20 down to 10. The longer you idle, the worse your average fuel economy gets.
There are a number of factors that contribute to situations that cause you to waste gas idling. The biggest culprit is red lights. Every time you need to stop at a red light, you are forced to idle your car and consequently burn fuel at a rate of zero miles per gallon. I have to point out that I am by no means telling you not to stop at red lights. I am just acknowledging that it is a problem.
The next factor contributing to situations of excessive idling is rush hour. During rush hour, with the high volume of traffic on the road, you are forced to drive slower and stop more frequently. Consequently you are idling more than in non rush hour periods.
The red light problem becomes exaggerated during rush hour. Because there is higher traffic volume in the rush hour period, you have to spend more time at red lights. For example, you may be able to make it through a red light in one cycle during normal driving conditions, but that same red light may take two, three or even four cycles to get through in the rush hour period. Your idling time is thereby increased two, three or even four times.
This increased idling is robbing you of fuel economy, and lowering your average miles per gallon. Additionally there is one more major cause of increased idling time: the hated orange barrels. Road construction slows and stops traffic. This of course increases your idling time. Add rush hour to the mix and it exacerbates this problem producing even more traffic delays and more idling time.
How can you fight this excessive idling? The short answer is planning. You have to plan your driving trips to avoid as many idling situations as possible. I don't advocate not stopping at red lights but you can reduce your idling by planning your travel routes to minimize red lights. Avoid lights that you know have long wait cycles. Plan to avoid areas where you know there is construction. Avoid driving during rush hour if at all possible. Arrive earlier at work to avoid the heavy traffic or stay later at work. Try to stagger your work hours so your commute takes advantage of non rush hour times.
Minimizing the time you find yourself sitting in an idling car will help you maintain better fuel economy. Avoiding idle producing situations will go a long way towards achieving better fuel economy, thereby saving you money and saving you gas.
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