How to Save Gas - Behavioral Efficiencies in Our Daily Lives

To save gas in any significant way, we will most likely need to change our lifestyle. This can seem very difficult, but even a small change can help make a difference. Therefore, don’t underestimate the impact! Give one or two of the following ideas a try and we may save gas (money), and most of all, save our earth.

Action Difficulty: Moderately Challenging but ACHIEVABLE!

Things we’ll need:
· Computer
· Bike
· Bus access
· Car
· Friends

5 Must-Know Driving Guidelines:

1. Listen to Relaxing Music

When listening to energetic music, our heart rate may increase, making us accelerate harder, speed, and do other things that are not good on our fuel consumption.

2. Buy Regular Gas Only

Stop filling up with Plus and Premium: Octane is defined as a rating of the fuel’s resistance to engine-damaging pre-ignition in high performance vehicles.

3. Stop Filling Up the Minimum

If we need gas, fill it up FULL. Every trip we take to the gas station and wait in line while other people fill up is our own gas wasted.

4. Avoid Braking Too Much

When we see a red light in the distance, quit accelerating and just let our car slow down naturally, so that by the time we actually reach the light we won’t need to step on our brakes so hard. This will save us a ton of gas.

5. Park in the Shade

Liquids will evaporate in high temperatures, and our gas isn’t safe if iti is in the sun. Move it into our garage or park it in a shaded area to prevent against the phase change of a liquid.



5 Daily Instructions:

1. Take Advantage of Proximity or Telecommute

The most ideal situation is:
Find a job closer to our house, or just move closer to our jobs. If the commute is short enough, we may be able to walk or ride a bike. The simple correlation here is that the longer we have to drive, the more gas we will use.
Another choice to consider is telecommute. Many jobs don't allow this, but some do or they might or offer partial telecommute options if we pursue them. NO doubt this would save a lot of money spent on gas sitting for untold hours in stressful traffic.

2. Combine Errands

Bank and shop and get gas all in the same morning or afternoon or evening. Need to visit the post office? If it can wait, go there the same time we hit the hardware store and library. Combining errands can make a huge difference, when we consider all the little trips taken to one destination and then home. In terms of banking and bills, do as much as we can from our home computer.

3. Purchase a (Tandem) Bike

It‘s a good investment to make multiple riding even more fun, or simply bike whenever possible, with or without kids, to nearby shopping, errands, school and leisure activities. For example, biking is on the rise and is viewed as a healthy lifestyle promoted by Taiwanese government, we people can rent and return bicycles on the street by ourselves. The whole system is quite convenient!

4. Take Bus, or Have Children Take the Bus

This may be easiest as a college student, but as a parent, go for the school bus option to save gas dollars. Economical and safe, this choice, if more parents could take it, would eliminate a huge amount of traffic on the road. Alternatively, find another parent or two and take turns carpooling kids to school. Carpool whenever possible with, say, another swim team mom or Girl Scout mom.

5. Carpool

This is a rather simple alternative to driving our car. If we need to go to school or work each morning, try to get a group of buddies together and carpool. We can rotate shifts so everyone can share the equal burden and be happy.

Experts’ Point of View:

To deserve to be mentioned, a peer-reviewed Journal from Transportation Research titled "Fuel saving and ridesharing in the US: Motivations, limitations, and opportunities" points out that "ridesharing can reduce the fuel consumed in noncommercial passenger highway vehicles by grouping individuals into fewer vehicles and reducing the number of miles that vehicles must travel."

The authors, Jacobson and King, estimate the potential fuel savings that could result from an increase in ridesharing in the US. If no additional travel is required to pick up passengers, adding 1 additional passenger for every 100 vehicles would reduce annual fuel consumption by 0.80-0.82 billion gallons of gasoline per year; if 1 passenger were added in every 10 vehicles, the potential savings would be 7.54-7.74 billion gallons per year.

A Fun Video

About: AAA man teaches us how to save gas in extreme ways.

Actions to Take:

• Drive car wisely and safely – follow 5 Must-Known Diving Guidelines.
  

• Reduce the number of times we have to drive by thinking ahead. Walk, bicycle, take bus, or carpool to our destination, if reasonable.
  

• Make sure to wear clothing appropriate for the weather - it makes the car ride feel better, and you won't have to rely on the heater or air conditioner as much, both of which use more gas.
  

*Remember, Actions speak louder than words!

Our small behavioral changes do make huge differences in saving fuel (money) and our only earth.

Info from:

• http://www.ehow.com/how_2296755_save-gas.html
  
• http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1146722/how_to_save_gas.html
  
• http://www.wikihow.com/Save-Gas
  
• Jacobson, S. H., & King, D. M. (2009). Fuel saving and ridesharing in the US: Motivations, limitations, and opportunities. Transportation Research, Part D: Transport and Environment, 14(1), 14-21. doi:10.1016/j.trd.2008.10.001

Posted by YiChen Chen