Hypermiling

If you haven’t heard of Hypermiling yet, it’s about time you do! On NPR earlier this week and today on Yahoo!, there were stories about this technique that is becoming increasingly popular due to rising gas prices.

Hypermiling.com’s homepage explains the technique as follows: “According to a fantastic August 2006 story in the Washington Post, it is a method of increasing your car's gas mileage by making skillful changes in the way you drive, allowing you to save gas and thereby have an easier time withstanding the rising oil and gas prices.”

I have always known that certain things (like speeding) can take a toll on gas mileage, but didn’t realize that there is basically a club out there of “hypermilers” that strive to get that extra .01 mile more per gallon each week.

The steps they recommend are as follows:
1. Keep track of your miles per gallon each time you fill up your tank.
2. Avoid aggressive driving (speeding, tailgating, etc)
3. How long are you sitting at red lights? (Work on timing yourself so that you take your foot off the gas as soon as you see a red light up ahead…not waiting until you get right up close to the person in front of you)
4. Keep moving in traffic congestion. They basically mean that when in stop-and-go traffic on the freeway, you should time your driving so you are not speeding up to catch the group of cars ahead of you. Time it so that you’re going slower, and so that just as you reach the stopped traffic, they are starting to move forward.
5. Slowly accelerate after stops instead of speeding up quickly. I have been doing this a lot lately so woohoo – I’m already a semi-hypermiler!!
6. Use cruise control. They suggest using cruise control not only on the freeways, but also on side streets. Once you are going fast enough to be able to use it, set it and accelerate/decelerate in small increments vs. using the gas pedal or the brake (of course, use the brake to stop at lights, etc). This is the one item that I think I would have a hard time with. I don't even feel comfortable using cruise control on the freeway - nevermind on side streets with traffic lights, stop signs, etc.

I filled my tank on Tuesday night and for the first time in a while, the gas needle hasn't even budged yet!! I'll keep you posted on my gas-conserving progress!!