Top Tips for Fuel Efficient Driving

Top tips for fuel efficient driving:

1. Planning: plan your journey to avoid traffic congestion and getting lost. Try to take the most direct route and travel outside peak times when possible.

2. Weight: remove unnecessary weight such as clutter, bike racks and roof boxes which will reduce the fuel use.

3. Petrol: fill the petrol tank up to the first click; don’t overfill as fuel can be wasted through spillage and evaporation and make sure the petrol cap is tightly screwed on. Also petrol pumps are calibrated by volume so fill up at night when it’s cold.

4. Speed: observing the speed limit is not only safer but also helps to reduce fuel consumption. Fuel consumption increases the faster you drive.

5. Air Conditioning: using the air conditioner can increase fuel consumption by up to 10% so use it sparingly. However, at higher speeds (+60 mph) using the air conditioner will be more efficient than the wind resistance from open windows.

6. Tyre Pressure: check the tyre pressure regularly as under-inflated tyres can increase fuel consumption by up to 3%.

7. Driving: avoid hard braking and sharp acceleration, accelerate smoothly and slowly. Sudden changes in speed can cause excessive fuel consumption.

8. Revving: monitor the amount of revs, changing up before 2,500rpm in petrol cars and 2,000rpm in diesel cars.

9. Traffic Jams: restarting the engine uses less fuel than idling so switch the engine off if stuck in traffic for more than one or two minutes.

10. Service: regularly service the car, checking the air filters, oil and water levels.