Green Driving Tips That Everyone Can Stick To

It’s spring, which means it’s also time for spring cleaning. Maybe you want to tackle that closet that’s gotten a little unruly or give the kitchen that good, deep scrub you’ve been putting off. You might even give your car a good vacuum, wash or wax.

But there’s another way to clean up when it comes to your car — reducing emissions and saving gas. Drivers can take some measures every day to conserve our resources, reduce pollution and minimize our individual carbon footprints. As an extra bonus, these tips will also save you money.

Make sure you have enough tire pressure

If you don’t have enough air in your tires, you’re wasting gasoline and wearing them out faster. Both of these are bad for the planet, and for your wallet. Tires naturally lose air over time, and you might also have a slow leak from a nail you drove over.

Correctly inflated tires will give you good fuel economy and longer tire life. According to the Car Care Council, properly inflated tires can save you 10 cents per gallon on your gasoline costs.

Keep a tire gauge in your car, check your tires at least once a month when they are cool, and make sure that your tires are inflated to the manufacturer’s recommended pressures. You can find these figures on a sticker located on the driver’s door jamb, or in your owner’s manual. If you discover a slow leak in a tire, have it repaired right away.

Don’t use your car as a storage locker

Do you carry around a lot of personal belongings in your car? All of those pieces of sports and exercise equipment, rain gear and everything else in your trunk or cargo area adds up to a lot of extra weight. And that weight makes your car burn lots of extra gas.

Removing all but the most necessary items from your vehicle will make it lighter, and will improve your fuel economy.

Keep your car maintained

When your car is running at peak efficiency, it will get the best possible fuel economy. The best way to keep your vehicle in this sweet spot is to maintain it properly, following the manufacturer’s recommended service intervals.

When you do this, your car will run better, pollute less, get great mileage, and cost you much less in repairs down the road. Refer to your owner’s manual for the specific details on when your car should be serviced, or ask a mechanic.

Fueling tips for Earth-friendly operation

There are two key areas related to fueling your car that can make a big difference.

Replace your damaged or missing gas cap: If your gas cap is broken or missing, gasoline vapors escaping from your tank can travel directly into the atmosphere, where they react with sunlight to produce smog. That’s not good for the air we breathe, and it wastes gas, too. A replacement cap will keep your gas tank sealed tight, and is inexpensive.

Don’t top off your tank after the first click: Trying to fill your gas tank to the tippy-top is a bad idea. If you spill gas on the ground, it will evaporate and create smog when the sun hits it. Overfilling your tank can also damage your fuel system’s charcoal canister, requiring an expensive replacement. Plus, today’s vapor recovery systems often take that extra gas and return it to the station’s underground tanks — and you still pay for it!

Use efficient driving habits

The engineers and designers who created your car did everything they could to improve its efficiency and reduce its emissions. But it’s up to you to make the most of these features.

Here are some simple tactics you can use to achieve the highest possible fuel economy, while reducing your gasoline costs at the same time:

• Accelerate gently, while still keeping up with the flow of traffic
• Drive at the speed limit, not over it
• Minimize your idling time — if you’re out of traffic and stopping for longer than 30 seconds, shut off your engine
• Use cruise control on highway trips, if the traffic is not too heavy
• Combine several short trips into one

Use other ways to get around

If you think about it, the best way for your car to achieve the least amount of environmental impact is to use it only when necessary. This may not be an option that you can use every day. But each time that you walk, ride a bike or a scooter, carpool, or use public transportation instead of driving your car, you’re reducing your carbon footprint, creating less pollution, and putting money in your pocket.