On the Road: Fighting Those High Fuel Prices

With the average cost of gasoline and diesel fuel at over $4 per gallon, businesses and their employees need to conserve energy. Higher gas prices have affected everyone—from fleet managers for large companies, to truckers delivering goods, to employees driving to work. If you can't afford alternative fuel or hybrid vehicles, you can still significantly improve vehicle fuel economy (easily up to 40%) with a few generally low-cost techniques. Here are some ideas for both your organization and your employees, some of which may surprise you.

Drive More Efficiently

Drive Sensibly. Aggressive driving (speeding, and rapidly accelerating or braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33% at highway speeds and by 5% around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money. Fuel Economy Benefit: 5%–33%.

Observe the Speed Limit. While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. You can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.30 per gallon for gas. Observing the speed limit is also safer. Fuel Economy Benefit: 7%–23%.

Remove Excess Weight. Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2%. The reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle's weight, and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones. Fuel Economy Benefit: 1%-2% per 100 lbs.

Avoid Excessive Idling. Idling gets 0 miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than cars with smaller engines.

Use Cruise Control. Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas.

Use Overdrive Gears. When you use overdrive gearing, your car's engine speed goes down. This saves gas and reduces engine wear.

Keep Vehicles in Shape

Keep Vehicle Engines Properly Tuned. Fixing a car that is noticeably out of tune or has failed an emissions test can improve its gas mileage by an average of 4%, though results vary based on the kind of repair and how well it is done. Fixing a serious maintenance problem, such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can improve your mileage by as much as 40%. Fuel Economy Benefit: 4%.

Check and Replace Air Filters Regularly. Replacing a clogged air filter can improve your car's gas mileage by as much as 10%. Your car's air filter keeps impurities from damaging the inside of your engine. Not only will replacing a dirty air filter save gas, it will protect your engine. Fuel Economy Benefit: up to 10%.

Keep Tires Properly Inflated. You can improve your gas mileage by around 3.3% by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. Under-inflated tires can lower gas mileage by 0.4% for every 1 psi drop in the pressure of all four tires. Properly inflated tires are safer and last longer. Fuel Economy Benefit: up to 3%.

Organizational Issues

Commuting

• Allow flex-time when possible. Employees who can stagger their hours can spend less time sitting in traffic and idling during peak rush hour periods. Offer telecommuting (working from home) when it makes sense.
• Encourage carpooling or ride-sharing programs. These can help employees cut fuel usage by up to 50%. Public transportation, if available, is another good fuel saving option. Encourage participation by offering incentives or rewards.

Traveling. Avoid traveling by car or plane to meetings or training sessions whenever possible. Much of this type of work can be accomplished through conference calls, web conferencing, or other alternatives. While these technologies can't totally replace face-to-face contact, they can help cut significantly on fuel costs.

Fleet Management. Many commercial fleets are oversized for the jobs that they need to perform. Fleet managers should review their vehicle mix. Often, a mix of lighter vans and mid-sized vehicles can do the work now being done by bigger, less efficient trucks. Fleet managers should also take a look at pick-up and delivery schedules to look for opportunities to combine loads or otherwise save fuel.

Drive Only Fuel Efficient Vehicles. For company cars, personal vehicles, and rentals, look for only the most fuel efficient vehicles available. An excellent resource is the U.S. EPA Web site, FuelEconomy.gov, which includes side-by-side comparison of the fuel efficiency of different vehicles from current and past model years, as well as information on hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles.