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These days everybody is complaining about the cost of driving, particularly fuel.
But what a lot of people don’t know is that they could make a huge difference to their
fuel bills just by changing their behaviour very, very slightly.
If you are careful with the way you drive you can save up to - and get ready for this
- seven hundred and fifty quid a year! Call me old fashioned, but that’s a lot
of money. That’s four months of free fuel, two months
of family shopping and a very agreeable family holiday.
And it’s easy. Tyres - very important.
Apart from helping you not kill yourself, underinflated tyres will use more fuel - up
to seventy five pounds per year - so check them with a pressure gauge.
I’m going to sound like your uncle Norm, but have one in the glove box, put it on,
read it off the gauge - simple as that. Anticipation, as somebody once said, is absolutely
everything - in driving it’s essential. So instead of looking at the car in front
of you, look at the car five, six, seven, eight, even ten cars in front.
Because if they brake you’re going to have to brake too.
It’s the old cadence effect, so just watch it - and there he is, he’s up there braking.
So instantly I’m off the throttle, I’m just coasting up to him, still in gear but
I’m saving petrol. There’s loads to be saved under the bonnet.
Now a lot of us don’t ever open that - it’s a mystery area - but you should, because cars
that aren’t serviced positively gallop through fuel.
You don’t have to take it to a big expensive high-tech garage.
Go to one of those fast fit centres and at least get your oil changed, your oil filter,
your air filter, and your fuel filter, and while you’re at it get them to check your
brakes, make sure they’re not dragging. With gears, just get into the highest gear
as soon as you can. So you don’t have to go one, two, three,
four, five; you can go first, second, then up to fourth, then up to fifth.
The trick is to keep the engine revs as low as possible, because if they’re low you’re
not using so much petrol - there’s not all those little firemen squirting all that fuel
into the cylinders. So as high a gear as possible, as soon as
possible. And try not to use lots and lots of electrical
stuff in the car as you’re driving - switch off your air conditioning unless it’s a
really, really hot day. Even things like your heated rear window - they’re
going to make the generator alternator turn quicker, use more petrol.
So keep all that stuff off, and also, windows - keep them closed on motorways.
Apart from making that terrible drumming noise, they cause aerodynamic imbalance and they
literally slow you down. And don’t forget all that junk in the trunk
and loot in the boot. A car that’s got lots of weight in it means
the engine has got to work harder - you use more fuel.
And you would be surprised what people drive around in - and here we go, we don’t need
this today. Travel light and you’ll save up to twenty-five
quid a year. But it’s not just about money - by lifting
off the loud peddle you’ll be reducing your CO2 emissions and saving the planet, as I
found out from Trewin Restorick from the Global Action Plan.
We at Global Action Plan have a driving simulator which we are taking round to businesses and
we’re challenging people to be the greenest driver by just being fuel-efficient.
And once people get it they get really competitive and show that actually, smarter driving is
greener driving. What’s the biggest saving you’ve ever
seen? You’ve seen someone start on your program
and then come out, what’s the difference? Well, the biggest saving we ever saw was a
cab driver in London who realised he spent a lot of time leaving his engine on when he
was idling. He turned it off - 80% saving in his fuel
bills. And you can imagine what that means for a
cab driver. That’s thousands of pounds.
Thousands. And fuel isn’t the only thing you can save
on. Shop around for absolutely everything - tyres,
exhausts, servicing, there’s always going to be somebody who’s selling it cheaper.
With insurance, use price comparison sites; look at discounted policies like Admiral MultiCar.
You always want value for your money. So that didn’t hurt, did it?
It’s not complicated, you don’t have to be Carol Vorderman, and if you simply change
your behaviour ever so slightly you could save around seven hundred and fifty pounds
a year. So stop moaning, think about your driving,
and start saving. Easy, really.