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Get the Facts Do Your Part
This is a core SixLinks guide
500 Transportation points
by Sara Harrison Guide: Drive Better

Sara's action: Drive Better

We don't expect people to go out tomorrow and replace their vehicles with more efficient ones. But that doesn't mean you can't do anything to improve the efficiency of your driving.
Step 1: Keep track of your mpg read more
See what your mileage is for a couple of average fill-ups. You can know for sure by filling the car up and zeroing the trip odometer then filling up again and dividing the mileage on the trip odometer by the number of gallons you put in. Do this a couple times to get a good idea of what your baseline is.
Completed on July 3, 2009 at 2:44 p.m.
Step 2: Try taking advantage of better driving techniques for 2 fillups read more
Better driving means performing any regular maintenance on your car (don't forget to check tire pressures), removing any heavy unnecessary objects from the vehicle (still have the bags of sand in there from winter?), and accelerating smoothly. It also involves cutting your speed on the highway a bit. When driving around town, don't accelerate to a red light (the more you use your brake, the more energy you are wasting). Other techniques include using your A/C less, planning your trips to minimize stops, and turning off the engine instead of idling (new cars are very efficient at starting up, here's a good article on it).
Completed on July 3, 2009 at 2:44 p.m.
Step 3: Check your mileage again read more
Continue to track mileage to see what the changes are doing to your mileage.
Completed on July 3, 2009 at 2:44 p.m.
Step 4: Continue using these practices and tracking your mileage read more
Make the behaviors (and mileage improvements) permanent. Continue to try get better and consistently raise your mileage. This is an ongoing thing, but once you feel like you've made a significant improvement, you can check off the guide.
Completed on July 3, 2009 at 2:44 p.m.
All Done!
Tomo Says:Great Job!
Updates and Comments: What is this?
The updates and comments below show how Sara is doing in completing her action. You can leave her comments, suggestions and encouragement using the box below.
Tomo Says:If anyone wants to know, grass is tasty. That's why we dogs eat it sometimes. No other reason. Just tasty.
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