So today I filled the tank of our Mazda 6, ending the final week of my month long driving experiment of driving slower and a little less aggressively. This week I took it a little farther, driving even slower than usual and being careful to accelerate slower.
This week I managed to get an amazing (for me) 29.6 mpg. This is a fairly large jump since I started at the beginning of the month, and I am actually fairly surprised at what a difference slower driving can make. Although my results are not nearly as good as the results on the Wisebread Blog, I think they’re pretty good.
The jump in miles per gallon from the beginning of the month is almost 4 mpg. On a single tank of gas 4 mpg takes us 56 extra miles, or the equivalent of about 2 gallons of gas every single week. Although driving 55 mph on the freeway is extremely annoying, I will likely keep it up since I have now seen the effects of driving slower.
I encourage everyone to consider their driving habits and slow down when driving. With gas pricing hitting the prices that they are every little bit helps. Next time you get that chain email saying to boycott the gas stations, drive slower that day to conserve gas. It’s good for your wallet and good for the environment. And in the long run that’s far better for all of us.
