Your driving habits, the type of vehicle you drive and the
conditions under which you drive will affect your vehicle’s
environmental performance. Follow these tips for greener driving.

Minimise your vehicle use.

Think about your travel needs prior to your travel. Planned travel
decisions will result in fewer trips and more efficient/cheaper travel
than unplanned decisions made ‘on the go’. Some travel planning tips:

• Plan to do a number of errands in one trip rather than several trips
and save both time and fuel (for the first couple of minutes of a car
trip the engine is cold and this results in an increase in fuel
consumption per kilometre).
• Patronise shops near to you whenever possible to reduce the
distances you travel by car. Walk or cycle to your local shops
if you can.
• Avoid peak-hour traffic whenever possible.
• Use alternative transport, eg. public transport (bus, train or ferry),
walking or cycling. These alternative methods of travel are often
cheaper, and may provide other benefits including increased fitness.

Drive in high gear.

The engine runs most efficiently between around 1,500 and 2,500 rpm
(lower in diesels). To maintain these low revs you should change up
through the gears as soon as practical and before the revs reach
2,500 rpm. Automatic transmissions will shift up more quickly and
smoothly if you ease back slightly on the accelerator once the car
gathers momentum.

Drive smoothly – avoid unnecessary acceleration.

Drive at a good distance from the car in front so you can anticipate
and travel with the flow of traffic. You will be able to see such things
as traffic lights changing or cars turning and minimise your fuel use
through braking and accelerating back up to full speed.

Minimise fuel wasted in idling.

Minimise fuel wasted in idling by stopping the engine whenever
your car is stopped or held up for an extended period of time.
By having the engine switched off, even for a short period, you
will save more fuel than is lost from the burst of fuel involved in
restarting the engine. The net increased wear and tear from this
practice is negligible.

Speed kills economy.

High speeds result in high fuel consumption. At 110 km/h your car uses
up to 25% more fuel than it would cruising at 90 km/h.

Minimise aerodynamic drag.

Additional parts on the exterior of a vehicle such as roof racks
and spoilers, or having the window open, increases air resistance
and fuel consumption, in some cases by over 20%.

Look after your vehicle’s tyres.

Inflate your vehicle’s tyres to the highest pressure recommended by
the tyre manufacturer and make sure your wheels are properly
aligned (remember to keep your spare tire inflated as well).
Looking after your tyres will not only reduce your fuel consumption
it will also extend tyre life and improve handling.

Use air conditioning sparingly.

Air conditioners can use about 10% extra fuel when operating.
However, at speeds of over 80 km/h, use of air conditioning is
better for fuel consumption than an open window.

Travel light.

Don’t carry more people or cargo than you have to. The more a vehicle
carries the more fuel it uses; an extra 50kg of weight can increase
your fuel bill by around 2%.

Service your vehicle regularly

Keeping your vehicle well tuned will minimise its
environmental impact.

Source: www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au