Life on the Road

A recent post on Crystal’s Biblical Womanhood blog got me thinking again about the skyrocketing price of gas, and what we do about it.

Here in Prescott, Arizona, gas is running just over the $3/gallon mark.  We were glad to come back out of California where the average cost was over $3.50 - and we saw places there that were charging over $4!

There are a lot of great tips that we’re all familiar with for stretching your tank of gas:

• Walk, bike or otherwise don’t drive.  Public transportation is also available in some places.
• Combine trips, find the most efficient route
• Make sure your car is in good shape: oil changes, tune ups, properly inflated tires, etc.

But the one that’s had the most dramatic impact on our gas budget (and we do drive A LOT running aorund all over the country) is one that I seldom hear mentioned, and it seems like I never see it being followed.

I most recently read it again in one of my favorite columns, The Daily Cheapskate, from Mary Hunt of Debt Proof Living:

Slow down. Gas mileage decreases rapidly above 60 miles per hour. If you drive 70 mph instead of 55 mph, experts say you could be burning up 17 percent of your fuel just to get there a few minutes sooner. In fact, each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is equal to paying an additional 10 cents per gallon of gas.

With the speed limit at 75 on the Interstate, that’s 15 mph over 60 - so we’re paying an extra $0.30 a gallon?!  We were just desperate enough to try it, and the results were amazing. 

To drive the round trip from our then-home in Williams, Arizona, down here to Prescott and back took almost a whole tank of gas when we drove the speed limits (65 on the rural highway, 75 on the Interstate) (we already didn’t speed, but that’s another post…).  When we slowed down to 60 max, we could make the round-trip on half a tank!

The results aren’t always that drastic, naturally, but it was really a wake-up call for us.  At $50 or so a tank in my Tahoe, I prefer to stretch it as much as possible — and getting somewhere a few minutes later just isn’t that crucial, anyway.

We save gas - and money, we stress less, we’re safer on the road…  Sounds like a pretty good deal on a number of different fronts.