14 Tips for Better Gas Mileage
Updated October 3, 2020 . AmFam Team
Everyone wants a car with good gas mileage but getting rid of your gas guzzler and buying a more efficient vehicle can be time consuming and stressful. You’re not out of luck — we’ve got plenty of tips to help you make your car run cleaner and more efficiently, saving you money on gas in the process.
What is Good Gas Mileage
What’s considered “good” for gas mileage can vary due to many factors, such as the type of vehicle. As a rule of thumb, a gas mileage rating of 23mpg – for combined highway and city – is considered good. Here’s a quick breakdown of popular vehicle types and what type of gas mileage to expect from each:
Non-electric Pickup Trucks
•Standard size truck. Standard trucks can get around 25 mpg.
•Small size truck. Small trucks usually get about 23 mpg.
Non-electric SUVs
•Standard size SUVs. Standard size SUVs get around 33 mpg.
•Small size SUVs. Small SUVs get around 40 mpg.
Non-electric Cars
•Subcompact cars. A subcompact car should get about 33 mpg.
•Compact cars. A compact car can get up to 46 mpg.
•Midsize cars. Midsize cars can get up to 56 mpg.
•Large cars. A large car can get up to 58 mpg.
Bear in mind that there are many factors that can affect fuel efficiency, and the average miles-per-gallon shown above are considered top-of-the-line gas sippers for their category.
Safe Driving Tips for More Fuel Efficient Driving
Your vehicle’s gas mileage isn’t just dependent on all its moving parts — a lot of it rides on you, the driver. Here’s how you can fine-tune your driving habits to get better efficiency from your vehicle on the road:
1. Drive patiently and defensively
Zipping around other cars by rapidly accelerating and decelerating wastes gas, and it’s not particularly safe either. Be kind to other drivers (and your wallet!) by gradually applying the gas and avoiding excessively stepping on and off the brake.
2. Avoid speeding
The accepted rule of thumb is that every five miles per hour you drive over 50 should reduce your fuel efficiency — as much as an additional $0.15 per gallon of gas. Obeying the speed limit can help you stay beneath that threshold. Save and be safer by keeping a steady, legal speed.
3. Take advantage of cruise control
Instead of constantly accelerating and decelerating over the course of longer trips, let your cruise control maintain your vehicle’s speed and keep your car running at an efficient pace.
4. Don’t waste gas on idling your vehicle
Whether you’re picking up your kids at school or waiting at the bank drive-up window, turn off the car and put it in park. By avoiding idling, you’ll save gas, money and help the environment.
For those in colder climates, making sure to park your car in the garage when you can and avoiding warming up your car before you head to work can help you save, too. While it’s a great feeling hopping into a warm, defrosted car that’s been running for ten minutes, you’re wasting valuable gas when you let it sit in your driveway and heat up.
5. Be cool about using air conditioning
Good news! Warm weather improves your engine’s efficiency. But, when you turn on the air conditioner, you’re using more gas. According to fueleconomy.gov, air (Opens in a new tab) conditioning is a leading cause of reduced gas efficiency in warm weather. Use these AC guidelines in summer:
- Drive with windows open at slower speeds and enjoy the breeze
- Set the temperature at a reasonable setting when you have to close windows
- Turn it off when you’re cool enough
- Keep it off when you’re idling
6. Roll up those windows
When you’re driving on the highway, keeping your windows closed can keep your car at peak performance. When your windows are open, you’re inviting aerodynamic drag to make it tougher for your vehicle to maintain its speed, burning more gas in the process.
7. Adjust your commute times
Driving in slow, stop-and-go traffic can take a toll on your gas mileage. Sometimes leaving earlier or later can reduce your travel time and improve fuel efficiency, with relatively minor adjustments to your work schedule. Talk to your employer about how you can alter your work schedule to spend less of your valuable time waiting on the road, wasting gas.
8. Plan your trips effectively
Need to go to the gym, grocery store and pharmacy? Instead of tackling them one by one and returning home after each, plan your day around doing them all in one swoop and save gas. When it makes sense to, include a trip to the gas station to refuel as well.
Maintain Your Car to Improve Gas Mileage
Keeping your car up-to-date on routine maintenance is key to preserving its fuel efficiency — not to mention keeping it running smoothly and maintaining its sale or trade value. Here are some ways to can keep your car healthy and happy:
9. Keep your car’s tires inflated
Check your owner’s manual, the sticker on your driver’s side door jamb or in your glove box to determine proper tire inflation pressure (psi). Don’t use the maximum psi printed on your tire.
Keeping your tires inflated has other benefits, too as they’ll be less susceptible to leaks and blowouts if they’re consistently properly inflated.
10. Tune your engine
If your engine light goes on, investigate the issue and take your car to the auto repair shop if necessary. When your engine works efficiently, you get better gas mileage. Make sure to ask to have your air filters examined the next time you take your car to the shop for an oil change or maintenance. While you’re at it, ask about the health of your spark plugs, too. All of these can have major effects on your vehicle’s efficiency and performance.
11. Change your oil on time
Regular oil changes with the correct grade of oil can improve your gas mileage. Some motor oils with energy conservation stickers can further improve your performance, if appropriate for your vehicle.
Watch Your Vehicle Weight
Adding extra weight to your car can reduce your gas mileage, whether you’re carrying your bike or hauling a trailer full of old furniture. Here’s how you can make sure your next transport trip doesn’t cost you tons of gas:
12. Rooftop racks and cargo can be a drag
Think twice about putting a cargo unit on your roof, which can reduce your car’s gas efficiency by as much as 25 percent on highways. Using a rear-mounted cargo box or tray also reduces fuel economy, but only by about one to five percent on the highway.
Even when you’re not using it, rooftop racks can still reduce your gas mileage. So if you’ve found you haven’t used it in a long time, consider having it professionally removed from your vehicle for good.
13. Only carry what you need in your trunk
There’s probably plenty of stuff weighing down your vehicle in your trunk. And besides your emergency kit, it’s probably unnecessary. Take out your golf clubs and heavy tool kit, leave the emergency essentials and watch your car get a slight bump in its gas mileage!
14. Check your trailer tires
Like the tires on your car, low tire pressure on your trailer can increase drag and reduce efficiency. Follow the same tips we gave for your vehicle’s tires — keep them properly inflated for better gas mileage and to reduce the risk of blowouts and leaks. And don’t overinflate!
Protect Your Car From the Unexpected
By keeping these tips in mind, you can improve your car’s gas mileage and potentially reduce your carbon footprint. While you take care of your car, your agent can help you prepare for the unexpected with a car insurance policy specifically built just for you.
Get in touch with an American Family Insurance agent (Opens in a new tab) and gain the peace of mind you deserve.
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Sending a text, eating your burrito, applying makeup — what do all of these tasks have in common?
They’re all everyday examples of distracted driving.
As a driver, it’s your responsibility to focus on the road to keep you, your passengers, and other people on the road safe from accidents. We’ve put a spotlight on some risky driving behaviors that we hope can help influence you to keep your focus on the road.
What is Distracted Driving?
Distracted driving is when the driver is doing something that takes their attention away from the task of driving. Any time your eyes and/or mind are taken away from the road, you’re technically distracted, which means an increase in the risk of an accident.
Not all driving distractions are created equal. As you can imagine, some forms of distraction aren’t as dangerous as others. For example, hands-free telephone conversations — although not recommended — isn’t as deadly as other modes of conversation while driving.
The Deadliest Driving Distraction: Texting and Driving
It should come as no surprise to you that texting is the most common distraction while driving as well as the most dangerous. It’s so deadly in fact, that it gets its very own section.
It’s easy for us all to see the dangers of texting while driving, but even with that knowledge, so many of us fall into the temptation of sending off a fast text message while behind the wheel. But even a quick text can have horrible consequences.
Just think, when you look at your phone, your focus is on the screen, not the road; one hand is off the wheel to hold your device, and your mind drifts to the message instead of the task at hand: driving safely.
Why texting is distracting
To put it into perspective, if you’re traveling at 55 MPH and you take your eyes off the road and onto your phone, you’ve traveled about 100 yards – the length of a football field! That’s quite a distance to cover driving “blind.”
The National Safety Council reports that one out of every four car accidents in the United States is caused by a distracted driver who was texting. They also reported that texting and driving is six times more likely to cause an accident than driving while intoxicated.
Let these driving facts be a wake-up call to the extreme dangers of texting while driving.
Is it Illegal to Use Your Phone While Driving?
The truth is that it depends on which state you live in. As of 2020, the Governors Highway Safety Association reports that there is a hand-held cell phone use ban in 22 states, with 48 states banning text messaging for all drivers. Find out the distracted driving laws for your state to ensure you’re following the rules of the road in your state.
It’s always important to know our state laws, and in your state there may very well be no law preventing you from texting while driving. However, for your safety as well as those in your car, and for anyone else sharing the roads with you, it’s best to stick with a firm “no phone use while driving” mentality.
Types of Distracted Driving
The first step to preventing distracted driving is understanding what it is. In a nutshell, anything that occupies your attention while driving is a distraction. Here are a few notable distractors that should be eliminated while behind the wheel.
Checking your GPS
When it comes to directions, we’ve come a long way from the world of fold-up maps. Today, everyone has a built-in navigation system in the palm of their hands: the smartphone. The only problem is that just one quick glance at your phone’s screen is all it takes for a costly mistake behind the wheel.
Your best bet is to leave your phone in your pocket or purse when driving. But if you must use your phone for directions, enable the voice feature so that you don’t have to look at the screen for every turn.
Sifting through your music device
Trying to find the right song for your road trip is just as dangerous as texting and driving. Your best bet is to pick a playlist prior to getting into your vehicle. Or listen to the radio. The key here is to keep your eyes on the road and not on your music device.
Checking social media
Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, you name it – all of them bide for our constant attention. Don’t fall prey to this when you’re driving. That post, tweet, or message can wait. Avoid checking social media when behind the wheel.
Eating behind the wheel
You may be a pro at eating your burrito on the go, but ingesting your lunch while driving is a big no-no. All it takes is one wayward waffle fry to take your attention from the road to your lap. And it’s not just the mess that distracts; it’s the smell, taste, you name it – that makes eating one of the most distracting things you can do while driving.
Other types of distracted driving
There are a few more forms of distracted driving that could cause an accident. If you’re in the driver’s seat, try to avoid these altogether:
- Taking selfies
- Talking on the phone
- Drinking coffee or another beverage
- Putting on makeup
- Using an app
- Loud music
Top 5 Ways to Prevent Distracted Driving
There are easy ways to prevent distracted driving. Try using making these five simple changes distracted driving safety tips to have a safer driving experience.
Use a text-blocking app
There are many apps available that block texts while driving. Several apps exist with different features, ranging from ones that completely block any incoming or outgoing texts while going a certain speed, to apps that will send a message saying you’re unavailable to respond to an incoming text. Here’s a list from DMV.org with great suggestions for apps to fight distracted driving.
Have a passenger navigate for you
If you’re driving with a passenger (of an appropriate age), hand the directions to them. Even a not-so-great navigator in the passenger seat is better than the person behind the wheel being responsible for both driving and navigating. If you’re driving by yourself, take the time to look at the directions before you set off. Then turn the volume up and let the AI lead the way.
Make music selection easy
Make multiple playlists that you can choose from before starting the car. If you really need to change it up, either pull over or wait for a red light. Set your presets to stations you already know you like. Hitting one button is better than cranking the dial until you find music you like.
Don’t text while driving
If you’re behind the wheel, just put the phone away. Social media can wait. It’s not going anywhere — that we can promise. Are the notifications too tempting? Turn them off! No comment or new tweet is worth the risk.
Eat at home or while stopped
If you’re in a rush and want to keep things moving, consider the hazards of driving while eating behind the wheel. Hopefully you can recognize that the risks outweigh the temptation, and you can wait until you get to your destination to eat.
How Does Distracted Driving Affect Insurance?
For starters, getting into an at-fault accident will almost always make your insurance premium go up, simply because your insurance company now deems you a higher-risk driver. Distracted driving is no exception. Even if you avoid an accident but you get a ticket for distracted driving, you’re susceptible to those increases in insurance.
Why does distracted driving increase insurance? For starters, you may be getting a discount for having a clean driving record. But if you get a ticket, such as for texting while driving, you may no longer be eligible for that discount, and you’ll notice an increase in your premium. Another reason your insurance might go up goes back to being a higher risk. If you’re guilty of distracted driving, an insurance company will consider you a high-risk driver (meaning you’re more likely to file a claim due to an accident) and they’ll set your premiums higher.
Many of the discounts that insurance companies give out revolve around rewarding drivers for having no claims and a good driving record in general. Don’t let distracted driving take away those perks!
Protect Yourself From Distracted Drivers on the Road
Avoiding distracting driving behaviors is a great way to be safe on the road, and car insurance is a great way to stay protected from the unexpected. With American Family you can customize your car coverage to meet your unique needs. Talk to your agent today to find the right coverage for you.
The Insurance Information Institute claims driving while interacting with a mobile device can increase the odds of a crash by as much as 3.5 times, compared to the risks that a sober, alert and attentive driver faces. Teens are more susceptible to collisions, even when speaking hands-free on a mobile phone. Let’s explore the many ways you can help prevent distracted driving accidents.
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