Driving is fun, most of the time, but can be very expensive. The purpose of this article is to try to save you money on motor fuel and may also help save the environment.
The fuel saving advice in this article is simple, easy to apply and will not cost you anything
This article is on route planning for short journeys to save fuel.
Step 1
If you have a lot of short journeys that need the car, like going to the recycling centre, delivering your children somewhere or a big shop, try to plan ahead and combine them all into one round trip. So instead of making 4 or 5 short trips a week, try to make just one journey.
Do not travel at "rush hour" times. Mid morning or mid afternoon are good times, avoiding the school run and commuters on their way to work.
Step 2
When planning a short multi-stop local route always drive round in an anticlockwise circle. This will give more left turns than right turns. "So what" you may ask.
Right turns take longer than left turns, as you may have to give way to oncoming traffic and you have to travel a slightly greater distance, increasing fuel consumption and journey time. This may seem to be a very small saving, but it can really add up after a few junctions. My example below gives a one tenth of a mile saving over a 6 ½ mile route. You also spend less time stationary, waiting for oncoming traffic. Stationary is very bad news for fuel consumption.
Left turns also have a much lower accident risk.
Studies carried out by UPS parcel delivery found they used 12% less fuel using this method and also a small time saving.
This seemed a very good result so I thought I would try it out on my own patch.
My little local circular route is:-
Dad's House
My House
Supermarket
Recycling Centre
The anticlockwise route is; My House, Recycling Centre, Supermarket, Dad's House, back to My House.
RESULTS
Clockwise 6.4 miles 24.9 mins. MPG 28.5
Anti-Clockwise 6.3miles 24.4 mins. MPG 30.7
It works!
This simple exercise gave a fuel saving of 8% and a time saving of 2%.
Remember you have made 1 journey this week, not 4, so even more fuel saving.
The two steps are;
Combine trips, avoiding rush hour periods if possible.
Drive in an Anti-Clockwise circle.
Try this yourself on your own local route, you have nothing to lose!
This article was written for the UK, so if you live in a country that drive on the right, please substitute right for left and Clockwise for Anti-Clockwise!. It will then work.
Michael T J Hawkins
This article is a short extract from "How to Save Money on Motor Fuel", available as a free download from http://www.michaelscarbooks.co.uk/.
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