Save Fuel - stop idling

I know it sounds simple, and it is. You'll save fuel if you stop idling. Okay, the word is out - stop idling.

Doing so will help you reduce unnecessary fuel consumption, and that means you're saving money.

As with other gas saving tips, the relative difficulty or cost of this is rated 1 to 10. A rating of 10 suggests that the tip is the most difficult or most costly. Expected savings are also rated 1 to 10. A rating of 10 suggests that the tip will provide substantial savings in fuel, money or both.

Stop idling. When you idle, you get zero mpg. That is as low as you can get. We all know that you can get better gas mileage than that.

When you idle, you go no place, so you are simply wasting fuel. There is a trade off between starting and stopping your car unnecessarily and idling away with no positive effect. If you are going to sit several minutes at a time before moving again, it is best to shut the car off and save fuel.

When stalled in traffic, and you have no option to get off the road, shut the car off. If you are moving ahead with some steady movement, then leave the car idle while you creep forward.

It should go without saying that letting your car idle while you dash into a place of business to run an errand or wait for someone in a parking lot is equally wasteful. Nevertheless, I see plenty of people who do just that. They sit with their air conditioner or heater on. This isn’t one of the ways to save fuel - it's one of the ways to waste it.

Service vehicles do this frequently. Of course, people who operate service vehicles don't save fuel largely because they aren’t the ones paying for it. If a company paid out a percentage of fuel saved to the employees responsible for saving it, do you think people might be interested in more money instead of optimal comfort? I think so. Money seems to talk.

In the cold winters of Anchorage, Alaska, vehicles are started and left running for ten to fifteen minutes so that there is a warm car to get into for the drive to and from work. If the drive is short, then why bother? And, if the drive is lengthy, then why not “get on down the road” while it warms up?

If you are worried about fogging the windshield in winter, then just roll down the window a bit for the first mile or so and keep your gloves and hat on.

Someday our wasteful habits will come to an end, if only for economic reasons. I think those days are upon us. We are getting what we deserve.

Even if you don’t pay for the gas that runs your car, you still should be mindful to save fuel. Don’t idle it away. Make it work hard for you by taking you someplace.

Cost or difficulty: 1
Savings: 1

Done with Save Fuel, take me back to Save Gas