So simple, why don’t we make the effort?
Petrol prices are high, and so are most other things, but something that does not seem to follow suit is our income. The picture on the left is a little excessive, but let’s look at some ideas on how to make our litres last a little longer……
- Don’t stomp on the gas pedal.
- Most people ignore this, but why not stop speeding away from the intersection, and save?
- Freewheel down “safe” hills.
- I know freewheeling is not the safest, if you happen to need power to your wheel urgently, but on my way to work, I have two straight and very long downhills, and the fuel economy indicator, drops down to 1.5l/100kms.
- Don’t allow your car to idle for more than 20 seconds.
- If you allow your car to idle for more than 20 seconds, it will use more petrol than if you had to switch off and restart again later. Don’t go overboard, like switching off at every intersection, but often I find myself allowing the car to idle for a good few minutes.
- Have your car serviced regularly.
- Most of us don’t allow the car to start begging for a service, but a poorly tuned car is going to use more petrol.
- Pump up your tyres.
- Keep your tyres at the correct pressure, flat tyres cause more friction, and therefore use more petrol. It also does not do the tyres any good.
- Use a lift club.
- “Because I work different hours..” Come on people! You buy almost 2 litres of Coke a Cola for the price of 1 litre of petrol – we need to start adapting the way we do things. With laptops, ADSL, 3G, cellular phones, taking work home is a synch, and I’m sure the family will love to have you there.
- Get the kids to school in lift clubs, you don’t waste time or petrol, and plus the kids will have more fun talking to their friends, than having to listen to Mom and Dad giving them the day lecture from the front.
- If all cars on the way to work carried 4 people, it would cut down the traffic, not fourfold, but at least by half, now imagine that Cape Town and Johannesburg!
- Ride your bicycle to work and back.
- Not for all, but if you are close enough, ride to work, and leave your car locked up at work. You will probably get to work faster.
- Investa in a Vespa!!
- Scooters were something you would never be seen dead on – now it is the coolest and most mod form of transport you can own. And no they don’t have to be Vespa, there are a lot of good ones around, however, I would stick to the well known brands.
- So we have bad weather sometimes, mostly in Cape Town, but we do. Either buy a good rain suite, or just take the car on bad weather days.
We need to start thinking about the way we do things, and start doing them in a more efficient and effective way. Not only does this save money, but it is a way of you also doing your bit for a greener world.