Green Driving Tips

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Americans supposedly so loved their cars that nothing — repeat, nothing — could stop them from driving as fast and as far as they wanted. Then along came $4-a-gallon gasoline.

Now even American car manufacturers are getting into the act. Each of the Big Three is claiming that with a little tweaking here and fiddling there, they have lighten and tighten their autos to save costly gasoline.

These tweaks have boosted fuel economy averages by about a mile on most vehicles. That doesn’t sound like much, but with gas prices still well above $3 a gallon, every bit helps. By reworking cars during the “between models” stage, the manufacturers got tires with lower rolling resistance and adjusted some engines so they rev more slowly at highway speeds — small, but money-saving adjustments.

It’s good work. But why didn’t they do this earlier? If Detroit had actually built a gas-efficient car that could compete with a Japanese-designed one, more American auto workers would still have jobs.

The high price of gas also has pushed Americans into driving less, thereby helping to lower prices.

Fewer miles driven have led to another positive development: The United States is on its way to having the fewest traffic deaths in a single year since John Kennedy was president.

A researcher for the Transportation Research Institute at the University of Michigan said that reduction of nonessential driving is keeping the fatality rate down. Other researchers have found that drivers are slowing down, another way to save lives. Full Article