Let Everyone Know Your Hypermiling!

I came across a web site the other day that I wanted to share with you.  It is called Lawful Hypermiling and they are promoting a public awareness campaign about Hypermiling.

The goals of this public awareness / public relations program:

• To improve the driving public’s awareness and opinion of Hypermilers by publicizing the fact that Hypermilers are both lawful and safe
  
• To increase safety for everyone on the road
  
• To reduce “road rage” toward Hypermilers
  
• To reduce law enforcement bias against Hypermilers
  
• To counter anti-Hypermiling articles and news stories with positive representation.

This week they are sending a mass email out to police departments around the country detailing for them what hypermiling is, what the “Lawful Hypermiling” decal looks like (and what it means), who hypermilers are (safe and law abiding drivers), and they wish police officers would respond to (and handle) hypermilers – especially during traffic stops.  They want road-patrolling police officers to begin to realize that hypermilers may very well be the most conscientious (and least aggressive) drivers on the road.

The best part of this web site is that you can order a free decal to put on your bumper to let others know that you are a “hypermiler”. The function of the Safety Decal is to make the vehicle of a Hypermiler highly visible when approached from behind by an overtaking vehicle.  The decal clearly alerts other drivers to the fact that the driver of this vehicle is engaging in fuel-saving driving practices, and therefore may be driving in unexpected ways (slower speed, gradual deceleration, gradual acceleration, Etc.).  This will reduce potentially hostile responses (i.e. road rage) by non-Hypermiling drivers.  The decal will help publicize the concept of lawfully modifying one’s driving techniques to save fuel.  Finally, the decal will inform law enforcement to the fact that this Hypermiler is conscientious about obeying all traffic laws and is practicing only safe Hypermiling techniques.  This is what the decal looks like:

If you would like to get your free bumper sticker then please go to  Lawful Hypermiling

Hats off to Lawful Hypermiling for starting a public awareness campaign on Hypermiling and for not only creating a decal, but for giving it away for free.

Don’t Get Excited Just Yet At Falling Gas Prices!

If you breathing a sigh of relief on the recent drop in gas prices, then I wouldn’t get too comfortable with the extra money that’s swimming around in your pocket. Since July 17, gas prices have dropped about 25 cents, giving our economy a little bit of a breather. The good news is that some analysts feel that gas prices will fall even further in the coming months.

The bad news is that gas prices have just as much reason to rise as they do to fall. The answer, don’t get too comfortable with the falling prices. If you’ve been using techniques to save money on gas, then don’t stop what you are doing. Take the money that you have saved driving economically and take the money you are saving at the pump and bank it, for a rainy day! Gas prices will eventually rise again, and they will be higher then before.

If you remember over the past couple of years gas prices have spiked and then drifted back down; each time gas prices rose back up they would soar even higher. Ok, here is an example of what I mean: in the summer of 2006 gas prices rose to just over $3.00 a gallon, and then fell to $2.20 a gallon. In May of 2007, gas prices rose again to $3.20 a gallon, before they fell below $3.00 a gallon for the rest of 2007. In 2008, we saw gas prices rise to a national average of $4.11 a gallon, before they started to fall in July.

Do you see the pattern? Maybe $4.11 will really be the peak, and it’s downhill from here. Many analyst thought that $3.00 would be the magic number and gas prices would not rise above that; and then $3.20 would be the peak. So pick your poison. Some experts say that gas prices will continue to fall another 50% and some are claiming that there are much steeper gas prices ahead.

Consider this, General Motors is assuming that gas prices will stay at $4 a gallon. And experts at Toyota are betting that gas prices will rise to $5 or even $6 a gallon by 2010.

Let’s face it the economy is sagging and lower gas prices are the result of people getting rid of their big gas guzzling SUV’s. To top it off, people are driving less, U.S. gas consumption has fallen this year for the first time in decades and gas prices are finally falling.

The U.S. economy will eventually rebound, and if economics holds true, then oil prices will once again rise; and who knows how high it will go this time.

Another point to ponder is that cheap gas raises our addiction to oil and leaves little incentive for people to by hybrids. Automakers are also less likely to invest in new technologies that could someday replace gasoline. Paying $4 a gallon for gas is a pain in the wallet, but it does have its benefits. It strengthens the market for fossil-fuel alternatives; automakers are also in a race to invent the first plug-in hybrids, electric cars and hydrogen powered vehicles. The more costly gas is, the more quickly these alternatives will arrive.

We as consumers cannot do anything to raise or lower gas prices. Although, we can make a decision to drive like we just filled up our tanks with gas that costs $4.11 a gallon, even though it didn’t.

Just some food for thought!

Is Hpermiling Driving Working – Gas Prices Are Dropping!

I wanted to share with you something interesting that happened to me on Saturday, (July 26th). My daughter and I were doing our errands, and one of them was to stop by the bank. On the way to the bank we passed a WAWA gas station. The price on the marquee read $3.96 a gallon; my daughter and I always check out the price of gas when we pass a gas station so that we know where the lowest prices are. We spent maybe 15 minutes at the bank and on the way back we had to pass the same WAWA gas station. I looked at the marquee again and low and behold the price read $3.92 per gallon. As we were on a divided 4 lane highway, I quickly looked at the other marquee on the opposite side of the road, thinking that they were advertising two different gas prices. The sign on the other side of the gas station read the same price $3.92 per gallon.

My 20 year old daughter, who is quite the bargain hunter, commented that she had never seen anything like that, and I had to agree with her. The moral to the story? Gas prices are dropping, but don’t get too excited.

Gas prices have dropped about $.20 a gallon in California in 30 days. On Friday, July 25th, 2008 they actually dropped $.03 a gallon. Ready to run out and fill up your tank? Maybe you should, but experts agree that prices should not rise anytime soon unless there is a major supply disruption. (Don’t rule this out because we are in the middle of hurricane season.)

Experts also agree that there should be no rise in gas prices until Labor Day weekend. Why? The old supply and demand rule. People are finding ways to cut down on gas consumption from Hypermiling to trading in their cars on more fuel efficient models to walking and taking public transportation to save money. The result? The demand for fuel has decreased dramatically, and if the demand for an item is low, then it dosen’t cost as much.

Many people travel on Labor Day Weekend, as it is the last official weekend of the summer, this will increase the demand for gasoline and raise the prices once again. I think that the lesson learned here is to keep doing what you are doing; if your taking public transporation, Hypermiling, car pooling, walking more, or driving less, then don’t stop just because gas prices are dropping. If the demand for gasoline rises, then so will the prices.

I don’t know about you, but I am an avid Hypermiler, and lower gas prices at the pump means that I can buy more gas for the same amount of money, and go even farther using Hypermiling techniques that I have learned over the past few months.

Until we find long-term solutions for our country’s energy needs, gas prices will continue to cause a hole in our wallet. Hypermiling is a solution to the problem that does not cost you anything but time to learn a few technqiues.

The Perfect Day For Hypermiling!

Driving home from work this afternoon, I decided this was a perfect day for hypermiling.  I drive 16 miles one way to and from work, thru 10 traffic lights.  At times, my commute can be tedious due to all of the traffic.  You might ask why I don’t take a different route to work, one without traffic lights.  The answer is because the beltway around Washington, DC is often backed up and you can end up wasting more gas sitting in traffic.  This afternoon on my way home from work, I was able to hit every traffic light green, because there was not as much traffic and I have learned how to watch the lights and anticipate when they are going to turn red by watching the side streets.  Normally I can hit 7 out of 10 lights green, but today I managed to sail through all 10 lights.  Since I started Hypermiling about 2 months ago, I really have increased my miles per gallon by about 20%.  The best part of hypermiling is that I enjoy driving this way; it is fun to do.

My perfect afternoon put a smile on my face when I drove into my driveway and my gas tank still read a half a tank after driving 32 miles round trip.  Here is proof that Hypermiling can be done in stop and go traffic too!

I noticed on my drive home from work, that gas prices are actually dropping a bit.  4 of the gas stations that I pass actually had gas priced below $4 a gallon.  If gas prices ever get back to normal, I doubt that I will stop hypermiling because it is just the smart thing to do; and I like the extra money in my pocket.

So my question for you is when are you going to start Hypermiling?  It’s not hard to learn, and there is plenty of information on the internet.

Is it Time To Lower The Speed Limit to 55 MPH

On July 3rd, 2008 Virginia Senator John Warner suggested to Congress that they reimpose a national speed limit of 55 miles per hour to save on gas and possibly ease fuel prices.  Senator Warner is not suggesting a particular speed.

Senator Warner did write a letter to the Department of Energy asking them to look into what speed limit would provide optimum gas efficiency according to current automobile technology. Warner asked the department to determine at what speeds vehicles would be most fuel efficient, how much fuel savings would be achieved, and whether it would be reasonable to assume there would be a reduction in prices at the pump if the speed limit were lowered.

Senator Warner also cited in his letter that studies show if the national speed limit was 55 miles per gallon, the it would save 167,000 barrels of oil a day or 2% of the nation’s highway fuel consumption.  He also stated that studies show that there is an increase in gas mileage when you drive 55 miles per hour and there is a possibility of avoiding 4,000 traffic deaths per year.

All this from a guy who has his gasoline paid for by the taxpayers.  The major question is are we ready to slow down?  We have become a nation that is in a hurry to get from place to place.  It has been 34 years since the national speed limit was set at 55 miles per hour.  It took an oil embargo in 1974 for Congress to set the national speed limit at 55 miles per hour. There are many benefits to reducing the national speed limits to 55 miles per hour including better gas mileage, less traffic deaths, and cleaner air.  But is the nation ready to go from 70 miles per hour to 55 miles per hour.  Only time will tell the story, something definitely has to be done, but I don’t this is the only solution that Congress can come up with.

If you take a look at the top 3 corporations that are making the highest profits, Walmart is first; the second and third positions are held by Exon and Shell, respectively.  I think this says it all;  we are paying the price, while Exon and Shell’s pockets are bulging at the seams.  Doesn’t seem quite right does it?  What do you think?

Free Report

If you interested in learning how to save money at the gas pump then you need to grab a copy of

“Cut Gas Spending by $500 A Year”

It’s an awesome free report that you can download here!

The Magic of Hypermiling

Some friends of mine have written an awesome ebook on Hypermiling. This books is jammed packed with easy techniques that the average driver can do themselves to save on gas. I did not realize that there were so many things you can do while your behind the wheel to increase your mileage. I am definitely hooked on Hypermiling since I drive 1/2 an hour to and from work. And yes, I bought into the gas guzzling SUV because I have 4 teenagers 3 of whom are in college and it just made life easier. Since I read and digested this book about a week ago, and tried some of the techniques described in the book, I went a week on $45 worth of gas at $4.19 a gallon. That was 5 days to and from work, general errands, and pick up and drop off from practice.

You really need to check out The Magic of Hypermiling if you want to save some money at the pump. You can start saving money on gas today! If you are reading this post then you know that gas prices are out of control and the government is not doing anything to help. Hypermiling is a way to take control of how much you spend on gas, instead of sitting back and complaining about the high prices of gas.

The Magic of Hypermiling is reasonably priced too. It’s just $10 to download. The authors wanted to keep the price reasonable so that everyone could afford to buy it and start saving on gas. To be honest with you once you buy it, you won’t be able to put it down because there is so much good information in it. The Magic of Hypermiling will pay for itself in a couple of days with the money you will save at the gas pump.

What Is Hypermiling?

A Hypermiler is someone who makes adjustments in their driving habits to maximize their gas mileage.  There are many techniques that work whether your driving a hummer or a hybrid.  Anyone can be a hypermiler and take their gas guzzling vehicle from getting 10 mpg today to 15 mpg tomorrow.  Hypermiling will increase your gas mileage and put more money into your pocket.

The term “hypermiler” comes from hybrid vehicle driving clubs and Wayne Gerdes in particular. As people began comparing fuel efficiency, they noticed that by using certain driving techniques, they could greatly improve their mileage. With the aid of real time mileage displays, drivers were able to refine these driving techniques and greatly exceed the EPA rating for their vehicle. Decades before the word ‘hypermiler’ was used, the techniques were used in events such as Mobil Economy Run dating to 1936. Gas rationing during World War II forced some drivers to adopt these techniques, but they largely fell out of favor with the population after the war.

Wayne Gerdes of Wadsworth, Ill,  knows how to wring a gas tank dry.  He is the ultimate hypermiler and the man who coined the term “hypermiler”.

He can squeeze 84 miles per gallon from your standard-issue Ford Ranger pick-up. He once averaged more than 100 mpg during the course of an entire summer. And while behind the wheel of a hybrid electric Honda Insight, he coaxed the vehicle into yielding an astonishing 180.1 mpg. Gerdes can do these seemingly impossible things with a car because he is one of a rare breed of drivers known as hypermilers.

Remember the window sticker on your car when you bought it? Did you ever get the miles per gallon that it showed? I certainly never did. Normally I got as much as 1/3 less MPG than the value advertised.  Hypermiling can help you achieve the miles per gallon your vehicle is supposed to get and give you more bang for your buck in the meantime.