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!