By Miles Downard
Those of you with more grey hair than you’d care to admit will remember a stage when petrol prices started rising so rapidly that petrol station owners had to buy new pumps to reflect the double digit prices. It was around this time that car owners started trading in their ‘gas guzzlers’ for smaller, more fuel efficient cars.
As tends to happen price hikes stabilised a bit and, as time moved on, drivers became accustomed to the new level of fuel prices and accordingly have become less conscious of their fuel expenditure.
That may be about to change, though. South Africans have seen an increase of more than 150c since March. Estimates for July say we could see an increase of 27c per litre of petrol and 61 cents per litre of diesel. The rest of the year does not appear to bode well either. Petrol hikes so far have been protected from even bigger increases due to the weaker rand because of lower oil prices. Now, however, oil prices are strengthening. So before you trade up again, you may want to think twice.
In fact something as simple as changing the manner in which you drive could save a bundle at the pumps. MasterDrive MD, Eugene Herbert reckons you could achieve a reduction of up to 10% in petrol consumption by adjusting your driving style.
Here are some tips:
- Plan your route to avoid wasting petrol on longer routes or when you get lost.
- If conditions permit, drive with your windows closed – even with your aircon on, you can use less fuel.
- Do not speed. The faster you drive the more fuel you use. Rather keep a steady cruising speed.
- Avoid harsh acceleration.
- Avoid bringing your vehicle to a complete stop: anticipate light changes to minimize stopping.
- Vehicle maintenance also helps save on fuel: Do not skip services and when you service next time, use multi-grade oil as it reduces drag.
- Underinflated tyres use more petrol.
- Drive courteously: among other negative consequences, road rage will cause you to use more petrol
It’s a simple test to perform actually, if you have a car that’s got a fuel readout on the trip computer. Reset it in the morning before leaving for work, drive as you would normally and check your consumption figure when you arrive back home that evening. The next day reset it again, but take into account the above tips as you go about your journey. You might be quite surprised at the result when you pull up in the driveway that evening.
