"Drive Smart and Save"

 
The Patrick-Murray Administration today announced a new online resource that can help Massachusetts residents and visitors to save money on gas and travel. The “Drive Smart and Save” program offers tips for cost-friendly driving techniques that can save travelers money on fuel expenses, improve fuel economy by up to 33 percent, and help reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.

“Drive Smart and Save” supports GreenDOT, a comprehensive environmental responsibility and sustainability initiative of MassDOT.  “Drive Smart and Save” tips include:

•    Drive Less -- When your travel plans allow, try taking public transportation, walking, biking, or carpooling.
•    Set It at 60 -- Drive the posted speed limit, or even a bit less on the highway, to see increased fuel economy. Fuel consumption increases about 5 percent for every five miles per hour driven above 60 mph. And use your cruise control – keeping a steady speed will also save fuel.
•    Easy on the Pedals -- Avoid fast starts and hard stops to decrease fuel use. Travelers should join FAST LANE prior to hitting the roads this summer to avoid traffic at the tolls – this can save lots of time, as well as fuel.
•    Turn It Off -- Shut off your engine when you are stopped. Idling wastes gas and is bad for the environment.
•    Click the Cap - Make sure your gas cap is tight to prevent fuel evaporation and to improve air quality.
•    Check the Pressure - Proper tire pressure is safer, extends tire life, and can provide up to 3% mpg benefit per tank of fuel. Check your tire pressure monthly, and pump your tires up to the recommended level (which can usually be found on the sticker in your driver’s door frame).

Additional ideas for fuel savings can be found at:  www.mass.gov/massdot/drivesmart

Comments

[boblothrope]

MassDOT should do its part by fixing mistimed traffic lights and unnecessary single-point traffic bottlenecks, and increasing the frequency of public transit.

For example, it's a rare day or night that drivers can get through the whole Route 2 Concord bypass without having to stop at more than half the lights. Bringing large packs of cars to a stop from 45 mph is a huge waste of gas.

Instead of running a big commuter train every two hours, the T should buy single-employee self-propelled cars, and run them every 15 minutes. This would make the system far more usable, without increasing operating costs. Whenever the T is buying new equipment, they should take it as an opportunity to reevaluate the existing service model, rather than replacing in kind.

And instead of just shuffling around bus service from one route to another during the periodic service plan studies, you should be looking at ways to increase the total amount of service, in a way that will boost ridership.

[Jane Winn, Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT)]

If "keep right except to pass" were enforced, I bet it would save even more gas collectively. Keep right except to pass creates a laminar flow, much smoother than the current flow which shows a lot of turbulence. Additionally, keep right except to pass is MUCH safer - as shown by the Autoban's fatalities per passenger mile being much lower than the Interstate's.