Personal-vehicle idling wastes about 3 billion gallons of fuel— generating around 30 million tons of CO2 annually in the United States.
Driving Tips
Internal combustion engines are polluting and their use should be minimized. Period. But if you must drive, keep these tips in mind...
Gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph.
Each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.10 per gallon for gas.
Plan your trips before you go.
Several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a longer multipurpose trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm. You will also avoid retracing your route and reduce the distance you travel. You will not only save fuel, but also reduce wear and tear on your car.
Idling gets 0 miles per gallon.
You will save gas by turning the engine off and restarting it again if you expect to idle for more than 10 seconds. You will also prevent pollution by avoiding long idles. Try parking your car and going into restaurants, banks, and such instead of idling in drive-up lanes. You might even finish your errands faster! Or, turn your car off while you’re in the line. Idling can consume as much as a gallon of gas per hour. Idling also wastes more fuel than restarting the engine.
Keep tires properly inflated.
Under inflated tires waste gas and affect the life of your tires.
Myth #1:
The engine should be warmed up before driving. Reality: Idling is not an effective way to warm up your vehicle, even in cold weather. The best way to do this is to drive the vehicle. With today’s modern engines, you need no more than 30 seconds of idling on winter days before driving away.
Myth #2:
Idling is good for your engine. Reality: Excessive idling can actually damage your engine components, including cylinders, spark plugs and exhaust systems.
Myth #3:
Shutting off and restarting your vehicle is hard on the engine and uses more gas than if you leave it running. Reality: Frequent restarting has little impact on engine components like the battery and the starter motor. Component wear caused by restarting the engine is estimated to add $10 per year to the cost of driving, money that will likely be recovered several times over in fuel
savings from reduced idling. The bottom line is that over ten seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting the engine.