BOOMER JOURNEYS

By Alex Carrier, Special Correspondent
Published: June 13, 2008

Even experts disagree on how high the cost of gasoline may go.  No one knows and the only logical recourse is to make the most of every gallon of gas bought. 
Here are some tips on stretching your fuel budget.  Some are reminders of old ideas and some you may not have heard before. 
Put the chill on road rage.  Aggressive drivers waste gas.  Each time you stomp on the break or the gas, fuel is wasted. 
Drive as if you were carrying highly explosive materials.  No sudden starts or stops.  No swerving curves and no jerking from lane to lane. 
Don’t speed. The idea top speed for fuel consumption is 55 mph.  Driving faster reduces your gas mileage. Slow and steady wins the fuel costs race. 
Don’t rush the red light.  Look ahead for traffic signals and stop signs.  Take your foot off the accelerator and allow the car to slow itself.  Use a slow, steady motion and only slam on brakes for emergencies.
Check the air pressure in your tires frequently, especially during temperature extremes.  Improperly inflated tires decrease mileage, cost money and are not as safe.
Make your car sleek and streamlined.  Remove luggage and bike racks when not in use.  These create drag and decrease fuel efficiency.
Rolling up your windows and keeping your car clean will also decrease dray.
Maintain your car properly.  Read and follow the directions in your owner’s manual.  Optimum car performance means optimum fuel efficiency. 
Plan your driving.  Businesses that count on deliveries know the profitability of planning their routes. 
UPS may have been the first and best known example of the one-left turn policy.  The reality of this concept is never backtracking.  Stops are planned based on the driver always moving forward – up the right side, turn left and come down the left side.  This saves gas and time.
If you have a GPS device, use it to determine the most direct route to your destination.  You can also get routes on the Internet.
Don’t waste time and money circling parking lots or idling while waiting for the perfect parking space to open.  Extra steps are good for your health.
Turn the car off when waiting. Instead of idling in a crowded drive-thru lane, park and go in to get your purchase.  The walk will do you good.
Carpool.  Most areas have agencies that will connect you with people who take the same route to work as you do.  If you can’t carpool the whole way, meet on the way or use mass transit for the majority of your trip.
Get to know your neighbors and carpool for shopping trips.  In many cases this can be a great way to socialize but it is certainly a way to save money.
Carpooling with neighbors and friends for shopping may also save by allowing you to pool your money for purchases.  By buying bulk items together at club warehouses and then splitting up the products, you benefit from the cost savings and don’t have to worry about storing large quantities. 
Don’t stop with shopping but join with friends for outings of other kinds.  If you belong to clubs, find members in your neighborhood and carpool to meetings. 
Join with nearby friends and family to go to movies and other entertainment venues.  By splitting the cost of gasoline with someone else every time you drive, you all save on fuel.
Before you turn on your engine, engage your brain.  Plan your route.  You might want to check your computer to see if there is road construction so you can avoid it.
If you know an area has heavy congestion during certain parts of the day, change the time you drive to avoid standing in traffic and driving your gas costs up. 
Most of us cannot cut driving entirely and cannot afford the cost of a new car but we can make choices about how we use the vehicles we have to get the most our of our mileage.
We can’t stop the pain at the pump but we can make it more bearable.