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of planking to build a deck. All these items create A LOT of extra weight for your car to haul; on a regular basis, that extra weight diminishes your gas mileage. Suddenly your SUV gets 17 mpg, instead of 22. If that extra weight doesn't seem important, here's a visual for you. It's like a donkey being laden with so much stuff he can hardly move. His master MAY get everything where he wants it to go, but it will put way too much stress on his only means of livelihood. Treat your SUV to a much-needed break, and load it up with heavy items a lot less frequently.

4. BETTER MILEAGE BY STAYING HOME?
As odd as this tip seems, recently the number of car accidents from erratic driving, speeding, and D.U.I'S has dropped dramatically. It seems to be connected to the lack of traffic, to people slowing down to conserve gas, and to less bar-hopping by people who love relaxing with a drink after work.

Sounds simple, but driving the speed limit, and being a little more patient while doing so, gets you home a lot safer, and in a better mood. Police write less speeding tickets, arrest less drunks, and the person who once used up extra gas hopping from bar to bar, now conserves that money by buying his beer at a grocery store, then relaxing on the sofa at home.

5. SLEDDING IN THE SNOW:
This tip is my favorite, and it refers to coasting, as I did on a sled as a child. It works great if there are hills to and from work, or any place else you frequent. All you have to do is take your foot off the gas pedal, and coast toward your destination: just keep your eye on the speedometer. SPEEDING without using gas is just as d dangerous, and isn't wise, especially with other traffic around, and within city limits where posted speed limits are low. I use coasting cautiosly, but it is one of the reasons I get extra miles per gallon with my car.

6. SLICK STREETS, AND RISING TIDES
Another way to avoid a bad situation is to slow down while driving in bad weather conditions. Slick streets are the worst. There's very little rain, so it seems safe enough, but when traveling fast, your car is at risk for hydroplaning. If you've ever seen a kid at a beach skim water lapping the sand, you've seen hydroplaning. The difference is that he's on Styrofoam, and WANTS to skim the water; your car weighs thousands of pounds, and was not built to hydroplane on anything.

7. GOING GREEN: YOUR CAR'S FUTURE
Currently, I see my other 6 tips as BEING "green". They help you AND the environment, but if you become truly serious about saving gas, then consider trying a hybrid or even buying a fuel-cell car in the future. I intend to. The idea of my car's "emissions" being nothing but water vapor fascinates me.

Fuel cell cars are the ultimate in "gas conservation", because they use NO GAS. Wouldn't you love to get HUNDREDS of miles on A tank of fuel? Put me on the list, that's my future-car-buying plan. It will be the quintessential way to get the ultimate mileage out of my car! And that's what better mileage is all about.

Learn more about this author, Lisa Beach.
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