1. Avoid quick starts and aggressive driving:
Flooring the gas pedal produces high pollution rates and wastes gas. One second of high-powered driving can produce nearly the same volume of carbon monoxide emissions as a half hour of normal driving, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
2. Stick to the speed limit:
Driving 65 mph instead of 75 mph will improve your fuel economy by about 10 percent and will decrease tailpipe pollution in many vehicles. A leading consumer magazine found that slowing down from 75 mph to 65 mph resulted in a five-mile-per-gallon performance increase, and slowing down from 75 mph to 55 mph saved 10 miles per gallon.
3. Avoid hard breaking:
Especially in traffic, try to anticipate stops rather than breaking hard. This will prevent increased pollution, wasted gas and wear on your breaks.
4. Use an electronic toll collection system:
Budget e-TollTM avoids cash payment lines at toll booths. Studies have found that paying tolls electronically reduces hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide emissions by 40-63% and reduces emissions by 16%.
5. Try to avoid rush hour:
Stop-and-go driving burns gas and increases emissions of smog-forming pollutants. Plan your schedule to avoid driving during peak traffic times.
6. Always use a GPS navigation system:
Some systems, such as GPS navigation from Budget, provide real-time traffic alerts which help avoid traffic jams and road construction, and eliminates the extra driving that results when renters get lost. Anything that reduces unnecessary driving time reduces emissions — and saves you money on gas.
7. Try not to idle for more than one minute:
Idling your engine generates more pollution than driving, and it wastes fuel.
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