Although driving a fuel-efficient vehicle can be one way to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, how you drive can be just as important as what you drive. These simple tips from carbonfund.org will help you save money on fuel, and reduce your overall environmental impact. 

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.