Swiftlydoesit Life & Insurance

Get more miles to the gallon

June 18th, 2008

Shell and its tanker drivers have finally come to an agreement over pay and Shell have agreed to a 14% pay rise over two years according to BBC news. This should take a little bit of strain off of us drivers as Shell garages should now be back to normal with full supplies at least for the next two years.

However, there is still the very real issue of petrol prices which now stand at 118p a litre across many garages. A debt charity called Elizabeth Finn Care helps professionals who have fallen on hard times and give financial support to those that are struggling including those with long-term physical or mental illness and family breakdown. Rebecca Ward from the charity says that “The rise in the amount we have paid out in the past month is entirely to do with the increase in cost of fuel”.

Unfortunately we aren’t able to influence this but there are ways in which we can make our petrol go that bit further.

The Telegraph and car insurer swiftcover.com have come up with their top tips for driving more economically.

The top tips include:
Lightening the load - The more weight your car carries the harder it has to work, so lose any unnecessary weight. For example, remove roof racks that aren’t being used and make sure that the car doesn’t contain too much clutter.
Pressure - driving on under-inflated tyres requires more engine power so keep you tyres at their recommended pressure level.
Smooth driving - according to Swiftcover, driving smoothly and intelligently can save up to 30% on fuel consumption.
Be speed efficient - the most fuel efficient speed for driving is 55-65mph so try not to exceed this.

One of the top tips is - if you don’t need to drive then don’t! For short distances it may be worth forgetting about the car and walking instead. Not only will you save on fuel consumption but you will also feel better for the exercise. Also, driving less miles can have a positive effect on your car insurance premium so that could reduce your costs even further.

Entry Filed under: Finances, advice, insurance, cars