Gas prices are again on the rise. As world oil prices increase in response to global economic recovery and other factors, we can expect gas prices to trend upward especially as crude oil demand continues to be strong in China, which has taken over from the USA as the biggest car market.

But, we can fight back with some tried and proven conservation techniques.

The most important fuel-saving ‘device’ you can put in a car is the ‘nut’ sitting in the driver’s seat. Yes, you, the driver.

Bad driving habits tend to use excess fuel and the biggest improvement in fuel economy will be gained by simply adjusting driving habits.

Here are a few adjustments:

o Slow down. The faster you drive, the harder your engine has to work to cut through the air. Speeding can reduce fuel efficiency by up to 33 per cent. Stay within the posted speed limits. Driving too slow can actually reduce efficiency as other factors come into play so don’t drive at 50 Km/H in an 80km zone.

Cars have a ‘sweet spot’ that cruising speed where it seems to operate with minimum effort usually between 70 Km/H and 90 Km/H, if you can find that spot for your car that is where you will get the best fuel economy.

o Accelerate smoothly: When the light turns green, resist the urge to floor the pedal and bolt ahead of the car next to you. Smooth acceleration keeps the engine at lower revolutions per minute (RPMs) thus using less fuel. Car engines usually are most efficient at low rpms.

o Plan routes carefully: Avoid heavy traffic and reduce turns and stops as much as possible.

o Reduce braking wherever possible: Braking wastes the energy from fuel that you have already burned, and accelerating after braking consumes more fuel than driving at a constant speed. On city streets, watch ahead and coast when you see a red light or traffic jam ahead.

o Select the correct tyre size: Oversize tyres look great but they create more rolling resistance, resulting in higher gas consumption.

o Set the correct tyre pressure: Most cars have a tyre pressure setting in the driver’s doorjamb. Check it and use a good tyre gauge to set the pressure, not the gauge on the pump at the gas station. Low tyre pressure will lead to more tyre wear and more fuel consumption.

o Lighten your load: Remove all unnecessary items from the trunk. Weight equals fuel consumption. An extra 100 pounds could reduce efficiency by about two per cent.

o Check the engine air-filter. A dirty filter reduces fuel economy.

o Turn off the A/C: In stop-and-go, city driving and up hills the A/C causes the engine to work hard and consume more fuel. However, studies show that at highway speeds cars get somewhat better mileage with the A/C on and the windows rolled up. The drag caused by rolled down windows at high speed reduces fuel efficiency more than the A/C.

o Use Synthetic oil or additives: synthetic oil can reduce drag inside the engine and improve economy by up to five per cent

o Park the bigger car: If you have more than one car, use the smaller one for city driving, and for short trips.

If you are in the market for a car, look for smaller, lighter cars with smaller engines. However do not go too small if you do a lot of hilly driving. If an engine has to struggle to climb a hill it may consume more fuel.

A lot of cars now have a fuel economy display on the dashboard that monitors your Km/ litre, most of these displays will give an instant reading or an average Km/L.

Setting the display to the instant reading will give an instant feedback on how your driving style impacts fuel economy.

Unfortunately, electric/gas hybrid cars are not yet readily available in Jamaica. These give significantly better fuel economy than regular gas-powered cars and are particularly great for city and hill driving as they shut down at stops, generate energy from braking and driving downhill, and they use the electric side of the hybrid for slow driving.

Andrew Jackson is the CEO of Jetcon Corporation and past president of the Jamaica Used Car Dealers Association.