How to save gas when you drive,
Unclog the Freeways!!
We all cannot expect that the Govt, Exxon, or Opec to help us on gas prices..
We need to do something ourselves to change the direction of  prices at the pump, otherwise we will find ourselves paying $10 a gallon.
The only control that we have is the demand for gas.  If we can decrease our demand, supplies will go up, and  prices will go down. This is a common supply and demand dynamic..
You think that what you do as an individual does not make any difference but it does. Collectively we all can make a difference.
We can estimate that there are at least 150 million drivers in the US.  If you save a single drop of gas in any way, that is 150 million drops.. you do the volume on that..
Here are a few things that  you can do to save  gas and energy overall..

1. Turn your car off in the drive thru
2. Turn your car off  when waiting to pick someone up
3. If you see you are coming up to a  red light , no need to continue to accellerate then slam on the brakes...  take your foot off the gas and coast to the light.  If you are in a manual transmission, take it out of gear and coast.  The less RPM you are running, the less explosions in your engine,  and less gas being used..
Think of your car like riding a skateboard.  You push yourself  with enough energy/force to get yourself going, then you ride it..  You dont push yourself faster and faster as you are coming up to a stop..
4.Coast down hills ,apply just enough gas as you are coming up to the top of a hill to get you over it, then coast down the back side. This will minimize the energy used by your engine.
5. If you are skilled enough, try this.  If you are coming to a light, and it is just turning red, and you know that the light is 2 minutes long, turn the car off , coast in, t
hen restart when you get a green light.  There is some old wives tail about it taking more gas to start your car, then letting it run.. Letting it run for 1.5 to 2 minutes at a stoplight??  So at idle, say 1000 RPM, even on a 4 cylinder, that is 6000-8000 explosions.  Comon, it is easy to figure out..  If your car has starter problems, dont  mess with it.  Think about a typical drive you have around town. How many minutes do you sit there with the car running at stoplights. Then look around you and think about each and every one of the cars around you sitting there, burning up gas,  collectively, for minutes on end.  20 cars, sitting there, with 6000-8000 explosions each, all to go nowhere.  This does not even address the excess heat produced by your engine continuing to run, and the CO2 being pumped into the air by those same 20 cars..
6. If the roads/hills permit, turn your car off when you come into your street and coast down and into your driveway.. Keep in mind if you turn it off you will lose power steering and power brakes so adjust for that.
7.  Everyone in the major cities know the "Meter On" and the stoplight at the end of the onramp?  
On Ramp Light
See the traffic wide open on the freeway?? Why is this light even on? To waste everyones time and gas? These are designed to spread out the traffic entering the highway in high traffic times.. Well if the highway is open what is the reason for this stoplight?  To waste all the energy you just spent  getting your car to the stoplight, then blow some more to reaccellerate up to 55 to get onto the freeway.. This stoplight is just as stupid as the reason they put it there.. Some of these are within 500ft of the roadway.. Dont they realize the problems when someone does not GUN IT, to get to 55 before entering the highway?  Entering the freeway at 35  will cause the same problem as 10 cars enterning the highway at the same time... Bottom line, look ahead, if the highway is clear,  save your gas, BLOW the sign and enter the highway at the proper speed.
8. Seen this sign.. Left on Green Arrow  Only ??  If this sign is not under a left arrow stoplight  with a main stoplight for straight ahead traffic, there is no reason not stop, to make sure it is safe, and if the straight ahead traffic light is green and the left arrow is red, stop and go through when safe.  Your other option is to sit there and blow a cup of gas waiting for the whole cycle to come around again.  There is no reason for this sign if the left turn arrow is "On Left Arrow ONLY".  Why would they even put this sign there if it was a given??  This seems like just another way to blow fuel and energy while you sit at a stoplight for 3 minutes.

We can all make our commutes to work and home better, save time and gas.  Do not expect the transportation authority to do anything !!
When  we all sit on the freeway for hours on end,  you can imagine how much gas is used in a 1 hour stop and go on the freeway.
Burn gas to go, burn up the energy when we brake. This all produces heat, CO2, and  of course is a total waste of all of our time..
Again, if you think the county/city is going to fix the roads for more lanes, if you think there are less cars going on the roads every day, you are mistaken. We have to do something ourselves.
Here are some ideas to make the freeways more efficient

 The problem with freeways is that  people are not efficient in how they blend the cars together. Especially at merging points.  Onramps, Offramps, merging freeways, etc. People fight for the same space instead of making the merge efficient with as little people braking.  Remember, 1 guy brakes, 10 others behind them brake..  So think about how you can merge in the most efficient way.
Quit Rubbernecking.!! There is no need to slow down to 40 MPH, cause some guy is changing his tire on the side of the road.. When you brake, 50 others brake, and it snowballs for a mile.. If you were the one  300 cars back, stopping completely for some stupid wreck a mile ahead, you would be upset. But you get up to the scene and feed to the problem.. If you need to see some crashed up cars, go check out Bad Boys II  in the privacy of your own home. Otherwise keep it moving cause there are 5000 others behind you trying to get home, and blowing gas along the way.
Close the gaps.. Pay attention to the road, accellerate with the traffic, do not leave a 20 car length gap in front of you when you are going 10 MPH.  If there are 10 people with 20 car lengths of wasted space in packed traffic, that can turn into 2000 car lengths of wasted space,  more wasted time , and more wasted gas.. At 12ft per car,  10 cars, with 20 car lengths of  gap in front of them, that is  2400 ft or about 1/2 mile of wasted space on the road.  Multiply that a few times for the people lagging and creating these gaps and it will balloon up to miles of wasted space , and YOUR wasted time!!
Get off the hand held cellphone, especially you that drive a 30K car and cannot even buy a $35 wireless headset.. You do nothing but go slow, and clog up traffic.
Ride in the appropriate lanes. Dont ride along at 55 in the fast lane. Trucks and RV's get the heck out of the fast lane, when you hold up cars, this will create more traffic, ride in the slower lanes where the trucks ride..  I have seen people in an RV going 45  in Los Angeles , with 20 cattle, I mean cars, riding along behind them.

Your ideas and thoughts are always welcome!!

Its all about efficiency. If we all do a little, collectively we can make a big difference.
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