How can you change your driving habits? Not much if you work

[greenbriar]

Hubby takes the bus when he can but our transit system us generally not reliable and stops at 6 pm


We have to drive to work



How I have changed...


I only grocery shop one time a month

I fill up in the morning

I don't drive to wash my car

We do all of our errands on one day so we don't have to make multiple trips






What have we changed due to high fuel costs


we eat at home a lot more
we don't rent movies or go to the show
we have cut down on any extras including things like cheese and milk and peanut butter
we don't buy chips or ice cream
we don't make long distance phone calls
we don't go out of town to see our family members
we don't buy a lot of new clothes




what are you doing

[Initech]

1. I'm a courier. I have to drive a LOT.

I recently traded up to a more fuel-efficient vehicle - a Nissan Altima, which gets 35 highway MPG, and is a major step up from my old Pontiac, which got around 24 highway MPG.

But I'm not cutting down on anything I'm doing because that is exactly what those greedy motherfuckers want us to do.

[oldtime dfl_er]

2. Sounds like you're doing some thoughtful things

Can you bike occasionally? Buy locally? Recycle? I am not the best at recycling but I try. I don't own a car, I use canvas bags for groceries, and am becoming increasingly conscious both of the packaging of things like shampoo, and the ingredients.

We can all do more!

[greenbriar]

5. no we live on one side of a huge city and work on the other

he at one end me at the other end

[mrreowwr_kittty]

3. Working from home as much as possible

Staying at my b/f's house more because it's closer to work. Conference calls and net meetings rather than personal visits. Walking to the corner store instead of driving if I only need a few items.

[lpbk2713]

4. Aren't you losing money by only buying groceries once a month?

Seems like you could offset the expense of travelling to the grocery store by stocking up on some the weekly specials. It's not unusual for me to save $20 or more per visit on specials like 'buy one get one free'.

[greenbriar]

6. possibly

but I make a monthly menu and only buy what I need


in the long run, I don't buy extras only what is on my list

I think I am saving money

[blues90]

7. I'll tell you a few things people could do

learn how to drive in such a way where you are not stomping on the gas on takeoff . people need to learn to merge well enough before their exits and let things flow much better .

I see all sorts of things that people do that drives their milage into the crapper .

[JuniperLea]

8. Good call!

Yep, easy on the accelleration... back off the accelerator long before you need to put the brakes on.

Keep your tires properly inflated too.

I traded in my SUV for an ultra-low emissions Mazda in 02... great gas mileage! Easily twice what I was getting in the SUV. And I don't feel guilty anymore, that's a big plus!

[AlCzervik]

9. and take your foot off the gas peddle instead of immediately hitting the brakes.

the brake riders---argh.

[shenmue]

10. That's nice for you, but there is no bus service between where I live and where I work

The rents are sky-high where I work. The only thing I can do is commute.

Do you notice you have given up a ton of things just to save money on gas? And you think that's good?

[greenbriar]

12. no I don't think it is good... you made my point

we can't not drive so we have to give up other things

to compensate

[Warpy]

11. I traded in a truck that was old enough to vote

but which still approached 30 MPG on long drives for a Korean econobox that did a little better than 40 on a recent long trip.

I've always planned trips to include multiple errands in a circle rather than doubling back, criss crossing my path, or driving to each errand individually. I lived through the 70s, learned to do that then.

My other car is an electric scooter. I use it for most short hops.

When I was still working, that weekly trip to the grocery came after my last night at work, on the way home. If I needed something extra during the week, it was walk or bike or use the scooter when I got it.

My monthly trip to Costco is when I have to renew a cheap scrip there. My mothly trip to Wally's, ditto.

[taterguy]

13. I work. I almost never drive to work

So your OP isn't quite right.
Lots of people could change their habits if they just decided it was important enough.

Just take a chance and hop on a bike. The benefits are immense.

[greenbriar]

14. I live too far to ride a bike and at 5:30 am it is too cold

plus it is too dangerous for me to ride a bike.

It takes me 15 minutes on the freeway in a car

it would take way too long and over way too busy roads on a bike.

what I would like to do is change buildings to one that is 3 blocks away from my house and I could ride a bike or walk, but it is not easy to just change buildings...have to wait for an opening and then interview ect...

while there are over 50 different school buildings, it is not just hey I want to work at this building. Each building is like a seperate entity

[taterguy]

15. A fifteen minute freeway drive is less than an hour on a bike

Challenging but still very doable.

[greenbriar]

17. I am a teacher

I am not riding a bike in teacher clothes clear across Wichita at 5:30 no make it 4:30 AM

with all my papers, laptop and gradebook

[taterguy]

18. Your OP didn't ask what you're willing to do, it asked what you can do

Lots of trips that people do in cars can be done on bicycles, if there's enough desire to do so. The human body is capable of amazing things.

[slackmaster]

16. All I can really do is keep my vehicle well maintained - Keep your tires inflated!

People should pay a lot more attention to the air pressure in their tires. A couple of pounds too little can waste a lot of fuel.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

19. Hubby sold his car

in 2004 and got a moped. Gets 100 mpg. The grocery, drugstore, Home Depot and other stuff is close by and the box he built to bungee onto the back holds a nice amount of non-bulky stuff. He can go downtown on it, even though the brick streets bust his butt. He's taken it out to the VA for dr appts. I don't know how far that is, maybe 5 miles each way, but no horribly major streets.