Southern California is home to the country’s highest gas prices, which are nearly $ 2 a gallon more than a year ago. Costs have led some residents to master the art of fuel efficiency.
Wayne Gerdis, who is serious about pushing his gas tank further, said it is reaching “more than 80 miles per gallon,” about 60 percent more than the Environmental Protection Agency. he says he should get his plug-in hybrid Prius.
Gerdis is one of the country’s top “hypermillaries” – drivers who drive fuel economy to the extreme. Some try to reduce drag, drop weight and even draft behind semi-trucks.
Gerdis often goes downhill and takes a slow, steady approach to driving, like going at 55 miles per hour on Interstate 5 outside of San Diego, even if that means he’s going much slower than just about everyone else on the road.
“That’s fine,” Gerdis told CBS News. “They don’t buy me gas.”
Gerdis says he always follows the speed limit.
“Speed kills fuel economy, it does,” he said. “There is no way to avoid it.”
His goal is to always keep moving by accelerating smoothly. And it starts to slow down slowly before a red light so it can cross when it turns green.
Brian Cooley, editor of CNET, said the techniques could upset other drivers, but “most of the tips in the” hypermile “gamebook are smart.”
“Optics will be bad for other drivers because it’s not the normal pattern we all follow,” Cooley told CBS News.
The day CBS News drove with Gerdis, it averaged 110 miles per gallon on city streets. All in all, it saves about $ 2,500 a year.
“Every dollar I save on fuel is a dollar in my pocket,” he said.
- In:
- gas prices
- California
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