Motorists Brake for Fuel Prices

Drivers try to get savings any way they can, even if it means slowing down
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted May 7, 2008 4:38 PM CDT
Motorists Brake for Fuel Prices
A rented Cruise America RV drives on Highway 101 in San Francisco, May 25, 2007. With $4 a gallon on the horizon, some motorists are lightening up on the gas pedal.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

It’s common knowledge that driving a little slower makes more efficient use of gas. And with fuel prices sky-high, some drivers are actually throttling back in hopes of feeling less pain at the pump, the AP reports. Vacation drivers and truckers alike are heeding experts’ advice that cars are most efficient between 30 and 60 mph, and become increasingly inefficient over 65 mph.

"I'm saving between $100 and $200 a week by cutting back from 72-73 mph to 60-65 mph," said one trucker, who said he didn’t believe the slowdown affected his route times. "On the East Coast, what are you going to lose, 10 minutes? You know as soon as you step on it you're going to hit traffic anyway." (More oil prices stories.)

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