Slowing down may help you save on gas

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Call it the Zen of the slow lane, or the subtle art of savoring gas.With fuel prices climbing toward $5 a gallon, a growing number of freeway drivers are cruising -- believe it or not -- at the actual speed limit or less.Their hope, they say, is to squeeze just a few more miles out of each precious gallon, or at least feel like they are fighting back against spiking prices.Wesley Tripp of Placerville, Calif., started doing it the day it cost him $70 to fill his truck's gas tank. He used to drive up to 80 mph on the freeway. Now, it's 70 or less.He's not sure if he's saving money."I think I am," he said. "It feels better. That's what's it's about, right?"Nearby, Frank Salituri was pumping $118.99 worth of gas into his agency's van. He's been driving slower too, but it's tricky on the freeway, where fast-lane traffic still often drives 75 mph or more."I'm driving the speed limit, and people are just whoom!" said Salituri, a resident of coastal Los Osos, Calif.Slowing down can in fact help the pocketbook, at least at freeway speeds, according to one of the federal government's leading experts on fuel efficiency."Once you get above 55 mph, almost all cars are losing fuel economy," said David Greene, an analyst with the U.S. Department of Energy. "It is going to decline about 7 to 8 percent per five miles of increased speed."Greene is the data person behind the government's consumer help Web site: www.fueleconomy.gov.At freeway speeds, it's mainly a matter of aerodynamics, Greene said."If you're driving a boxy truck, you might save 20 percent," Greene said. "If you are driving a sleek, well-powered vehicle, you may save less."On average, a car that gets 25 miles a gallon at 55 mph will get only about 21 miles a gallon at 65.Increase that car's speed to 75 mph, and its gas mileage could drop below 18 miles per gallon.Many cars are most fuel efficient at about 45 mph, Greene said, but that varies widely depending on the vehicle's styling and engine size.While some people are driving more slowly, others say they are doing little to reduce the amount of gas they buy.Guy Farris, a Sacramento television personality, says if he could, he'd ride a bike. But for now, he just averts his eyes when filling his Thunderbird with high-octane gas."It's a necessary evil," he said.Others are trying a variety of odd tricks to cut back on gas.Sacramentan Mark Hammond is considering buying a hybrid car after he rented a Toyota Prius hybrid recently and got 50 miles to the gallon.He also got a surprise tutorial in efficient driving: The rental car's dashboard monitor showed him his gas mileage dropped considerably each time he accelerated quickly.More people lately say they are "trip-chaining" -- bundling several errands into a single trip.Experts such as Greene, of the U.S. Department of Energy, say trip-chaining works. You drive fewer miles by linking chores, plus your engine stays "warmer," or more fuel-efficient.(E-mail Tony Bizjak at tbizjak(at)sacbee.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)