The Low-Tech Times

After observing the behavior of other drivers on the road, it appears that many people believe they need to always be depressing the brake pedal or the accelerator. In fact, drivers do not need to choose between either pushing down on the brake pedal or applying the gas; there is a third option when driving. In many instances, completely letting off the gas is an adequate technique to slow down without braking.

A good technique is to let off the accelerator and hover the right foot above the brake. This way you are ready to brake if necessary, but you do not needlessly apply the brakes. It is important to keep a safe following distance when using this technique.

Benefits

By not always applying the brakes to slow down:

1. You do not slow more than necessary and save gas by not having to re-accelerate as much
2. You help ease traffic congestion. When drivers see brake lights ahead, they instinctively apply their own brakes. This chain reaction leads to backups and major delays.

See Also

Improving MPG: Hi-Tech vs Low-Tech Methods

Cruise Control Wastes Gas

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 at 6:10 pm and is filed under RECOMMENDED, ideas, events, and resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.