How to Save Gas While in an Extremely Heavy Traffic Jam

During these trying times, we need to save as much gas as we can especially since there's an ongoing turmoil in the Middle East which affects gas prices. One opportunity is during congested heavy traffic. Your vehicle is still turned on but it's not moving. Thus, you're using gasoline while being stationary. Even if your engine is at its lowest running rpm, you're still using gas. Here are some ways that you can save gas during these conditions especially if you travel a lot in a very busy area.

You can turn off your air-conditioning system to save fuel. I'm not sure about the latest car models but for my car, the carburetor adjusts the idle a bit higher when the air-conditioning system is on. Thus, it uses more gas while stationary. But of course, consider you and your passengers' comfort. If it's hot outside then it's ok to just leave it on instead of having an uncomfortable ride. You're already in heavy traffic and hot temperatures can actually lead to hot heads.

One mannerism of several drivers is to rev the engine while the car is stationary. This is an unnecessary waste of gas. You're burning more fuel but you're not moving. Just keep it on idle. I see quite a lot of these drivers who have cars that are usually modified for racing. Not all of them brag about their engine sounds though.

When you are in a severely heavy traffic jam, you may opt to turn off your engines for the time being. I suggest you do this only if the idle time is significant. Let's say around 5 minutes or more. Make sure you can see farther ahead so that when the traffic starts moving, you can turn on your engine again on time.

If you have a manual transmission car and the cars move very slowly, you can just slowly let go of the clutch pedal while on first gear. Your car will slowly move forward even if you do not depress the gas pedal. Just do it slowly though or else your engine might die on you. You won't have problems at all with an automatic transmission vehicle. That's why I love driving them when there's heavy traffic.

Here's another thing that I am guilty of on very few occasions. When the traffic suddenly moves a bit, I tend to just rush forward. This can be done sometimes to prevent other cars from cutting in front of you but it wastes fuel since you're burning too much gas at high RPMs for such a short distance. Just be calm and do a slow approach. Or better yet, stay alert so that you can follow the car in front of you immediately.

Most importantly, just relax. It is understandable that you'll be irritated because of the traffic. As most would probably say, the way you drive will be affected by your emotions. If you're frustrated or angry, there's a tendency to push the gas pedal much harder resulting in waste of fuel.