Top tips for drivers on how to conserve fuel to avoid queues at petrol stations

With the current petrol crisis and an increase in queues at petrol stations, a car expert has suggested three measures to conserve petrol.
A queue of cars at a BP petrol station. (Pic credit: Danny Lawson / PA)A queue of cars at a BP petrol station. (Pic credit: Danny Lawson / PA)
A queue of cars at a BP petrol station. (Pic credit: Danny Lawson / PA)

The current state of customers panic-buying petrol has increased pressure on the Prime Minister to prioritise key workers who need to re-fuel.

Some retailers have imposed a £30 spend cap on petrol for customers to manage high demand.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However, car insurance expert at Confused.com, Alex Kindred, has compiled a list of suggestions for drivers themselves to help conserve petrol and reduce the length of queues at petrol stations.

Mr Kindred, said: “Queues at petrol stations are growing, so if you have fuel but you want to try to stay away from the garage, there are ways you can get that extra mile out of your tank.”

These suggestions include:

1. Going easy on the accelerator to keep your driving smooth and use the highest, safe gear possible to use less fuel.

“What’s more, when you approach traffic lights, ease off the accelerator early if the lights are red. Why hurry up just to wait?” he added.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

2. Avoid idling as running your engine at idle consumes roughly half of a gallon to about a gallon of fuel every hour.

“Not to mention, the carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere. Modern cars are more fuel efficient, so you will burn less fuel if you just turn off your engine than restarting when you need to move again,” Mr Kindred said.

3. Inflate tyres to the correct pressure. The surface area that’s in contact with the road increases when a tyre is under-inflated. The more surface area in contact with the road, the more drag on the wheel.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.