Ease off the throttle for cheaper motoring

YOUR contributor E Ward’s method of “driving with your foot off” (Yorkshire Post, January 31) still applies today, but with the spiralling cost of fuel, many drivers choose to use their cars less. However, when they do get into the driver’s seat, they seem to forget the price of fuel and drive as they always have done, with very little thought about fuel economy.

I drove to York this week via the M62 / M1 and A64. Almost all cars and vans were speeding, as were most lorries. Driving smoothly, with minimum use of the right foot, can add an extra 80 -100 miles to the distance travelled on a car’s full tank of fuel.

I was once a passenger with a friend who was very low on petrol on a motorway. She started to go faster, hoping to get to fuel quicker. I told her she should slow down to about 57 mph and her remaining petrol would last for a few vital extra miles.

As well as economising on fuel consumption, smoother driving also lengthens the life of tyres and brake pads, but a lot of drivers still choose to pay through the nose for some vehicle costs – and then complain about the price of petrol!