During the holiday season, most of us find ourselves burning up the road traveling to see loved ones. Most of the time, that means you will find yourself down a back road where you won’t see a gas station for miles and miles. If you tend to lose track of your fuel levels, only to look down with a tank on low and not a place to stop for gas, use these six tips for when you are running low on gas.
Locate the Nearest Gas Station
First things first, you need to be familiar with where you are. Pull over in a safe area and hop on your phone to locate the nearest gas station. Use your Maps app or the AAA app on your smartphone.
Slow and Steady
Have you heard the saying slow and steady wins the race? If you are trying to book it to the gas station, you are doing it wrong. Your vehicle is most fuel efficient at a speed of 35 to 45. Of course, you must abide by the speed limit if you are driving on the interstate, but if you think driving fast will help you, you are wrong.
Turn off the Air Conditioning
Running the air conditioning puts stress on the engine, which leads to an increase of gas usage. Deal with the temperature until you make it to the gas station safely.
Turn Off Non-Essential Accessories
Unless your phone is about to go dead and you will be stranded without a way to contact someone, unplug your phone charger and turn off the stereo. While these devices don’t use up much gas, when you are dead on empty, every drop of fuel counts.
Reduce Wind Resistance
If you can’t run the air conditioning, the obvious thing to do is roll down the windows, right? Wrong! Having the windows rolled down increases the wind resistance on your vehicle.
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Drive Downhill
When you can, choose to drive downhill. Your vehicle will use up less gas going downhill rather than uphill.
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