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With gas prices over $4 a gallon and rising, people are constantly looking for ways to save. But travel officials are concerned some new tricks that are putting drivers at risk.
AAA calls them "hypermilers" -- people who push the limits on the road to get better gas mileage. At the same time, they put their cars, themselves and other drivers at risk.
"I just changed my air filter, changed my oil; tire pressure is a good way to make sure you get good gas mileage," driver Jesse Baxter said.
Baxter has figured out the best way to save on gas: keeping his truck in great shape. "You gotta maintain your vehicle, and it'll put money back in your pocket," he said.
According to AAA, Baxter is getting great gas mileage the right way. Others, called hypermilers, aren't. They use techniques like coasting in neutral, tailgating, rolling through stop signs and over-inflating tires.
"If you over-inflate your tire, you have even less tire surface on the road, which makes it more difficult to handle your vehicle and it wears your tires out faster," said Rolayne Fairclough, spokeswoman for AAA of Utah.
Hypermilers often drive over or under the speed limit, impeding the flow of traffic to maintain a speed that gives them good gas mileage. In fact, a Maryland man was pulled over earlier this week for taking that to the extreme.
"[The officer] said, ‘Mr. Conrad, why are you driving 50 miles an hour back there on I-95?' I said, ‘I'm saving gas.' He said, ‘Saving gas?' I said ‘yeah' and looked at my readout and said, ‘I'm getting 69 miles to the gallon right now," explained Maryland motorist Glenn Conrad.
To get better gas mileage safely, AAA recommends you use cruise control when possible, try not to brake or accelerate suddenly, and keep your tires inflated to the right pressure.
According to AAA, your gas mileage dips by 2 percent for every pound of pressure your tires are under-inflated.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
