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• Consolidate your errands so you can do them all in one trip. This will cut your total miles driven. Many people drive back and forth between destinations. Plan ahead. Set up your errands in succession and save gas.
• Modify your driving habits. Public roads are not racetracks. Don’t race up to red lights or stop signs, avoid quick “jackrabbit” starts, and stop goosing the throttle to jump into holes in traffic. A car uses more fuel under hard acceleration. And if you own a “full” hybrid vehicle that can operate at low speeds on the battery pack, this is especially important. The more you depress the accelerator, the more demand you make on the hybrid powertrain, and the earlier the gasoline engine will kick in and start consuming fuel.
• Avoid high speeds on the highway. As your speed increases, the aerodynamic drag increases in exponential fashion, so the engine works harder to maintain your speed and move the car through the atmosphere. The harder the engine works, the more fuel it uses. Driving 62 mph instead of 75 mph can reduce fuel consumption by as much as 15 percent. This is one reason why some hybrids get lower fuel economy on the highway than in the city.
• Lighten the load. Don’t haul unnecessary weight in the passenger compartment or trunk. Heavier vehicles use more fuel.
  
• Use the A/C sparingly. The air conditioner puts extra load on the engine, forcing more fuel to be used. On average, a car operating with the air conditioning engaged uses about 20 percent more fuel.
• Keep your windows closed. Open windows, especially at highway speeds, increase aerodynamic drag and the result is up to a 10 percent decrease in fuel economy. If you must have fresh air coming into the vehicle, run your climate system on ‘outside air’ and ‘vent’, and crack the window for additional ventilation.