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While most car manufacturers are more interested in taking your money than saving it, Ford has released a new program called Driving Skills for Life. It's goal is to teach both new and old drivers the proper way to use their vehicle in order to improve fuel efficiency and environmental wear and tear.
So far preliminary tests have shown students who graduate from this course ultimately end up saving between 6 percent on up to 50 percent on gas expenditures once everything is said and done. The simple four day course goes over smooth acceleration, braking, using moderate rpm, optimum driving speeds, simple maintenance procedures, and pre-planning to make the most out of every trip.
This course, which was recently given to a group of volunteers in Phoenix, was not the first of its kind. Ford actually introduced this program in Germany in the 1990's in cooperation with the German Road Safety Council. These courses were focused on both fleet drivers and customers and had great results.
Ford says that it would like to begin teaching this course to fleet drivers, as they spent a lot of time on the roads, and could save a sizable amount of fuel if they are taught proper eco-driving tactics. Ford is also talking about initiating such courses to new drivers in the future, as well as its customers.
All-in-all, if the program is a success, Ford expects no less than 22 billion gallons of gas to be saved annually, but if you are really gung-ho to start the program, you can start with their online self-taught course.
The course takes about 25 minutes to complete, and covers a variety of important safety tips, helpful driving videos, and then gives you a quiz at the end to see how much you learned. If you think safety tips has nothing to do with eco-driving, you are wrong.
Just think of how much traffic problems result from one simple accident. You have hundreds of cars idling, abruptly accelerating and braking, and wasting gallons of gas while not getting where they are going.
There is also a section on the website dedicated to eco-driving, offering such sound advice as traveling light, minimizing heat and air conditioner use, choosing the right oil, driving with your window closed above speeds of 55 mph, and consolidating mobile errands.
As many years as you may have already been driving...you need to realize that you can teach an old dog new tricks, and some of us could certainly use some of these tricks more than others. With a 6 percent to 50 percent reward in gas savings, we say that almost everyone should be able to find the time to take part in this free online program.
There's not much in the world that is really free anymore, so take advantage of it when it comes around!
More gas saving tips
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How to Go Green: Cars: Top Green Car Tips
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