Safety should be your number one concern every time you get behind the wheel of a vehicle. The good news is that practicing defensive driving techniques not only improves road safety, it also reduces fuel consumption and cuts exhaust emissions that contribute to climate change and urban smog. Depending on your driving habits and how often you drive, these basic techniques and useful tips could save you hundreds of dollars a year in fuel and maintenance costs:

• It’s both safer and more fuel-efficient to maintain a steady speed on the road. Speed up smoothly when passing or merging with faster traffic and avoid hard braking. European tests have shown that aggressive driving — frequent, rapid speeding up and hard braking — can increase fuel consumption by up to 25 per cent.
• Never drive faster than the posted speed limit. Increasing your highway cruising speed from 100 km/h to 120 km/h will increase fuel consumption by up to 20 per cent.
• Plan your trips to combine errands and to avoid traffic jams, steep hills, road construction, etc. Combining a number of short trips into one longer one allows your engine and drivetrain to reach peak operating temperature, which is not possible on trips of less than five kms. Avoiding trouble spots shortens your travel time and reduces unnecessary idling.
• If you are driving a vehicle with a manual transmission, learn how to use it properly for maximum fuel savings. A tachometer can help you shift the transmission at the most fuel efficient engine speeds (the owner’s manual will indicate these speeds).
• If you have cruise control, use it for highway driving to maintain a constant safe speed and save fuel. The exception is on hilly terrain, where it’s a good idea to allow the vehicle’s speed to drop slightly going uphill and then let gravity help you build up speed again (to a safe level) going down the other side. Avoid using cruise control while driving on slippery or winter roads.
• In summer, minimize your use of air conditioning. Operating an air conditioner in hot weather can increase fuel consumption by more than 20 per cent in city driving. A more fuel-efficient option for staying cool is to open a window. However, at highway speeds, use your car’s flow-through ventilation — open windows and sunroofs increase aerodynamic drag, which makes the engine work harder and consume more fuel. If you must use your vehicle’s air conditioning, avoid running it continuously. Shut it off after the interior is cool or set the controls to a comfort level that allows the system to cycle.
• Check tire pressure at least once a month when the tires are cold (i.e. the vehicle had been parked for at least three hours or had not been driven more than two kms). If you have to drive more than two km to add air, check the tires before you leave and then add the amount of air that is missing from this reading. Inflate the tires to the recommended pressure, usually indicated on the car door, glove compartment or in the owner’s manual. With proper tire inflation, your car will burn less fuel and be safer to drive. Operating a vehicle with just one tire under inflated by 56 kilopascals (eight pounds per square inch) can reduce the life of the tire by 15,000 km and can increase the vehicle’s fuel consumption by four per cent (Transport Canada).
• Use an engine block heater in the winter to warm the engine coolant as this makes cold starts easier on your engine and electrical (battery, starter, etc.) components. To prevent freezing of your engine coolant, it should be rated for -35°C or colder or as recommended by the manufacturer. In addition, it will assist in the vehicle’s engine oil to get to the moving parts quicker to reduce premature wear. Use a timer to switch the block heater on four hours before you plan to drive. Proper use of a block heater can improve your vehicle’s overall fuel economy by as much as 10 percent. Don’t leave your block heater on overnight or your energy saving will disappear in a higher electricity bill.
• Follow the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended operating procedures and maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual. Regular maintenance such as oil and filter changes will not only prevent early breakdown of your vehicle’s parts, it will also keep them operating at their most fuel-efficient level. A clogged air filter can increase fuel consumption by up to 10 per cent. Regular maintenance will keep your vehicle operating safely, save you money and help the environment.
• Remote car starters are handy on cold winter mornings, but don’t start your car too soon. In most driving conditions, engines need to warm up for only 30 seconds, even on cold mornings. Also, allowing your car to idle too long wastes gas and produces unnecessary exhaust emissions.
• Idling for more than 10 seconds, except in traffic, wastes more fuel than stopping your engine and restarting it again. At the end of the day, stopping unnecessary idling will benefit the environment and save you money.