MIDWEST CITY — Doug Wilson can pay for gas. It frustrates him that he has to pay so much. So he makes every mile count.
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"It's one of those things, how much effort do you put into it?” said Wilson, an engineer at Tinker Air Force Base who lives in Midwest City. "And now that gas is going up to $4, maybe a little bit of effort is worth the while.”
He consolidates trips, shops online and stopped driving to lunch every day. With an SUV that gets 15 to 20 miles to the gallon, Wilson's saves nearly a tank-full a month by not going out to lunch. He also uses a strategy called hypermiling, a series of techniques designed to improve gas mileage.
One easy trick is to turn off the car engine at red lights. One of the dangerous options: turn off the car engine while coasting on the highway. Wilson said he'd rather leave the engine on for that.
Wilson, 42, remembers his parents toughing out the energy crisis of the 1970s, and he is trying to do what they did.
"You made do,” he said, "and you make small sacrifices.”
Staff Writer Carrie Coppernoll
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Actually, coasting on the highway is dangerous and in some states illegal. I don't advocate coasting.
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Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.