AAA Warns Drivers About “Hypermiling”

Across the country, drivers are trying something called “hypermiling” as part of an effort to save gas, but are the savings worth the risk? AAA doesn’t think so. The auto club issued a warning just last week aimed at “hypermilers,“ urging them to avoid dangerous fuel-saving techniques. On the surface, AAA admits “hypermiling” is not dangerous, but the auto club says it is dangerous when taken to the extreme.

“Hypermiling” is a term coined by a man named Wayne Gerdes. For the last few years, he and others across the nation have organized http://www.cleanmpg.com to try and get the most bang for their buck when behind the wheel. Many drivers are “hypermilers” in some ways without even knowing it.

“First thing I did before starting the trip was have lube oil and filter done on the car and have everything checked,“ Paul Kehoe said at a rest stop during his trip from New York to Arkansas.

“I just stay on the (speed) limit and go slow,“ Anna Garcia said at that same rest stop.

According to http://www.cleanmpg.com, drivers who “hypermile” drive at or below the speed limit, keep their cars well-maintained, limit their time idling, and reduce the use of electronics like air conditioning. They also limit their amount of braking, coast when possible, and accelerate and brake slowly when need be.

Some of the techniques work. We tried it out. After driving the same 11-mile loop twice, once driving the way I drive, the second time “hypermiling,“ we
gained an extra five miles per gallon. However, we used an extreme measure on that trip. We put our SUV in neutral when going down hills. 

That is one of the techniques AAA is concerned about. However, that is not the only concern. “Some drivers are rolling through stop signs to prevent braking, turning off their engines when going down hills, and drafting,“ Johnson City AAA Branch Manager Cecilia Campbell said. “The extremes are extremely dangerous. That’s what we’re trying to get out there so everyone will understand that…It doesn’t really save a tremendous amount on gas and the dangers outweigh the things that you think will help you tremendously.“

Drafting is an idea out of the NASCAR toolbox. It’s not only dangerous, it is also illegal since drivers are considered to be following too closely, but truckers say they’re seeing it more and more.

“I think it’s becoming common knowledge now,“ truck driver Grant Fennell said. “They’re learning stuff like this off the internet…I just came down the road now about 20 miles and had a van behind me, just drafting away.“

AAA says more than anything, people should just use common sense when driving. The club recommends that drivers should keep their tires inflated, use the right kind of motor oil, and take advantage of cruise control instead of coasting.

However, “hypermilers” say AAA is blowing this way out of proportion.

“‘Hypermiling’ is a ‘toolbox’ of techniques from which a driver selects methods that s/he feels are both safe and efficient, factoring in vehicle, driver, and situation,“ the website http://www.cleanmpg.com said in a draft response to AAA’s press release. “It is stressed that new drivers should add only one new method at a time, if necessary testing at low speeds in an empty parking lot or deserted back road, and should not try anything they feel will be unsafe. In ‘hypermiling’, the driver exercises the same discretion required in all driving. Going 65mph may be deemed ‘safe’ on a highway with a 65mph limit, but not in a mall parking lot, or for that matter on the same highway in rain or snow.“

The post continued saying:

“The AAA’s concerns included:

(1) Rolling through stop signs and red lights to save fuel. We’re not sure where this came from but certainly not from cleanmpg.com. Recommending against it seemed superfluous, but perhaps a section explaining that this is not an acceptable ‘Hypermiling’ technique should be added to the site.

(2) Using oil thinner than the manufacturer recommends. This has never been recommended on cleanmpg. The site specifically recommends using a synthetic oil in the thinnest grade approved by the manufacturer.

(3) Drafting – cleanmpg specifically recommends against drafting on safety grounds alone. In addition, it is more efficient to slow down than it is to draft a semi at typical truck speeds. The AAA’s accusation is especially perplexing because drafting is basically tailgating. The only difference is that drafting is done in an attempt to improve fuel economy, whereas tailgating is intended to intimidate the leading driver into pulling over or speeding up. Tailgating is endemic on our highways:  a large percentage of drivers follows far closer than recommended. Trucks get within one CAR length of a car, apparently assuming that because they can see over the car they can anticipate what will happen, and cars tailgate trucks because they assume they can stop faster than the truck (debatable). This is a grave safety issue that AAA is not addressing.

(4) Inflating tires. AAA incorrectly calls it ‘overinflating’ when tires are put at the maximum pressure recommended by the tire manufacturer. This is within spec, not ‘over’: a large safety margin is built into the tire manufacturer’s recommendation. Inflating to the sidewall rating is recommended by police for their own cruisers for improved wet and dry grip ( http://www.officer.com/web/online/Editorial-and-Features/Driving-Under-Pressure/19$27281 ). An SAE study has verified this improvement in grip, and also documents that evenness of wear is not affected ( http://www.geocities.com/barrystiret…7synopsis.html ). Fuel economy is improved, by as much as 10% in my testing, and tire life is extended. The tradeoff is slightly harsher ride and possibly more tire noise, but one quickly becomes used to this…

It would benefit our nation if the AAA would become a partner rather than an opponent in our grass-roots effort to develop and implement a solution to this serious predicament that faces our nation. We invite the AAA to do so.“