May 9, 2011

The high cost of gas has many people concerned, especially teenage drivers. For this week's segment of Safe Teen Drivers, CBS19's Bailey Disselkoen looks at how to save gas no matter how old you are.

Tom Powell, the owner of Quick Lane in Charlottesville says one common mistake people make while driving is that they constantly pump the accelerator, especially when they take off after having been stopped at a red light.

"The biggest thing I see teens doing is when they take off from a traffic light, they just nail that throttle," said Powell. The unnecessary action wastes gasoline.

"You always see the fellow that passes you and you always catch up to him at the next light. He has wasted a lot of fuel and you have gotten there only a minute or two later," said Powell.

Many people think turning off the air conditioner and rolling down the windows will help you to use less fuel, but Powell says that is not true.

"The amount of fuel that you think you are saving, you are actually not because you are creating a giant air hook. Turn the A/C on and leave the windows up and drive normally," said Powell.

Powell says it is the simple things that can save you the most fuel. Such as keeping extra items out of your trunk. The additional weight makes your car do more work, and burn more fuel.

"If you just maintain your car the way you should maintain it, you would be surprised how much mileage you can pick up," said Powell. Having the correct tire pressure and clean air filters will also help your car to burn less fuel.