The truth about saving gas

According to an article at Edmunds.com, you can save a lot of gasoline if you'd only stop being such a jerk. Okay, what the story actually says is this:

Test #1: Aggressive vs. Moderate Driving

This is gonna hurt. Our tests showed that the most significant way to save gas is: you. And we're talking massive fuel economy gains. Think you need a hybrid? Chances are you've got hybrid-style mileage in your gas pedal foot. Don't mash the gas when you start up. Take the long view of the road and brake easy. This tip alone can save you unbelievable amounts of gas. If you slowed your 0-to-60-mph acceleration time down from your current 10 seconds to a more normal city pace of 15 seconds, you'll feel the savings immediately.

No matter how much people bellyache about high gas prices, I suspect this is the advice they are least likely to follow. Let's face it, driving is a power trip for a lot of people, and anything that doesn't play into that power trip—like moderate driving habits, using turn signals, and knowing how right-of-way works—are nothing to those people but admissions that they can't do as they doggone well please.

Sometimes it feels good to be the jerk. Sure it hurts when you're buying gas, but that only takes a few seconds. The rest of the time you can drive around and be the star of your own movie. Everybody else is just extras.