ON YOUR WAY
Drivers could save ‘up to two litres’ of fuel using easy sat nav hack, knocking hundreds off annual bills
Simply idling in a traffic jam can also cause damage to your engine
DRIVERS could save as much as two litres of fuel an hour thanks to an easy sat nav hack, reducing their annual bill by hundreds of pounds.
Motorists will be burning through petrol or diesel while simply being idle when they are caught up in traffic jams.
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So drivers of combustion engine vehicles will effectively be burning through money and going nowhere.
However, the solution could be in arm’s reach of many motorists.
Modern vehicles which have a satellite navigation system installed are likely to have a live traffic tool which will search for traffic jams and accidents ahead.
By simply turning this feature on, motorists could be given an alternative route to avoid getting stuck in the hold up and so wasting fuel.
Experts at CarShop said: “We’ve all been there, finding ourselves lost and driving in circles trying to find our way back on track but getting lost does waste fuel by driving unnecessary miles.
“Making sure the route is planned and address details are entered into a sat nav before setting off can help avoid this.
“Ensuring the sat nav has traffic updates is also useful for saving fuel as sitting in traffic jams is also costly with the average car burning two litres of fuel an hour in traffic jams."
Idling vehicles waste around as much as 0.8 litres of fuel per hour, according to Michelin.
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The garage experts claimed one of the bigger problems is the constant acceleration and braking when you’re stuck in a traffic jam.
It estimates that traffic jams increase consumption by nearly 90 per cent on motorways and 174 per cent on urban roads.
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Meanwhile, experts at BookMyGarage, a comparison site for car service and repair fees, say idling can also do a lot of damage to vehicles.
They have warned this could include impacting the “lifespan of the engine” along with other key parts also adversely affected.
They said: “If you let your car engine idle, you could unintentionally be wasting fuel.
“This can in turn reduce the lifespan of the engine by stripping oil from the pistons and cylinders.
“Additionally, idling can contribute to the wear of other related components.
“Instead, drive slowly as the car begins to warm up, as a cold engine will be less efficient.”
According to the RAC, the average cost of a litre of petrol has risen by 9p since the start of the year, up from 140.45p to 149.51p now.
The average price of a litre of diesel has risen by around 10p over the same time period.
Cities worst for traffic jams in hours per year
Figures from a study carried out using data from satnav firm TomTom for price comparison site Quotezone.co.uk.
- London - 148 hours
- Bristol - 89 hours
- Manchester - 88 hours
- Leicester - 79 hours
- Sheffield - 76 hours
- Liverpool - 75 hours
- Belfast - 75 hours
- Edinburgh - 74 hours
- Hull - 71 hours
- Nottingham - 69 hours
An RAC spokesperson said earlier this month: “This year is proving to be another tough one for drivers with the price of fuel going up 9p a litre so far, adding £5 to the cost of filling up an average family car.
“Both petrol and diesel are now the most expensive they’ve been since November last year which is bad for households, businesses and the economy, especially as we know there is a close link between fuel prices and inflation.
“With increased tensions in the Middle East, the cost of oil is only likely to go up which could push petrol well above 150p a litre.
“While diesel is getting close to 160p, this is purely down to retailers taking much bigger margins as there’s only been a few pence between the wholesale prices of both fuels since mid-March.
“We find it hard to believe that a margin of 13p a litre on diesel – compared to the long-term average of 8p – is fair.”
The news comes after it was revealed drivers spend 175 full days of their lives sitting in traffic jams.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Research in February 2019 revealed that traffic jams cost drivers in Britain’s biggest cities more than £1,600 each the previous year.
While another driving expert has given their top tips to avoid getting stuck in traffic jams.
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