Steering You Right with Sharon Peters: Cold MPG
Q: We moved to New England last winter from Georgia and we seemed to be getting substantially worse mileage after the move. This past summer we seemed to be back at our usual mpg. Now that winter’s here again, will we be getting worse mileage again? I’ve never heard anyone say mileage is worse in cold temperatures, but that seemed to be our experience.
A: A little-publicized fact is that in cold weather you actually do see a drop in fuel economy.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, in city driving for short trips, gas mileage is about 12 percent lower when it’s 30 degrees than when it is 77 degrees. And for very short trips (about 4 miles), the decrease can be as much as 22 percent. So it’s not insignificant.
Why? Again, from Department of Energy info: Colder air is more dense, so the aerodynamic drag is greater, engine and transmission friction increases because of cold engine oil and other fluids, it takes longer for the engine to reach its most fuel-efficient temperature, running the heater and window defrosters takes additional power, and tire pressure decreases when it’s cold so rolling resistance is greater.
Naturally, if it’s really, really cold, that exacerbates the decrease in fuel economy.
There’s not a huge amount you can do about that. But parking your vehicle inside will help a bit, as will keeping the tires properly pumped, and not idling the engine to warm things up (as the engine warms up quicker by being driven).
Q: How many people died last year because of distracted driving?
A: The latest figures available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are for 2015: 3,277 deaths attributable to distracted driving. Teens were the largest age group reported as distracted in fatal crashes.
Also, 391,000 people were injured that year, some profoundly, in crashes involving distracted drivers.
Those numbers were released in June 2015, as it takes many months of culling state figures to develop national figures. In late spring this year we’ll know how many distracted driving-caused deaths occurred in 2016.
Something to contemplate: NHTSA estimates that about 660,000 people are using cell phones at any given time during the daylight hours. Kinda makes you want to stay home.
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What’s your question? Sharon Peters would like to hear about what’s on your mind when it comes to caring for, driving and repairing your vehicle. Email Sharon@ctwfeatures.com.