Man Doubles Gas Mileage By 'Hypermiling'

An Illinois man says he doubles his gas mileage by driving at or below the speed limit and sticking to the right lane on the highway. His creeping along might tick you off, but he's getting great gas mileage.

Wayne Gerdes' standard engine 2005 Honda Accord has an average EPA mileage rating of 25 miles per gallon. Gerdes almost doubles that. His average is 48 miles per gallon. Gerdes is the guru of what he calls "hypermiling."

"I used to be the 'A' type personality, left hand lane, passing everybody, going down I-94 at 80 miles an hour, then 9/11 happened," Gerdes said.

No longer willing to pour as much money into Mideast oil, Gerdes started his own website called CleanMPG.com. On it, he and several thousand other Americans have developed a set of driving and car maintenance techniques to squeeze all the miles they can out of every gallon.

Gerdes begins each trip by coasting down his driveway, then down the street for a block or two.

He says he knows he infuriates some other drivers, like the tailgaters he calls "proctologists" or the speed demons he calls "mad rabbits," but he continues like that, gliding silently when he can, turning the engine on only when he has to -- even in traffic.

"When you go to a red light and you're going to sit for two minutes, shut your engine off," Gerdes said.

Hypermilers also recommend filling your tires to maximum pressure and using lightweight synthetic oil.

"Average driver in this is paying $3.89 a gallon to travel 25 miles. I'm paying $2, maybe $2.10 to travel the same 25 miles," Gerdes said.

Gerdes, who does not visit the gas pumps as often as the rest of us, admits that shutting the engine off while moving might be illegal in some jurisdictions, but he says it shouldn't be.

He points to the fact that the Prius and other full hybrid vehicles do the same thing automatically.