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ALEXANDRIA, Virginia -- It now takes five "Benjamins" ($100 bills) for professional truck drivers, at $2.17 per gallon for diesel fuel, to fill the saddle tanks of their 18-wheelers. This makes them pay real close attention to efficient driving practices.

To ease the pain at the gas pump for our four-wheeler friends, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and its Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC) -- the people who keep the trucks running efficiently -- are offering their few cents worth of fuel-saving tips and advice for those motorists traveling out on the road alongside their big rigs.

First on their list: do what truckers and their dispatchers do -- plan direct routes, cut unnecessary side trips, and when underway, try to reduce the number of stops and starts*, keeping a steady touch on the accelerator pedal whenever traffic conditions allow.

TMC's technicians also urge motorists to keep car engines well-tuned, with clean air and oil filters, and to be sure to use the proper thickness of fluids in the engine, transmission, and axles. Otherwise, an engine has to work too hard and unnecessarily consumes more fuel. Dirty engine oil is also thicker, making engines less efficient.

Really significant fuel savings can be found where the rubber hits the road. Trucking tire experts say that rolling resistance causes 20 percent of fuel consumption, but if a tire is properly inflated, a reduction in resistance of just one percent can increase fuel savings by up to five percent.

And even if it's warm enough to do so, it does not pay to cut off the air conditioner and drive with car windows open. It takes more energy to overcome the resistance from open windows. Instead, use the more efficient recirculation function of the air conditioner.

Source: American Trucking Associations

Footnote from DSA:  *  In terms of fuel economy, the suggestion about reducing the number of stops and starts is more important than many people realize. Lightheartedly, one can compare driving a motor vehicle to launching a space rocket, because in both cases it takes a disproportionate amount of fuel just to get one to move off from a standstill. So, wherever it is safe and will not cause inconvenience to other road users, it makes good fuel-saving sense to slow down early for problems and try -- within reason -- to keep your vehicle rolling gently forwards so that you do not bring it to a standstill and burn excessive fuel just to get it moving again.

Eddie Wren, Executive Director, Drive and Stay Alive, Inc.