Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Don't Search for Better Parking

If you're making a trip to the mall, it's likely you’ve already driven a fair distance to get there. Now the question is: How much more fuel are you going to burn looking for parking?

Cars.com reviewer Mike Hanley raised an interesting point with me: We've all seen people creeping up and down crowded parking aisles, following drivers as they walk back to their cars. They are searching for that perfect parking place — maybe for convenience, maybe for shade on a hot summer day.

That low-speed crawl through the parking lot, however, eats a lot of gas as you stop and start in low gears or accelerate quickly to nab a coveted spot by the entrance. Even if it's far away, the walk will be good exercise, so do yourself and your fuel tank a favor: Park quickly.

Related:
More Gas-Saving Moments of the Day (KickingTires)

Comments

No news here to me. I just go right for parking in EBF. Helps stop door dings. I park in 2 seconds and most of the time I beat the guy idling with the blinker on for the close spot in getting in the store.

hahaha, the irony is, if those same people parked farther, they would get some exercise, weigh less and end up using less gas.

too bad, if most people planned ahead, they would also have done better in school and taken higher-paying jobs (in this global economy, you make more money ripping off other countries than if you take back blue-collar jobs from third-world workers). then this gas thing wouldn't be such a big deal.

When you have parked in a high school, a college, then a university. You know it is the best to park as far from the buildings as possible. Why? Door dings.

A 'Southern thang', I look for shade usually found at the edges of the parking lot and park there. The cooler interior more than makes up for the stroll across the parking lot.

Bob Wilson