Categories: Cars

New tool reveals which bad driving habits are costing you money

  | 
Team Clark is adamant that we will never write content influenced by or paid for by an advertiser. To support our work, we do make money from some links to companies and deals on our site. Learn more about our guarantee here.

Bad driving habits like speeding, rapid acceleration and hard braking may be lowering your gas mileage by as much as 40%, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

But are you an aggressive driver? If so, GasBuddy says it may be costing you up to $477 a year!

RELATED: 7 of the best gas station loyalty programs

GasBuddy’s Trips feature highlights fuel-inefficient driving

GasBuddy, the smartphone app that helps people find the lowest gas prices, has announced a new feature that highlights exactly when and where drivers have been guilty of fuel-inefficient driving.

With the new Trips feature, you’ll get a report card after each trip based on a 3-tier rating system.

In the screenshots below, you can see how the app pinpoints where during the trip a poor driving habit occurred, as well as whether it was speeding, hard braking or acceleration.

After analyzing more than 140,000 individual trips during beta testing, GasBuddy found that 78% fell into the “not bad” and “not great” buckets, meaning there were instances of bad driving habits.

Other key findings:

  • Hard braking is the most common habit, followed by quick acceleration and speeding
  • Georgia, D.C., California, Wyoming and Arizona are the top five places with the most aggressive drivers
  • Mondays are the worst day of the week for aggressive driving

Putting GasBuddy’s Trips feature to the test

I decided to put GasBuddy’s brand new tool to the test. I drove from Team Clark’s office to a big-box store and back to see what it would say about my driving habits.

To get started, I opened the GasBuddy app, scrolled to “My Trips” and clicked “Go.”

GasBuddy

From there, I was given a list of my recent trips. For example, I got a “great” rating because there were no problems with speed, quick acceleration or hard braking during my trip.

If you don’t want GasBuddy recording your trips, you can pause trip detection from the app. Here’s how to know if you’ve been automatically opted in:

  • iOS: If users on iOS had previously selected GasBuddy’s location services to be “always on,” they’re automatically opted in. Otherwise they’ll be prompted to opt in. They can turn Trips on or off anytime from their location settings.
  • Android: If users have given GasBuddy location permissions, they’re automatically opted in. To disable the Trips feature, users can set it to “paused” in the Trips screen.
GasBuddy

GasBuddy says most drivers don’t even realize the way they drive is costing them money, and they could save between 13 cents and 89 cents a gallon by changing their habits.

RELATED: Buying gas from a station on this list is better for your car

[anvplayer video=”4116643″]

This post was last modified on December 13, 2017 7:40 am

Recent Posts

Chase Increases Sign-up Bonus for Popular Credit Cards for Limited Time

If you've been considering signing up for one of the Chase Sapphire credit cards, now…

4 hours ago

6 Home Expenses You Have To Budget For (Beyond Your Mortgage)

The costs associated with owning a home go way beyond the amount on the mortgage. …

5 hours ago

Should I Pay Off My Mortgage Before Retirement or Invest?

Inflation hits people on a fixed income the hardest. Say you're retired. You're living off…

6 hours ago

Should I Fire My 1% Financial Advisor To Save on Fees?

Deciding to save and invest are great habits. But once you check that box, your…

1 day ago

Fubo Drops Popular Channels Amid Dispute with Warner Bros. Discovery

If you're considering subscribing to Fubo, you need to be comfortable missing out on some…

2 days ago

5 Things To Know About the Wells Fargo Signify Business Cash Card

Are you looking for a way to earn 2% back on every purchase you make…

2 days ago