Driving Large
If there is one thing that every college student wouldn’t mind having more of, it’s money. And perhaps one of the best ways to save some green is to save on gas.
According to www.fueleconomy.gov, students can save $200-$1,500 in fuel costs each year, and thousands over a lifetime by choosing the most efficient vehicle that meets their needs. For that reason many students opt to drive small cars with good gas mileage.
“I drive a small, two-door car because it’s a lot less expensive, but I do wish that I could drive a truck,” said Jerica Gregersen, freshman in nursing.
Gregersen’s Pontiac Grand Prix costs an annual average of $2,192 in gas. This is based on the statistics of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, with 45 percent highway driving, 55 percent city driving, 15,000 annual miles and a fuel price of $3.07 per gallon of gasoline and $2.40 per gallon of E85.
But even with the continually rising gas prices, many students still choose to drive SUVs, trucks and other large vehicles. One way to limit vehicle expenses is to pre-plan and organize trips so students drive less frequently.
Katelyn Erekson, undeclared sophomore, said she tries to budget her trips for groceries, errands and shopping, so that her SUV driving doesn’t clean out her wallet. According to fueleconomy.gov, the average annual cost of her SUV, a GMC Yukon is about $2,999. However, Erekson said she shares the car with her sister so it helps to split the costs.
Another approach to reduce costs is to carpool with other students.
Erik Taylor, freshman in aerospace engineering, said he tries to make other people drive if possible, and also tries to limit his driving. The annual fuel cost for his truck, a Dodge Ram 1500, calculated by fueleconomy.gov is about $3288. However, Taylor said the cost isn’t that bad as long as “I don’t drive like a maniac.”
“I have more use for a truck,” Taylor said. “I was born and raised around trucks and would never consider anything else.
When purchasing a vehicle, some students negotiated the cost with their parents and siblings. Taylor said he made a deal with his parents that if they bought his truck while he was in school, he would be in charge of paying for gas, insurance and repairs. And a plus for having such a large vehicle, Taylor said, is having a vehicle with storage capacity.
“I can put as much stuff in my car as I like,” Taylor said. “I use my truck for lots of things like hunting, towing four wheelers, wave runners and I also use the bed.”
Along with the extra room and ability to transport and haul things, is the safety factor. Erekson said she feels safer in an SUV because of the four-wheel drive. But according to car-saftey.org, large vehicles sometimes provide a false sense of security. The Web site states that large, truck-based SUVs are still inferior in terms of overall safety. Some people simply don’t realize that there are many other vehicles that not only get better fuel economy, but are actually safer as well, it states.
-n.joy.hansen@aggiemail.usu.eduu