HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR FUEL CONSUMPTION

You won’t know if your new driving style and skills are working unless you know the average miles per gallon (mpg) of your car. Some cars have on-board computers, but they are not always accurate.

When you fill up your car, fill the tank to the top and simply make a note of:

1. Your mileage since the last fill
2. The number of litres of fuel you put in
3. The cost per litre of fuel

Then simply use the fuel consumption calculator below:

Or, to work it out yourself:

1. Fill your tank to the top
2. Zero the trip counter
3. When you next fill up, note the mileage driven
4. Fill the tank again and note the number of litres put in
5. Divide the number of miles driven by the amount of fuel
   used in litres (miles per litre)
6. To convert the figure to miles per gallon multiply it by 4.544
   

Example

Frank does stages one and two above. His trip meter reads 160.1 miles when he next fills up. It takes 22.3 litres to fill his tank. Frank works out that his fuel consumption has been:

160.1 divided by 22.3 = 7.179 miles per litre.
This is 7.179 x 4.544 = 32.62 miles per gallon.

Please enter your mileage and litres purchased to calculate your MPG fuel consumption.

Top tips to help you and your family Care4Air

• Try and do all your trips in one journey, rather than starting up the car 4 or 5 times to go on little errands. When you first start a car after it has been sitting for more than an hour, it pollutes up to five times more than when the engine's warm.

• Click to view the video...

  Share a car or start a car pool. Even if you do it just once or twice a week, you'll reduce traffic congestion and pollution, and save money. For further information visit the SY travelwise website.

• Have fun! Ride your bike. It's a great way to travel and it can help you and the air get into condition. Vehicles on the road create more than 25% of all air pollution nationwide.

• Stride out, walk somewhere rather than taking the car, particularly if you’re just going round the corner to the local shops! Walking is an easy way to get exercise and improve your health as well as improving the air.

• Care your car. Regular maintenance and tune-ups, changing the oil and checking tire inflation can improve mileage, extend your car's life and increase its resale value. It can also reduce traffic congestion due to preventable breakdowns and it could reduce your car's emissions by more than half.

• In the hot weather - Get fuel when it's cool. Refueling during cooler periods of the day or in the evening can prevent petrol fumes from heating up and creating ozone. And that can help reduce ozone alert days.

• Don't fill your car right up to the top of the tank. It releases petrol fumes into the air and cancels the benefits of the pump's anti-pollution devices. So stopping short of a full tank is safer and reduces pollution.

• Use local radio and TV bulletins to find out where traffic congestion is, that way you will plan your journey better and are less likely to get stuck in traffic jams, saving on fuel and helping to care 4 air!

Top Tips So Motorists Can Care4Air

• Drive more efficiently, keep within speed limits, and always use the highest gear traffic conditions allow.

• Avoid rapid acceleration and heavy braking, both lead to greater fuel use and more pollution.

• Avoid using your car for short journeys, walk, cycle or use public transport instead.

• Make a single journey rather than lots of short ones, as fuel is wasted every time you start up the car.

• Try to car share whenever possible.

• Maintaining your car regularly also helps reduce emissions and save you money, as badly maintained cars tend to use more fuel and produce more exhaust fumes.

• During the summer fill up with fuel at cooler times of day to stop polluting vapours escaping into the air.

• If you see an excessively smoking exhaust from a lorry or bus, take down the vehicle details and time and place you saw it, then contact the national smoky vehicle hotline on 0870 6060440.

• If you do your own maintenance, recycle old tyres and batteries safely. Don’t pour your old oil down the drain. It pollutes the environment and could lead to prosecution.

• Remove roof racks and close windows to help make your car more aerodynamic and fuel efficient.

Tell all your friends and family, if everybody makes an effort and does just a little too improve air quality, it soon adds up.