The Art of Hypermiling:    How to do it safely, and avoid making a costly and "fuelish" blunder Running out of gasoline can leave you fuming, cause accidents, and spark a costly repair bill. Learn how to Hyper-Mile safely with our 32-page guide (it's free to San Diego and SoCal residents).

Yesterday, AAA published a report (see Associated Press/AOL Money) showing that in some areas rescue requests to AAA from motorists who have run their gas tanks dry are up by 100%. At UCAN, we think that number is low. 

Just this morning, I saw two stranded motorists on the way to work.  One was hiking her way up 5th Avenue with an empty gas can (she had another 12 blocks to go to reach the nearest station), and the other was a pregnant woman in a minivan being pushed into a gas station against heavy cross-traffic by five burly men.  It was a dangerous situation. What's odd is that both of the troubled motorists were women.  I expect women, especially pregnant ones, to be a little more cautious. They have so much more to lose.  This may sound a bit sexist, but in my world view, if a man runs out of gas, he's just stupid or broke, or both (and I say this as a guy who has run out of gas more than I care to mention).  But a woman ... when a woman runs out of gasoline, that's desperate.  That is a sign that something is horribly wrong.

So why are women running out of gas?

The obvious answer is that gasoline costs so much that many of us - even pregnant women - are taking desperate risks to make ends meet. One solution is something called "hypermiling." Hypermiling is the art of increasing your mileage. Some hypermilers claim that they have doubled their gas mileage, but it helps if you know a few tricks. Fortunately, UCAN has compiled more than 100 gas-saving tricks that you can put to use right away (some of them will surprise you). 

Still, running out of gas is a bad idea. Here are three reasons why:

1) Running out of gas isn't just inconvenient, it is potentially deadly.

Obviously, if you don't have the money, you don't have the money, but recognize that running out of gas on a freeway overpass, freeway entrance, or any other badly situated place can kill you. Even if you are coasting downhill, the power steering and brakes  can fail, turning your car into an unsteerable and unstoppable battering ram.  

2) Running out of gas is expensive. 
 
Running out of gas is HARD on your car. First, the bottom of your gas tank is filled with gunk, water, rust, and who knows what else. In the process of running your tank dry, you will be sending this filth into your beloved and formerly reliable engine. You may even clog the fuel filter.  

3) A near-empty gas tank wastes fuel.

A near-empty gas tank, or even a tank that is less than 1/4 full wastes fuel through evaporation. The best way to avoid fuel loss through evaporation is to keep the tank full.