MILWAUKEE — Driving the speed limit in some places around Milwaukee could be costing more than you realize with these high gas prices. AAA, the automotive club, says you can save a lot of money if you slow down.
People around Milwaukee admit they drive the speed limit and sometimes over it. Ray Brandy says he was driving 75 miles an hour on I-43 before he pulled off the highway for gas.
Dwight Johnson says on the highway, he usually drives between 55 and 60 miles an hour.
“I keep up with traffic,” says Johnson.
With gas prices so high, director of public affairs Nick Jarmusz say you might not want to go as fast as usual.
“One of the most effective things that you can do as a motorist to try and soften the blow to your pocketbook when gas prices are this high, is to modify the way that you drive and to be a little slower,” said Jarmusz.
The average price per gallon in Milwaukee, according to AAA, is $4.02 a gallon. The US Department of Energy says at that price, you’ll pay an extra $.28 cents a gallon for every 5 miles per hour over 50 you drive.
That means if you drove at 70 miles per hour instead of it costing $4.02 a gallon for gas, it is like you are paying $5.15. That is $1.12 more a gallon.
If you do that drive every day and have to fill up a 15 gallon tank once a week, that means gas will cost you about $77.25 a week, $309 a month and $4,017 a year.
If you were to do that same drive at 50 miles an hour it would cost you $3,135.60 a year. That is nearly a 900 savings.
That price per gallon goes up or down depending on your vehicle. The U.S. Department of Energycan calculate exactly how much per gallon you are paying depending on your vehicle. So TMJ4 News asked Johnson and Brandy if they could calculate their coststo drive.
It costs Brandy approximately $5.69 a gallon to drive 75 miles an hour.
“Ok. What can you do?” asked Brandy.
If he dropped his speed by 10 miles an hour, it would cost $4.90 a gallon. But, Brandy says he is making a drive to Chicago and he will do the speed limit.
“Slow down on the expressway, oh no, you don’t need to slow down,” said Brandy.
For Johnson, if he is driving 60 miles an hour, it is likely he is paying $4.60 a gallon. If he would to make it up to 70 miles an hour, he is paying $5.33 a gallon. Johnson says since he already tries to drive slower, there isn’t much more he can do.
“It makes me financially want to slow down, but realistically I can’t because I got to get to where I got to get,” said Johnson.
