Battling the petrol price blues
The news of yet another record petrol price hike has left all South Africans feeling blue.
The rise and fall of the petrol price is one thing that can cause a South African to experience either sheer joy or utter dismay.
For the past few months, motorists have been watching in horror the price of this liquid gold’s constant upward trend, and with the prediction that the latest increase might be more than R2 a litre, which will bring the price to almost R24 a litre, we have all been left sad, mad and deflated.
To be honest, my first reaction to this news was to simply sell my car and buy a bicycle, but I quickly realised that our infrastructure is not really cycling friendly (and if we look at our crime stats, also not that safe!). Even though I might become fitter, walking everywhere is also not the best solution.
South Africans are very resourceful as we saw during the many alcohol bans during lockdown, and it might only be a matter of time before the ones making their own beer figure out how to make petrol. You can also try to add some Red Bull to your fuel tank, which might transform your car into a flying car as it gives you wings. Calling in the help of Bumble Bee and Optimus Prime to teach our vehicles to become a Transformer will also help save petrol.
Another option is to rope in Doc Brown and his Delorean to whisk us back to 1985 to fill up, or he might even be able to take us all the way back to the stone age so we can enlist the help of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble to build some of the most fuel-efficient vehicles that ever existed!
If none of these options look like it might work for you, you can try these fuel-saving tips from the Automobile Association (AA):
• Stick to the speed limits
• Don’t accelerate harshly and don’t overwork your engine by driving at too high revs
• Keep your eyes on the road to avoid harsh braking
• Make momentum work for you
• Don’t use your air con too much
• Don’t overload your car
• Try to reduce idling time to no more than 30 seconds
• Avoid short and/ or unnecessary trips
Until next week, stay safe and look out for each other …
