Q Gary, given that my wife and I are late to the hybrid game, you may have covered this before: What techniques can drivers use to improve mileage?
Here’s the issue — and you may have run into it with Mrs. Roadshow. My wife consistently gets much better mileage than I do in our hybrid. My range (and I usually drive the car) is around 38-40 miles per gallon. But on a weekend trip, she got it up to 45 mpg. I find it annoying because her trip was highway driving and mine is usually around town.
So what am I doing wrong?
Howard Baldwin
A Guys, we must come to Howard’s rescue!
Here is what I think you are doing wrong. While hybrids usually get better mileage in city driving, that is not always the case. The worst mileage in a hybrid occurs in the first 10 minutes of driving, so in the city combine errands. And going 15 mph consumes a lot of gas.
Here are other tips I learned after attending a session by AAA a few years ago. I saw the mileage in my Prius go from 43-45 mpg to 50-plus mpg.
Q My husband and I were recently pulled over because our bicycle rack attached to the trailer hitch on the back of our car was blocking the license plate. The officer did not ticket us but informed us that the rack was covering part of our plate and that was against the law. He suggested we look into ways to move our plate.
We have used bicycle racks for years and they all seem to cover a portion of the plate. Looking on the road, it appears everyone with a bicycle rack is covering part of their plate! Is this against the law? Do we really have to find a way to move our license plate?
Lisa and John Schirmer
A It is against the law for a bike rack to cover your license plate. The CHP told our traffic partners in Santa Cruz that drivers who have any kind of rack that blocks the rear or front plate “should remove the plate from its designated area and display it in the window so that it may be easily seen.”
And Bruce-the Roadshow-Consultant said “it would help when the bicycle rack is not in use that it should be removed. … And remove the trailer hitch when not in use This would reduce, at least, the chance of a citation.”
Q Just curious if you know anything about the construction on Santa Clara Street between the San Jose Diridon train station and the SAP Center. It started maybe a year ago when the street was being paved, but came to a halt within the past few months — sidewalks and curbs all torn up. Annoying.
Jon D’Agostino
A The Valley Transportation Authority is building two of the Santa Clara/Alum Rock bus rapid transit stations between Cahill and Montgomery streets. The westbound platform is complete but will remain looking unfinished until shelters are installed this fall; the eastbound arena station will be getting its shelters closer to late spring.
Find current gas prices at mercurynews.com/mr-roadshow. Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow, follow him at Twitter.com/mrroadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5335.
