Hypermiling is a term that makes most people imagine tailgating behind 18-wheelers at very high-speeds, or NASCAR drivers nosing up against each other at hundreds of miles per hour. In reality, hypermiling is nothing more than a set of methods and techniques to wring "extreme" gas mileage from your car. "Drafting", the practice of tailgating large vehicles, can be extremely dangerous, however you CAN get behind large vehicles - at a safe distance - and improve your gas mileage (this works because the vehicle in front cuts wind resistance for you, reducing drag).

Some of the less colorful hypermiling techniques however, can result in BIG improvements, and provide ways to improve gas mileage considerably. These techniques include coasting, zero-idling, and "anti-braking". Key to hypermiling however, is determining and tracking your gas mileage. The easiest way to do this is to set your odometer's trip meter, or write down your odometers miles when you fill up, check it again when you fill up next, and divide how many miles you drove by how many gallons you filled up with.

Coasting is a very simple hypermiling technique: simply shift into neutral when you are going downhill, or have enough momentum to reach an upcoming stop. Be cautious, however, as you don't want to have to get out of someone's way in a hurry while in neutral! Zero-idling simply means turning your engine off. If you are going to be idle for more than 30 seconds, you will use less gas by shutting your engine off and re-starting it, rather than leaving it on in idle.

"Anti-braking" is a group of hypermiling techniques for reducing the need to brake. These include accelerating less, and less frequently. By thinking ahead, such as taking your foot off the accelerator the moment you see brake lights come on in front of you, you will be braking less, and in turn improving your gas mileage. There are many more techniques to hypermiling; all of them are simply a means for gas mileage improvements.