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What gas costs in Puerto Rico and why
The importance of fuel economy in Puerto Rico
How you can use less fuel
Final Word
 

What gas costs in Puerto Rico and why

Gasoline prices in Puerto Rico are usually pretty high. You might be fooled by hearing that the average price of gas since 1998 until now was seventy-three cents per liter. That’s because gas is sold by the liter in Puerto Rico, not the gallon. So, there approximately 3.79 liters in a gallon. That means the average price for gas in Puerto Rico since 1998, per gallon, was $2.77.

That is fairly high by comparison to most US states. The reason for this is that the supply is more costly because of the cost of getting gas to Puerto Rico. It is also because public transportation is quite limited in Puerto Rico. Thus, more people need to gas up their cars per capita than most places. Hence, demand is higher which justifies a higher price.
 

The importance of fuel economy in Puerto Rico

So with the price of gas being a bit higher in Puerto Rico, it is clear that fuel economy is more important than it normally is. Fuel economy is how cost-effectively gas is used by your car. So, you obviously want to have a car that does not use an unnecessary amount of fuel in Puerto Rico.

You want to own a car that gets about thirty miles per gallon of gas, or higher if possible. Electric cars and hybrids tend to have a much higher fuel economy than even that but the cost of charging them will end up undoing some of the benefit of the great fuel economy.

Some cars that have a good fuel economy include Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry, Honda Insight, Ford Fusion and Lexus UX.
 

How you can use less fuel

You should not choose a car solely based on fuel economy. Odds are that you already own a car. Here are some ways you can use less gas without getting an entirely different car:

• Use the A/C sparingly – It can get hot and humid in Puerto Rico but try and keep your car cool by parking in the shade or by using a sun reflector. This way, you will need to use your air conditioning less.
• Pay attention to your tires – Your tires are actually quite important to fuel economy. If they are not inflated correctly it will increase resistance which will make your engine work harder. Also, if you do not get your tires aligned and rotated, they can wear much more easily which will increase fuel consumption.
• Go easy on the pedals – Simply put, accelerating hard and braking suddenly wastes gas. Doing it infrequently will only waste a negligible amount but if you do it consistently, it will add up quickly.
• Keep your windows closed on highways – When you are driving faster, having your windows open will decrease aerodynamics which will increase the amount your car’s engine needs to work. Thus, if you keep your windows closed on highways, you will burn less gas.
• Make less trips – Try to combine your trips. If you need to make trips to three different stores, make one trip rather than taking your car out three times.

Final Word

If you are in the position where you can choose a new car, you should definitely consider buying a car with a better fuel efficiency. It will save you money and trips to the gas station as well. However, most of you will likely already have a car. So, do what you can to decrease your fuel usage such as closing your windows when you are driving at higher speeds.

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Puerto Rico’s climate
Other convertible advantages
Final word
 

Puerto Rico’s climate

Puerto Rico’s climate is always warm and many times it is quite hot and humid too. This means that you will frequently be in need of ways to keep cool when you are inside, outside or even driving. It is summer throughout the year with temperatures typically ranging from about seventy degrees to about eighty-five degrees depending on the time of year and your exact location. It is always pretty humid in Puerto Rico as well. The average humidity in Puerto Rico is typically between sixty-five and eighty percent depending on the time of day.

When driving, many people will automatically use their air conditioning rather than opening their windows and/or sunroofs. The issue with this is that using your car’s A/C will lower its fuel efficiency by an average of three miles per gallon. However, lowering your windows can cause a pull on your vehicle that will make the engine work harder which will lower the fuel efficiency even more depending on how fast you are driving. That is likely the prime benefit of having a convertible in a warm climate such as you have in Puerto Rico, you can keep cool without sacrificing much fuel as a result.
 

Other convertible advantages

Keeping cool while maintaining fuel efficiency is not the only advantage of driving a convertible in Puerto Rico. You will also have more headroom. If you are the type to go sightseeing, you will have the most clear and panoramic views of the areas you are touring. In terms of a better view, this will also help you a bunch with driving and maneuvering your vehicle as you do things like change lanes or parallel park.

You obviously will also have the versatility to put the top up at any time both quickly and with ease. Finally, having a convertible will give you a much more stylish look as you are driving anywhere with the top down.
 

Final word

Puerto Rico is constantly in a state of summer temperatures and humidity. Having a convertible is a great way to keep cool without sacrificing much fuel as you would be doing by using the air conditioner or rolling with windows down in a typical car. That is only the main benefit, there are several others such as having more headroom as well. If you need your convertible moved to or from Puerto Rico, call Puerto Rico Car Transport today at (904) 322-7644!

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Parallel parking on Puerto Rico’s crowded streets
Advice for parallel parking
Conclusion
 

Parallel parking on Puerto Rico’s crowded streets

In Puerto Rico, parking can be quite hard to find in the city areas like San Juan and Bayamon. It is the same situation as cities in America like New York or Los Angeles. Odds are that you will find yourself in a situation where you will need to parallel park in order to get a spot. That is why if you are not too good at parallel parking you should take the time to practice iif you live in Puerto Rico.

If you try and parallel park without the proper experience, you could end up bumping into another car and causing damage which you will be responsible for paying for. At the very least, if you do not know how to properly parallel park in Puerto Rico, you might end up missing out on quite a few available parking spots and having to walk several extra blocks or you could even end up paying for parking.
 

Advice for parallel parking

Parallel parking gets easier with the more experience that you have but it always should be done with extreme caution. The detail of making your job of parallel parking as easy as possible goes much further than just being careful. First, always make sure the spot you have found has more than enough room for you to park and not just enough. Next, you should be sure that your turn signal is on to alert the drivers who are behind you that you are in the middle of parallel parking and not just illegally double parked.

You must always also first check to ensure the spot in which you are about to parallel park in is a legal place in which to park. So, read all signage and check for things like fire hydrants as well. Finally, if you have a rear-view camera, absolutely make use of it. If not, make sure you have a clear view through your rear window because you will need to use it as you park.
 

Conclusion

Parking in populated city areas in Puerto Rico can be quite scarce. Unless you plan on walking, using rideshares, public transportation or always paying for parking, you will need to parallel park fairly often. Before you do attempt to parallel park, make sure that you are well practiced because you do not want to end up bumping into someone else’s car when you are doing so. Finally, always parallel park with caution, use your signal and pay close attention to what you are doing as you park.

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Where you might need to make a three-point turn
Making a three-point turn in Puerto Rico
Wrapping up
 

Where you might need to make a three-point turn

You could possibly need to make a three point turn almost anywhere you drive depending on traffic and on the specific circumstances so you should always be well practiced as well as confident in your ability to do so. Three-point turns are used when you need to turn around in a tight space and will not be able to make a U-turn.

This can definitely be useful in Puerto Rico where roads can be both narrow and full of parked vehicles. However, before you chose to make any three-point turns at any time you should know that three-point turns should only be made on narrow two-lane roads without other actively driven vehicles nearby.
 

Making a three-point turn in Puerto Rico

Being careful and alert when you are making a three-point turn is the most important part of the whole process. As we mentioned, be sure it is not an area that is busy with traffic before starting the turn. You also must watch out for pedestrians and, in Puerto Rico, you must watch out for animals of all kinds such as dogs, chickens and even horses.

When you are in the process of making a three-point turn in Puerto Rico, you must constantly be making use of your rear and side-view mirrors so that you can be watching where you are reversing. As you are driving forward in the process, obviously keep your eyes on what is in front of you. If you are coming close to an object or car, you can always cut that part of the turn short and make it a four or five point turn instead as it is better to spend more time turning safely than to strike a car or object.
 

Wrapping up

Three-point turns can end up being a very useful part of your driving arsenal in Puerto Rico. This is due to the often-narrow roads and lack of space with a high number of parked vehicles. Always be sure that you are being safe when you make a three-point turn by being alert and keeping your eyes in the direction in which your car is always moving. If you ever need a vehicle transported to Puerto Rico during any time of the year, you can call us now to book your shipment, get a quote or ask any questions that you might have at (904) 322-7644.

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The consequences of road rage
How to avoid a situation where you or someone else can experience road rage
Final word
 

The consequences of road rage

Road Rage is when you do something dangerous while driving out of anger as a result of something that another driver did. Road rage is extremely dangerous and has resulted in serious injury, death and people going to prison. It goes without saying that you should do absolutely everything in your power to avoid getting too upset while driving as well as doing anything you can to avoid any other drivers that you think might be suffering from road rage.

As we mentioned, the consequences of road rage can be severe and grave. Road Rage can lead to drivers driving into other cars on purpose, drivers getting out and damaging another’s vehicle by hand or drivers trying to physically fight other drivers by hand or with a weapon. These sorts of situations can lead to death, brain injuries, imprisonment, neck injuries, paralysis, back injuries, fractures and more.
 

How to avoid a situation where you or someone else can experience road rage

The vast majority of the time it is quite easy to avoid getting into a road rage incident. However, there are possible occasions where it will be more difficult to avoid a road rage incident. Regardless, do not ever let anger ever get the best of you when you are driving.

In order to avoid a road rage incident there are several things that you can do. The first is that you can use your car horn wisely and sparingly. Nothing leads to immediate anger quicker then someone leaning on their horn or honking multiple times when they could have just given a quick courtesy honk. Then there are the seemingly obvious things like not driving too aggressively including cutting someone off. You should also never follow someone too closely. Finally, always be patient. For example, if someone is driving too slowly realize that they might be new to driving or lost rather than getting upset with them.
 

Final word

Road rage is never productive and often leads to terrible situations and even worse results. In Puerto Rico, road rage can be fairly rampant due to the way that many drivers will ignore basic traffic laws. However, you can do what you can in order to minimize the chance of possibly being involved in a road rage incident. This can include laying off of your horn, being patient with other drivers and not driving aggressively yourself. If you need a car transported to or from Puerto Rico, you can get a free quote 24/7 by visiting our homepage.

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Using your horn properly
Avoiding the need for using your horn
Final Word
 

Using your horn properly

Car horns are incredibly overused in populated areas. Anytime that someone gets upset about something that someone else who is driving near them did, they typically honk their horn several times or they “lean on their horn”. Leaning on your horn is when you honk and hold it for an extended period. Leaning on your horn is not legal nor is it ever helpful and is one of the quickest ways to end up in a road rage incident. Many of the ways that people use their car horns are not legal or helpful so let us define the purpose of a vehicle’s horn.

The point of your car’s horn is to alert and communicate with other drivers. It is not there in order for you to express your rage towards them. For example, if you are trying to let a driver know who is changing lanes that they do not see you in their blind spot, you should honk at them until they cease changing lanes. Another example would be if there is smoke coming from another driver’s car and they do not seem to notice it as they drive, you can honk to communicate with them that there is something wrong.
 

Avoiding the need for using your horn

Many times, you will not be able to do anything in order to avoid situations where you need to use your car’s horn. However, that will be possible sometimes. In general, you should avoid driving in areas and situations where bumper to bumper driving and aggressive driving is commonplace.

More specifically, you should do whatever you can in order to avoid driving in areas with high densities of traffic. These areas will have some drivers who abruptly change lanes or stop short as well as overly aggressive drivers. You should also avoid driving in the left-most lane of highways. The left lane of highways or any road is reserved for the drivers who are driving the fastest, otherwise known as passing. If you are in the left-most lane of a highway, there is a good chance that someone could end up tailgating you which can obviously lead to a situation with aggressive beeping and road rage.
 

Final Word

Your car horn serves a simple and clearly defined purpose when you are out driving. It is to alert other drivers of danger. It is not a way for you to express that you are angry with another driver. If you use your horn improperly you can be pulled over and ticketed for doing so. In order to avoid the need to use your vehicle’s horn, you should avoid driving in areas with heavy traffic and the left-most lane of the highway.

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Legal use of your hazard lights
Advice for using your hazards
Wrapping up
 

Legal use of your hazard lights

Your hazard lights are crucial to your safety because they allow you to signal to other drivers that there is a hazard associated with your vehicle and that they should use caution when driving near or around you. If you are in a situation where you are actively driving and are using your hazards, you should be driving slowly (under the speed limit), in the right-most lane and with extreme caution.

There are several situations where it is legal to be using your hazard lights. If your car is disabled or unable to drive on or near a roadway, this would call for legal use of your hazards. If you must pull over onto the shoulder of the road for an emergency, you should legally leave your hazards on. That would include when you are pulled over by the police or if you are changing a tire. In certain situations, you can legally use your hazards during an official funeral procession.
 

Advice for using your hazards

Always be smart when you are using your hazards. However, it is equally important to be informed about your hazard lights and the laws about the in your area. For example, some US states have laws regarding the speed you must be driving under in order to use your hazards. So, if you are driving over twenty-five miles per hour and using your hazards for any reason, you can be ticketed in those states.

In Puerto Rico hazard light use is never permitted while you are driving. However, this law is not strictly enforced. So, in Puerto Rico, you can use your hazards when you are stopped or pulled over. If you do so while you are driving, you are technically risking a ticket.
 

Wrapping up

Your hazard lights will give you the best chance of avoiding being struck by another vehicle when you are pulled off on the side of the road for an emergency reason. Be sure that they are always in working order because you never know when you might end up needing them. However, be sure that you do not use them improperly because you can end up getting pulled over and getting a ticket for doing so. In Puerto Rico, it is technically not legal to use your hazard lights when you are driving for any reason. It is legal only when you are stopped or pulled over.

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Exercising the proper caution at stop signs
The Risk you take by rolling through a stop sign
Conclusion
 

Exercising the proper caution at stop signs

Stopping at a stop sign seems as simple as it can get. However, it proves very difficult for some people. This unfortunately proves to be true frequently in Puerto Rico. Stopping properly and safely at stop signs is always important but when other people are not doing the same, it becomes even more critical that you do.

In order to properly stop at a stop sign, the process begins with always being alert and keeping your eyes on the road so that you do not miss one. This obviously includes avoiding any and all distracted driving such as using your cell phone while you are behind the wheel. When you are approaching a stop sign you should immediately take your foot off of the acceleration and prepare to slowly brake.

You should ensure that your vehicle comes to a stop at the white line next to the stop sign. This means the very front of your car should be right over the line. When you come to a stop, make sure that it is a complete stop. This means your wheels have stopped moving completely and the entire car is at rest. Once that occurs, you can check every direction to make sure that it is safe to proceed. Only then, should you start driving again.
 

The risk you take by rolling through a stop sign

There are over seven hundred thousand car accidents each year in the United States at intersections with stop signs. However, if you run a stop sign, you might not hit a car. You might hit a pedestrian or bike rider for which the consequences and cost will be much more severe. Regardless of whether you hit a car or pedestrian, you will be responsible to pay for damages and can end up facing criminal charges as well. Even if you run a stop sign and do not hit anyone, you could be pulled over and ticketed, all because you could not come to a stop for a quick moment. It is just not worth it in the end.
 

Conclusion

Whether you are in Puerto Rico or anywhere else, make sure that you always come to a full and complete stop at any and all stop signs. If you roll through a stop sign or flat out blow a stop sign, you are risking getting a ticket, or much worse getting into an accident with another driver or pedestrian. If that happens, you will need to pay for damages to any vehicles involved and could face criminal charges or lawsuits depending on if anyone else was injured during the collision.

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What can happen when you tailgate someone
Wrapping up
 

What can happen when you tailgate someone

Tailgating is when you follow someone to closely as the both of you are driving. As a rule of thumb, you should have at least one car length of space between you and the car in front of you for every ten miles an hour of speed with which you are driving. So, if you are driving forty miles an hour, you should have at least four car lengths of space between you and the vehicle in front of you.

If you cannot estimate this, you should always have at least two seconds of space between you and the car that is in front of you. You can determine this by picking a non-moving marker up ahead of both you and the driver in front of you such as a traffic sign or pole. Once they reach it, it should take at least two seconds for you to reach it as well. Using either of these methods will ensure that you do not end up tailgating someone.

According to recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost one quarter of rear-end collisions are caused by tailgating. This leads to thousands of fatalities and hundreds of thousands of injuries. It obviously also leads to expensive damage to both cars. However, the car that was in the rear of the accident always ends up being held completely liable for the damage to both vehicles. If you get into an accident and you were the one tailgating, your insurance premiums will increase as well.

Even if you do not cause an accident, you can get pulled over for following someone too closely and you will get an expensive ticket in Puerto Rico. Finally, if you notice that someone is tailgating you, remain calm, try not to stop suddenly and carefully change lanes as soon as you can.
 

Wrapping up

There are numerous reasons why you should never tailgate someone. They include the risk of being pulled over and ticketed as well as the risk of causing an accident and injury, having to pay for the damage to both vehicles, having to pay any resulting medical bills and having your insurance premiums increase as a result. In order to avoid tailgating anyone in Puerto Rico, you should always keep at least two seconds of space between you and the car that is in front of you.

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Your side-view mirrors
Your rear-view mirror
Wrapping up
 

Your side-view mirrors

The mirrors on your car are extremely important to your safety. They allow you to take a quick look at who is driving behind you without having to turn your head and take your eyes off the road in front of you for more than a split second. It is important to be able to know about the cars behind you because it will affect your ability to change lanes or turn. You can also get out of the way of someone who is driving too aggressively with ease with this knowledge.

Your most important mirrors are your sideview mirrors. They allow you to see who is to either side of you whether they are slightly behind you or further back. You will need to utilize your sideview mirrors if you are attempting to change a lane. If you are changing lanes, be sure that you do not only utilize your sideview mirrors and that you manually check your blind spot as well. You will also need them if you are parallel parking.

One of the most important things to remember about your mirrors is that, before you start driving, you should always check them to see if they need to be adjusted. If they do need to be adjusted, then do so. For your sideview mirrors, unless your car is quite old, there should be power controls somewhere on the wheel or near the door handle.
 

Your rear-view mirror

Your rearview mirror is quite important as well. It will allow you to see who is driving behind you which will allow you to make more informed decisions about turning and changing lanes. Your rearview mirror will also help you when it comes to driving in reverse, parking and changing lanes as well.

In terms of adjusting your rearview mirror, you should do so each time that you enter your vehicle. The difference here in comparison to your sideview mirrors is that your rearview mirror will need to be adjusted manually, by hand, rather than by a power button.
 

Wrapping up

In Puerto Rico, driving safety is of the utmost importance due to the careless and aggressive way that many other drivers will be driving. A larger part of this safety than most people think is the way you use your sideview and rearview mirrors. Your ability to use these mirrors effectively and correctly is crucial to your safety when you are driving in Puerto Rico. Be sure that you always check your mirrors before you change lanes, turn, park, or drive in reverse. Also, be sure to adjust your mirrors to your specific needs each time that you get into your vehicle.