With his last tank, Anderson drove 450 miles before having to refill, and he says hypermiling has become a habit. He's also using the techniques when driving his sport-utility vehicle and has improved his gas mileage from 15-18 mpg to 21-22 mpg.

Timothy Howden, who works with Anderson, began incorporating some hypermiling techniques while driving his BMW X3, a sport-utility vehicle, and has increased his gas mileage from about 22 mpg to 28 mpg.

If he's driving on a city street and sees a red light from 500 yards away, he'll go to neutral and coast to a stop. "You've got to slow down anyway," he said.

Howden also watches his car's revolutions per minute as he shifts from first to second to third gear, trying not to exceed 2,000 rpm.

He figures he now saves $16 a week on gas — roughly $64 a month.

"That's a nice dinner out," he said. "Or, that's my insurance payment."

Gas prices these days have created another odd trend — people calling auto clubs because they've run out of gas.

Calls by Utahns who have run out of fuel to Allstate Motor Club have increased 94 percent from January to May, to 62 calls, Allstate Insurance spokeswoman Shelley Beeler said. June numbers have not yet been compiled.

"We can't directly correlate this rise in the number of people running out of gas to the rise in prices at the pump, but anecdotally, we know that consumers are trying hard to stretch their dollar, and sometimes that means stretching fuel into fumes," she said. "Drivers should remember running out of gas on the highway can be a lot more than an inconvenience. It can be hazardous."

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com