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I am filing today's Al's Morning Meeting from the land of the $3 gallon of gasoline -- the trashy, overbuilt, lovely Las Vegas -- where I am attending the Radio-Television News Directors Association convention. One expert is now predicting that prices will reach $4 per gallon of gasoline by summer, while another says it will be $3.50.

The other morning I started my truck, then remembered that I needed to get something else out of the house. I wondered if I should turn off the engine or just dash inside. Later that morning, I sat in a line at the bank drive-through. I wondered if I should turn my motor off -- or, better yet, drive around to find a parking place and walk in. Would any of those things save fuel? I wondered if starting the motor would use more fuel than just letting it run for 45 seconds. It got me to thinking about police officers and school bus and taxi drivers, who often leave their vehicles idling. 

Last year, Edmunds.com put some of the most oft-repeated gas-saving tips to the test to see if they work. Edmunds found:

By changing your driving habits, you can improve fuel economy up to 37 percent right away (depending on how you drive). Combine several tips and perform routine maintenance and you will save real dollars, not just pennies.

A miracle? All we did was take several of the most common tips out there and put them to the test over a remote 55-mile route in the high desert of California. Some of them worked like a charm. Some of them didn't work at all. We'll give you the breakdown. [...]

• Test #1: Aggressive Driving vs. Moderate Driving
  Result: Major savings potential
  The Cold Hard Facts: Up to 37 percent savings, average savings of 31 percent
  Recommendation: Stop driving like a maniac.
  Aggressive vs. Moderate Driving: Read the entire test
  

• Test #2: Lower Speeds Saves Gas
  Result: Substantial savings on a long trip
  Cold Hard Facts: Up to 14 percent savings, average savings of 12 percent
  Recommendation: Drive the speed limit.
  Lower Speeds Saves Gas: Read the entire test
  

• Test #3: Use Cruise Control
  Result: Surprisingly effective way to save gas
  Cold Hard Facts: Up to 14 percent savings, average savings of 7 percent
  Recommendation: If you've got it, use it.
  Cruise Control: Read the entire test
  

• Test #4: A/C On, Windows Up vs. A/C Off, Windows Down
  Result: Nice in theory; not true in practice
  Cold Hard Facts: No measurable difference (unless you open the sunroof, too!)
  Recommendation: Please, make yourself comfortable.
  Air Conditioner: Read the entire test
  

Test #5: Check Your Tire Pressure 
Result: Important for safety and to reduce tire wear
Cold Hard Facts: No measurable effect on the vehicles we tested
Recommendation: Check your tire pressure often but don't expect a big savings.
Tire pressure: Read the entire test

• Test #6: Avoid Excessive Idling
  Result: More important than we assumed
  Cold Hard Facts: Idling saves an average of 19 percent
  Recommendation: Stopping longer than a minute? Shut 'er down.
  Excessive idling: Read the entire test
  

But I also found a page on Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency Web site, which says that if you leave a car idling  for more than 10 seconds, you are better off turning it off and restarting it.  

Does it save any money if you drive to another gas station to save money? Here is a calculator that will help you figure out if a lower price would be worth the drive to an out-of-the-way gas station.

From HybridCars.com, here are some other gas-saving tips. The site warns that, to see any real savings, you have to do these things consistently. One lead-footed trip can undo days of careful driving.

• If waiting in a line (fast food, etc.), set your parking brake and put the shifter into neutral. Turn the key one click to turn the engine off (provided that you do not need A/C, defroster, etc.).
  
• If you need the fan, radio, etc., then click once to on again, but do not restart the engine until the line you are waiting in has moved at least a car's-length. Don't just let it idle while stopped. However, the stopping-restarting, stopping-restarting again is not recommended while in traffic, [because of] starter wear.
• If waiting at a light and the car ahead of you "creeps" ahead a few feet, do not follow. Stay where you are.
• If your route uses a toll booth, get a cruising pass. That way you don't have to stop and fight traffic.
• Keep your car's momentum, even around corners, if it can be done safely.
• Try to time traffic lights so you can cross without stopping. Approach the light more slowly to help be more successful in timing.
• When you get into the car and start it, don't waste time. Don't just stay parked to let it warm up. Buckle up, get in gear, and get going.
• Allow extra time to accelerate when the engine is still warming up. Your engine is a fuel PIG for the first five to 20 minutes.

Here are 35 ways to cut fuel costs from TheFrugalLife.com. 

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Pet Insurance

From 1994 to 2003, the number of people buying pet insurance to cover vet bills rose 76 percent. MSNBC reported that less than 3 percent of U.S. pet owners have such insurance, while in Britain 25 percent have pet insurance and in Sweden about half of pet owners buy insurance.

Plans often cover vaccinations, surgeries, hospitalization -- and some have cancer policy riders. Some have special plans [PDF] for birds and exotic pets that have broken shells or injured beaks. Many plans reimburse the owner, and owners do not have to choose a vet from a list of preferred providers.  

How do you shop for pet insurance, and what do plans cover? MSNBC said: 

"From 1994 to 2003, expenditures for veterinary services rose 76 percent," says Carol McConnell, manager of veterinary education and services for Veterinary Pet Insurance, in Brea, Calif.

That rise may correlate with higher disposable incomes and the elevation of pets to "family member" status, along with longer animal life expectancies. But Carol McConnell, manager of veterinary education and services for Veterinary Pet Insurance, in Brea, California also notes that owners of ailing pets now have more options as veterinarians have added many diagnostic and treatment capabilities borrowed from human medicine. Taking advantage of those new options can quickly run vet bills up into the thousands of dollars, making insurance premiums of a few hundred dollars a year a good investment for some pet owners. 

The MSNBC story continued:

Because pets are technically a form of property, the insurance is structured more like a homeowner's or auto policy.

"With a car, you have a fender bender and look to insurance to cover the repairs after meeting the deductible. As crude as it sounds, this is how pet insurance works," said McConnell. "The point of treatment remains getting the pet 'back on the road,' so to speak." The main purpose of pet insurance, like auto insurance, is to manage the risk of a potentially costly event.

Evaluating carriers is relatively straightforward, as only four offer coverage in the United States. But the policies vary significantly in terms of coverage. Premiums range from about $10 to $71 a month per cat or dog, with discounts for multiple pets.

Veterinary Pet Insurance is the oldest and largest pet insurer with 70 percent of the market. In addition to cats and dogs, coverage for birds, fish, snakes, rabbits, guinea pigs and other exotics is also available. Policies include standard accident, illness and emergency coverage, with additional coverage available for routine and preventive care. Coverage also includes homeopathic medicines along with increasingly popular alternative care therapies like acupuncture and massage therapy.  

Here are some other stories to learn more about pet insurance:

• MSN/Money: "Should You Buy Pet Insurance?"
• MSNBC: "Sticker Shock at the Vet's Office"
  

You can also get an online rate quote. I checked on a policy for my dog, and it looks like it would run about $21 a month for routine coverage. But it appears that plan would also include a $50 deductible.
Some of the major players in the pet insurance business include:

• Pethealth: A Canadian company that says it is the second-largest carrier of pet health insurance policies in North America.
• The Hartville Group, which runs Petshealth Care Plan. The plan includes an annual deductible rather than the per-incident deductible that is most common for other policies. Then they pay 80 percent of customary expenses. The plan also covers older dogs and cats.

Some pet health statistics from Petshealth Care Plan:

• There are roughly 6 million new cancer diagnoses made in dogs and a similar number in cats made each year. [source: The American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine]
• Eighty-eight percent of dog owners and 63 percent of cat owners took their pet to the veterinarian at least once in the past 12 months. [Source: 2005/2006 American Pet Products Manufacturers Association Inc.'s National Pet Owners Survey]
• The average number of visits to the veterinarian each year is 2.8 for dogs and 2.3 for cats. [Source: 2005/2006 APPMA National Pet Owners Survey]
• The most common reason for veterinary visits for dogs and cats is routine care, which includes physical exams, vaccines, dental work and other related services. These routine visits, on average, cost dog owners $211 each year and cat owners $179 each year. [Source: 2005/2006 APPMA National Pet Owners Survey]
• In addition to routine care, dog and cat owners spend an average of $574 and $334 each year, respectively, on surgical veterinary visits for various illnesses and injuries. [Source: 2005/2006 APPMA National Pet Owners Survey]

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Black-Owned Businesses Among Fastest-Growing Segment of Economy

The U.S. Census Bureau said this week that black-owned businesses are among the fastest-growing segments of the American economy.

Between 1997 and 2002, the revenues generated by black-owned businesses grew by 25 percent, and the number of black-owned business firms grew by 45 percent.

Most of the businesses are small, with no employees other than the owner. The Census Bureau said:

New York had the greatest number of black-owned firms with 129,324, followed by California (112,873), Florida (102,079), Georgia (90,461) and Texas (88,769). These five states accounted for about 44 percent of all black-owned businesses in the United States. Other states with high numbers of black-owned firms include Maryland, Illinois, North Carolina, Michigan, Virginia and Louisiana. (See Table B. PDF)

Cook County, Ill., and Los Angeles County, Calif., had the largest numbers of black-owned businesses in the nation. Cook County, with 54,758 black-owned firms, accounted for 80 percent of all black-owned firms in Illinois. Los Angeles County, with 52,674 black-owned firms, accounted for 47 percent of all black-owned firms in California.

These counties were followed by Kings County, N.Y. (37,499); Prince George's County, Md. (28,389); Miami-Dade County, Fla. (28,359); and Harris County, Texas (27,770). (See Table D. PDF)

New York City had more black-owned firms than any other city in the country at 98,076. The city with the second largest number of black-owned businesses was Chicago (39,424), followed by Los Angeles (25,958), Houston (21,226) and Detroit (19,530). (See Table E.  PDF)

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