PROVIDENCE — High gas prices may be here to stay, but by adopting good driving habits you can save gas and money, according to a plethora of organizations and their Web sites.

The most effective measures to take are driving moderately, driving the speed limits, using cruise control and turning off the engine when idling more than one minute, according to edmunds.com.

Indeed, the auto Web site reckons you can get “hybrid-type savings without having to buy a new car.” That may be an exaggeration, but three years ago it tested six ways to improve gas mileage and found substantial savings in four of them.

It found the most important fuel saving tip is driving moderately.

“Stop driving like a maniac,” edmunds.com advises , noting it found moderate driving can lead to savings of more than 30 percent.

Wisebread.com describes “speeding, cutting in and out of lanes and tailgating” as “ maneuvers that save you very little time and end up costing you at the gas station.”

Edmunds.com’s second finding was related to the first: drive the speed limit, which it found can lead to savings of around 10 percent. Thirdly it found using cruise control to be very effective in moderating speeds and providing a smooth ride.

The findings are music to the ears of police officers.

“Whether it’s saving gas or not, we advise people to slow down,” said Maj. Steven G. O’Donnell, Deputy Superintendent and Chief of Field Operations at the Rhode Island State Police. “If everyone slowed down and drove with moderation, we’d not only save gas but save lives and avoid serious accidents, too.”

Edmunds.com also found idling to be “more important than we assumed.” While it is not worth turning off your car every time you stop, “Stopping longer than a minute? Shut ’er down.”

On the other hand, it said it tested the air conditioner on/window up versus air conditioner off/windows down debate and found no real gain in fuel efficiency; “Nice in theory; not true in practice.”

And it found checking tire pressure had “no measurable effect on the vehicles we tested,” although it was important for “safety and to reduce tire wear.”

Certainly high gas prices are here to stay.

On Wednesday, Guy Caruso, head of the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration, told a House hearing that the EIA expects gasoline prices to stay around $4 a gallon through next year. Meanwhile, oil prices continue to hover around $130 a barrel as of Thursday.

One solution, of course, is to trade in your current vehicle for a hybrid or small, more efficient car. But the economics of buying a new car are complicated by what one’s current vehicle is worth, how much is owed on it, the availability and price of fuel efficient vehicles and the prospect of additional debt in an uncertain economic climate.

So developing good driving habits is a way to take the edge off the high prices and other Web sites offering advice include howtoadvice.com, with 30 separate tips.

As with everyone else, driving slower is a key one.

“Traveling at 55 mph gives you up to 21 percent better mileage when compared to former legal speed limits of 65 mph and 70 mph,” it states. Additional tips include: throwing an automatic transmission into neutral when idling and buying gasoline during the coolest time of day when the fuel is densest — you get more for your money.

At the same time, funanddriving.com advises that 65 mph is plenty slow enough. “For modern aerodynamically enhanced cars, the most efficient average speed is more in the range of 65 mph or even higher,” it states, adding, “You don’t want to exceed that speed if you are trying to maximize gas mileage.”

The Department of Energy’s Web site, fueleconomy.gov, breaks down its advice into four categories: driving more efficiently; keeping your car in shape; planning and combining trips; and choosing a more efficient vehicle.

It reiterates that speeding, rapid acceleration and braking are extremely inefficient, lowing gas mileage by as much as 33 percent.

Driving smoothly is the key, both in taking off and slowing down.

In addition, observe speed limits, avoid excessive idling, use cruise control and remove excess weight — those bags of kitty litter, boxes of books, unnecessary tools, etc. — from the trunk or flatbed.

“An extra 100 pounds in the trunk reduces a typical car’s fuel economy by 1 to 2 percent,” the Web site says.

In addition, make sure your vehicle is properly serviced in terms of clean, recommended oil and air filters and properly inflated tires. And combine trips as “several short trips taken from a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a longer multipurpose trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm.”

Finally, the site offers a section on fuel efficiency, with gas mileage estimates and more information for 1985-2008 model year cars, as a guide when choosing a more efficient vehicle.

Wikihow.com offers a number of neat tips including filling up on Wednesdays as gas prices are statistically cheaper midweek, filling up three days before a holiday as prices go up on holidays, avoiding a station that has just received a shipment of gas as sediment swirled up makes your engine less efficient and filling your tank all the way to avoid needless trips to the station.

Gasbuddy.com advises limited use of the air conditioner, arguing that it can increase fuel consumption by about 20 percent by putting extra load on the engine.

While Maj. O’Donnell said the state police have not yet seen any change in traffic patterns, it may be that the run-up in gas prices leads to a general slowdown on the roads, making them safer for everyone.

For more information (much of it repetitive), go to:

cars.about.com,

edmunds.com/advice/ fueleconomy/articles/ (go to

‘We Test the Tips 11-22-05’),

fueleconomy.gov,

funandsafedriving.com,

gasbuddy.com,

howtoadvice.com,

wisebread.com,

wikihow.com.