Today, April 30, is National No Phone Zone Day, which has been established to help bring an end to using cell phones while driving.

No Phone Zone Day is being championed by none other than Oprah herself, who has taken up the campaign to stop texting while driving. She is not alone in taking up this cause. Groups like FocusDriven and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers are also champions for "no phone zones" in cars.

And, why? It's estimated that nearly 500,000 people are injured and 6,000 are killed each year because drivers are using cell phones - calling, texting, or e-mailing - while driving.

As part of Oprah's No Phone Zone campaign, she is encouraging drivers to sign a pledge about how much of a "no phone zone" their car will be. The pledge options are:

• I will not text while I am driving.
• I will not text while driving and will use only handsfree calling if I need to speak on the phone while I am driving.
• I will not text or use my phone while I am driving. If I need to use my phone, I will pull over to a secure location.

If you’re interested in signing the No Phone Zone pledge or finding out more about distracted driving, below are some links for you.

• Oprah’s No Phone Zone site and pledge form.
• FocusDriven wants to end distracted driving.

Where do you stand on this issue? Visit our Forum to join the discussion.

Did you make a commitment on Earth Day to begin driving more green, but you aren’t quite ready yet to make the commitment of buying a new car to do so?

Here are some tips that can help you drive green, in your current vehicle or in a new one:

• Drive Sensibly. Aggressive driving wastes gas – it can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money.
• Observe the Speed Limit. While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. You can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas. Observing the speed limit is also safer.
• Lighten the Load. Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your miles per gallon by up to 2 percent. The reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle's weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones.
• Don’t Be Idle. Idling gets 0 miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than do cars with smaller engines.
• Use Cruise Control. Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas.
• Use Overdrive Gears. When you use overdrive gearing, your car's engine speed goes down. This saves gas and reduces engine wear.

Source: Driving More Efficiently

More Tips: Driving Green: Tips for Improving Your Fuel Economy

We saw a tweet from Chrysler about this contest and thought we’d share it with our blog readers. Good luck!

Dodge Motorsports is offering an opportunity for one lucky person to win a custom HEMI^®-powered Dodge Challenger R/T to commemorate the Challenger’s debut in the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series. (Our blog readers may recall CarLocate.com sponsored a car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series earlier this year. It was a Chevy.)

The Dodge Challenger R/T has a 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine with 376 horsepower and 410 lb.-ft. of torque. It can reach zero to 60 mph in less than 60 seconds.

Enter the “Challenger Chase to Win” sweepstakes at an upcoming Nationwide Series race or online at www.dodgemotorsports.com. (You’ll find complete contest details and legalese on that site, too.) You have until Nov. 30, 2010, to enter, and the winner will be chosen around Dec. 14.