THE BEST way to cut down on the amount of cash you spend on fuel is to drive less - but while you can't make your journeys shorter, you can slash your annual mileage.

The Daily Echo wants to help motorists across Hampshire to share their cars with other commuters, saving money and sharing the burden of fuel costs.

We've set up a special forum to enable motorists across the county to get in touch.

If you log on to dailyecho.co.uk/car_share you can either offer lifts for others to take or ask if anyone is going your way.

The idea is that you will have to use you car less as well as having someone to share the costs of fuel with you.

We recommend posting your email address up on the forum and the two places you travel between - for example, Sholing and Fareham.

When you've found someone to share a lift with, email website@dailyecho.co.uk and we'll remove your contact details.

Safety Tips

Personal safety charity the Suzy Lamplugh Trust says that, before starting a car share, people should take the following basic safety precautions:

• Find out as much as possible about who you would be travelling with and the details of the car you will be travelling in if it is not yours.

• Give those details to a third person and make sure the person you are travelling with is aware that you have done so.

• Think through all eventualities before the share starts in order to prevent any aggression later. This includes share of all costs, e.g. What if the other person decides to give someone a lift a few days a week? Will you share the cost of petrol and insurance? What happens if there is an accident?

• Consider setting up a trial period before committing yourself. A person might seem very reasonable until they get behind the wheel of the car.

• Follow your intuition – if something doesn’t feel right don’t go ahead with the share.

Find out more

• Share lifts and save cash
• Car Share Forum
• Petrol prices near you
• Latest traffic updates and cameras
• Travel News
• Car Sharing Case Study
• How the fuel hike hits families
• Tips for using less fuel when driving