DRIVING less  fewer miles or smaller vehicles  is the rational response to higher fuel prices. But there’s something else motorists can do: drive smarter.

In Europe, where gas prices are often more than twice what they are here, eco-driving has become mandatory in the driving curriculums in Germany, Sweden and, most recently, Britain. Beginning drivers are taught to avoid idling, unnecessary braking and jackrabbit starts at traffic lights, among other lessons that can bring fuel savings to as high as 25 percent.

Other fuel-saving tips include carefully timing one’s approach to slowing traffic or red signals and not accelerating toward a “stale green,” that is, a signal that’s about to change.

As the United States has no national driving standard, establishing a similar curriculum here would be challenging. It may be even harder to get people to forsake the temptations of hurry-up-and-wait driving.