Speed kills...

[groar]

How many times did you heard your parents and TV speakers saying that "speed kills" ?

In an ecomodder context we are of course talking about FE.

Look at my megane's fuel log

I have to confess I don't understand how I made such a difference between my two first tanks except that I'm always removing lead from my right foot. I'm always using DWB (Driving Without Brakes) and moderate accelerations with quick gear shift up (from 2300rpm for 1st to 2000rpm for 4th ie before the turbo of my diesel activates).

Edit : as noted in the tips, I memorized some transition points in my daily commutes and I try to see how much I can shift them. Does the fact I didn't remember that when I wrote this message means I begin to do that naturally ?

So if you don't care about your family lives , slow down to save :

• money, 26% with my last tank
• and CO2, I estimated I saved 68kg of CO2 with these 2 tanks

Both without counting miles not driven thanks to work from home.

Since a year I'm dreaming about a prius. But today I'm realizing that it's rated at 4.3l/100 (55mpg) while with my megane I'm achieving 4.9l/100 (48mpg) and I'm always improving myself and my car (just taped my lower grill block but it didn't had time to affect significantly this tank).

My wife is also trying to save gas. Her current tank is at 5.3l/100 (44mpg) while the car is rated 6.0l/100 (39mpg). We were both at 7.0l/100 (33mpg) one year ago...

Bonus : I have fun to practice my new eco-driving style
I wannabe another captain slooow

Have fun,

Denis.

[mush3gan]

congrats! i also learned that speed kills. i actually started eco-driving after receiving a speeding ticket (over 100 mph). heavy punishment, scolding by the cop, judge, and friends. it caused me to think about a lot of things, my life, my passengers' lives, what the heck was i doing... etc. then almost magically a few days later i heard about hypermiling on the news.. got into it.. and now no one can stop me from driving at or below the speed limit. and it's not even because i'm afraid of getting another ticket... its just.. my craving for both safety and gas-saving.

[ankit]

And the thing is that most of the time speeding doesn't get you to your destination too much sooner. Maybe a minute or two. For example, I had to follow my cousin home from work the other day (out shifts started at different times but ended at the same time) and he was going his normal 65-70 while i didn't let the needle exceed 57. When we got off of the highway he was there waiting for me at a red light, so his speeding didn't pay off at all since we both arrived at the same time.

It's threads like this that motivate me to go slow. That's great progress.

[Matt Herring]

Since purchasing my 50cc scooter in June and logging 200 miles so far I have seen numerous examples of me (the scooter) vs. them (the cars) and how much actual time is saved driving on a 4 mile city/town commute driving my way vs. driving their way.

On a daily basis every single car traveling behind me is up my tailpipe trying to maneuver around me, beside me and sometimes over me. In July I decided to pay better attention to letting cars around me on uphills, straight stretches, etc. In almost every single case I ended up immediately behind the passing car at the next light, intersection, etc.

On my particular commute there is a 1/4 mile uphill that I routinely drop to 25-30 mph (the speed limit is posted at 30mph) followed by a 1/4 mile downhill that I can semi-coast at 35mph and reach 45mph if I hit the gas. If I have a particularly aggressive driver on my tail at the start of the downhill I'll hit the gas on the way down the hill and meet him on my tail on the next light (I only do this if they hit the horn to try to pass me up the hill). Yesterday, a big Ford truck was laying on his horn to pass me in town (even cut me off to get in front of me) and then at the next light I gave him a scooter "two beep" on the horn to ruffle his feathers and let him know he saved 0.0 seconds vs. me on his hurried commute!

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted by Matt Herring

On my particular commute there is a 1/4 mile uphill that I routinely drop to 25-30 mph (the speed limit is posted at 30mph) followed by a 1/4 mile downhill that I can semi-coast at 35mph and reach 45mph if I hit the gas. If I have a particularly aggressive driver on my tail at the start of the downhill I'll hit the gas on the way down the hill and meet him on my tail on the next light (I only do this if they hit the horn to try to pass me up the hill). Yesterday, a big Ford truck was laying on his horn to pass me in town (even cut me off to get in front of me) and then at the next light I gave him a scooter "two beep" on the horn to ruffle his feathers and let him know he saved 0.0 seconds vs. me on his hurried commute!

I just thought of a little social experiment you could try:
Get a rifle case for an ATV and mount it on your scooter across the back, maybe add a NRA sticker too for those who don't know what the case is for.
It might get them thinking you're a bit nuts and give you some space

You could also change your route abit to avoid your hill of death.
Ian

[Matt Herring]

In these days and times carrying anything resembling a gun, gun rack, actual rifle, bb gun, etc. probably would not be a good idea on the back of any vehicle...although I have noticed my road rage voice carries better from a scooter than inside a vehicle with the windows up.

Unfortunately, my hill of death in the middle of my commute is unavoidable as the only other road option to avoid it is on a 65mph highway which is illegal for 50cc scooters to travel on (not to mention I would not even want to attempt it on a scooter...scooter vs. 18 wheeler I do not win).

[IndyIan]

You could look into increasing the hp of the scooter or change the clutching? Its belt drive I assume? I'll bet there are all sorts of forums with people making 15hp out of them, the trick will be to maintain decent mileage.

Anyways I feel bad for you and other scooter riders as I usually see them with some dumbass on their tail. I used to drive my Dad's miata and even in that car once in a while someone would try to ruin your day so I know abit what its like.

Really what needs to happen is your local police go for a plain clothes scooter ride and charge a few dozen people with dangerous driving. I took a "biking on the road" course with the local cops and it sure is different riding on the road with them!
Maybe you could mount a small camera on the back to show the dummy's plate and charge them yourself?
Ian

[ankit]

Originally Posted by IndyIan

Anyways I feel bad for you and other scooter riders as I usually see them with some dumbass on their tail.

That's why I usually give them a thumbs up or something of that nature. But I can't imagine someone driving one of those on a 45+ road. A customer came in on one of those at a gas station I work at that (on a 55-60 MPH speed limit but everyone goes 65-70) on a scooter. I asked him how fast it could go and he said in the low 40 mph range. i wanted to tell him that waht he is doing is dangerous but I just left it alone.

[Matt Herring]

#1 - It's illegal in Massachusetts to drive a 49cc scooter on a state highway (marked 55mph or higher). I don't even attempt it based on the fact the 30-40mph roads are dangerous enough with aggressive drivers and driving on a state highway would be a death wish.

#2 - The biggest legal fear among scooter drivers is that local and state governments will begin regulating scooters like motorcycles and requiring special licenses, permits and insurance (I paid $40 for a two year registration and that's it). By Massachusetts law a 49cc scooter is not supposed to go faster than 20mph which is about half as fast as it goes on flat roads. So, dealing with illegal-tailing car drivers is an inherent risk while riding a scooter in my mind. I'd rather deal with aggressive drivers myself than alert police to the dangers scooter drivers deal with and mandate testing, insurance, etc. After all, I only drive the scooter to save money and it would not be worth it if I had to permit, insure, take classes, etc.

[brucepick]

Originally Posted by IndyIan

...Maybe you could mount a small camera on the back to show the dummy's plate and charge them yourself?
Ian

I've seen posts of this on cleanmpg.com.
Cameras were set up in the car, pointing rearward.
You definitely should be able to get some results with this. I'd guess that your own state laws will influence exactly what you can do with the pics.

One idea is to snap pics of close-following truck license plates - then contact the trucking co. and let them deal with the driver.