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Here are your choices.
I95 north between Richmond and Washington DC. Speed limit is 65 and three lanes all the way with more when you get close to the metropolitan areas.
Left lane-if you don't average 80 MPH you have some SUV 6 feet from your rear bumper and they will pass you and cut you off with less separation than you could measure with a yardstick.
Center lane-if you don't average 75 MPH you have cars and big SUVs passing you on both sides with the potential of a simultaneous merge right in front of you and a nasty pileup.
Right lane- lots of big rigs going between 65-75 MPH where you can find a good drive doing the speed limit or slightly over and stay about 100-150 feet behind him, with the shoulder (paved and wide enough to drive on easily) as your escape route if something happens with the idiots driving stupidly in the other lanes, or a large piece of tire debris appears under the truck in front of you.
If you allow more separation between yourself and the truck in front of you, you invite the idiots to pass the car in the center lane by cutting you off by a couple of feet separation and passing the car in the middle lane on the right (illegal) using the separation distance you leave between the truck in front of you as a passing lane.
Your last option is to take another route that takes an additional 20 minutes in the 2 hour drive, and you run the risk of falling asleep at the wheel, or getting hit by a deer if its dark outside and killed.
I choose the right lane on the Interstate when its dark, or early in the morning when the traffic is less insane. I use the slower route when its light enough for me to see the deer before I get nailed.
In either the right lane at 65 MPH average of the alternate route at 55 MPH the mileage is basically the same. The alternate route is like driving on a different planet, with so little traffic that you have a hard time staying awake if you have had a long day.
The draft option (right lane) is good for an additional 10 MPG in the CVT Insight, with separation of 125-150 feet (more than anyone around you in any lane).
regards
Mech
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