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Coast.
This one of the reasons I drive the Insight in local trips and the VX on highway trips.
The first 7 miles of my daily drive only involve 1 traffic light. I know when I see the light as I come around the approaching curve, if its green, there is no chance of making it through the light, so I slow down and generate some battery juice.
If the left portion of the intersecting road is moving I know the light will be green when I get to the intersection so I maintain my speed. Sometimes I will pulse to a higher speed when the same traffic has been moving for a few seconds.
If the right intersecting traffic is moving I will coast without regeneration, which puts me in a perfect position to reach the light at the highest possible speed, even when there is stationary traffic in my lane headed in the same direction.
The next light is 3 miles further down the road on a slight uphill climb. I can see the light about .4 to .5 tenths of a mile away. The last sequence of traffic flow is the oncoming left turn signal. Ideally I want to be about .2 mile from the light when the left turn oncoming traffic flow stops and my light turns green.
After this first 7 miles, there are 12 lights in the next 3 miles, some of which are newly installed and very poorly timed. It used to be that you could average 47 MPH and hit every light green. The speed limit is 45, but if you go that speed you would catch a yellow light at exactly the wrong time and have to stop quickly.
Sadly the newly installed lights are not timed properly and you are forced to make a decision as to how you react. It's almost impossible to maintain any decent average speed without getting nailed by one of the newly installed lights. Its sad because the traffic at these lights is almost non existent and it is especially stupid to have them individually sequenced which causes 25 cars to slam on their brakes for a single car to enter from the intersection.
In this case I revert to the coasting scenario, and all the cars around me get aggravated by my extended coast to the light, only to have me glide past them as they stomp on the gas when the light turns green again, on this 6 lane stretch of road.
regards
Mech
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