Article: "H is for hellish hypermilers"

[MetroMPG]

From today's Ottawa Citizen:

Someone's not happy...

These are geeks who plot out their routes to work and home each day to avoid as many traffic lights and stop signs as possible.
Some with non-hybrid vehicles will turn off their engines during long downhill coasts to save fuel.

They recommend coasting instead of braking when coming to a traffic light, inflating their car's tires to the maximum permitted by the tire maker -- and thereby ignoring the car makers' specs -- and allowing increased road grades on uphill routes to slow the vehicle rather than accelerating to maintain a constant speed.

Some of them actually tuck in their vehicles behind tractor trailers to use the reduced air resistance technique known as drafting to cut back on fuel usage. I suggest anyone trying this on public highways should be referred to as a corpse.

...

And of course when you mix their driving habits in with the majority of drivers who are trying to get from point A to B in the quickest and easiest way possible, you just know that you're going to see ... road rage.

This doesn't simply mean that hypermilers are all wet and the rest of us are right, but mixing these two drastically different driving methods on already crowded roads during the daily commute just won't improve safety. We're extremely fortunate that, right now, hypermiling refers to a comparatively small sector of the driving public. Let's hope it stays that way.

Full rant:
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/...e-e197546504c7

[NoCO2]

UUGGGGGHHHHH

People like whoever wrote that just make me want to scream. Why should I change my driving habits just because they drive inefficiently and waste their money. Why should I have to accommodate other drivers' wasteful habits, are they paying for my gas? NO! So, until the day that someone starts paying for me to drive like everyone else and get really CRAPPY gas millage, they can just shut their little pie holes and deal with it.

[BBsGarage]

Its funny how the exact same arguments can be used for the people that drive 80+ mph weaving in and out of traffic. IMO they are much more of a hazard then some one driving at or just below the speed limit.

[Blue07CivicEX]

Yeah, that's pretty ridiculous, I like the comment about being glad it was only a small percentage of people. If it were a large percentage of people it would make the roads safer and we would be having this conversation about the 80mph drivers trying to kill us safe drivers.

[igo]

Originally Posted by BBsGarage

Its funny how the exact same arguments can be used for the people that drive 80+ mph weaving in and out of traffic. IMO they are much more of a hazard then some one driving at or just below the speed limit.

Yeah, that is the same thing I was thinking.

[Bigs]

...and because of idiots like that they keep the demand of fuel high. If everyone would try hypermiling and let's say reduce their consumpsion by 15-20%, I think that would be a drastic change to the env and the gas prices. Less demand, prices go down!

I think I'll go knock some sense into that door knob.


EDIT:

And he goes and write a column on this...

5 Ways to cut commuting costs..

[Blue07CivicEX]

WHAT A HYPOCRITE!!!!!! un-freakin believable.

[ebacherville]

they should open the car pool lane for hypermilers.. wont help me, but these idiots that want to drive 80 mph in a 60 and then ***** at the people that are falling in the recommended speed limit can suck gas in the fast lane..

They should also name the lanes, and write it on the roads so peopel are reminded all the time what kind of driver they are..., the "sane lane" for the right lane, the "insane lane" on the left and the carpool lane can be called the "eco lane".

[RH77]

What an embarassingly uninformed indvidual.

I'm tired of being angry at this stuff. I just hope they eventually will co-exist or change for the better.

Like I posted before: bad service at a restaurant gets the comment card filled-out. Likely a vast minority.

RH77

[mohr84]

For condemning hypermilers to death and portraying them as more of a threat to the general then drunk drivers, his "5 ways to cut commuting costs" are all directly related to hypermiling.

While I agree that some "controversial" techniques are not safe to practice while in heavy traffic, or other dangerous road conditions, I would think that most hypermilers know the limits and are safer, more aware drivers than most on the road.

Has anyone in the forum ever caused an accident or any other problem while using hypermiling techniques?

I know I have seen people behind me get mad when I am driving firmly at the speed limit.