Count of actual accidents caused by ecomodding, eco-driving or hypermiling

[Fat Charlie]

Obstructing traffic isn't anyone's idea of a good time, at least here. Barring strobes and a train horn, there isn't much we can do to make people pay attention though. Most hypermilers aren't caught up in the "I'm ahead of you and you suck" mentality that you see a lot out there, so any extra frustration isn't really something we cause.

Personally, I almost never go outside the white line to encourage a pass. If I have to line it up that much then it's either not really safe to pass or I'm being followed by an idiot. Either way I don't really care about how he feels. I'll go to the line, and a lot of times that's all that the other driver needs- a pretty clear statement that I'm not going to try to prevent a pass.

In some of the less heavily travelled areas, the speed limit drops at intersections where there's a light. Hick cops know that people doing 70 in a 55 are looking for cops, but people doing 55 aren't. Not looking for cops, they'll keep doing 55 through the intersection without noticing that it's a 35 for a few hundred yards. Voila! A ticket for 20 over, right near your favorite donut shop, and for a lot less work than hunting down that 15 over ticket outside of town- plus it's even more likely to be an out of stater. So no, I don't go through intersections faster as a courtesy. If they're in that much of a hurry, they'd have already passed me.

[Marc F.]

This is related to the discussion, bear with me.

I am on a two lane, hanging back as a car tries to pass a semi repeatly. The two lane divides into a four lane and the truck stays in the left lane. The car HAVING a right lane is so fixated on passing to the left that it stays right behind the truck looking for a way to pass in the median/shoulder. 4 miles later the truck turns left and the ZOMBIE driver speeds off still in the left lane?!??! I now call them zombie drivers, people so oblivious to what is happening around them they could be zombies.

(a side note, I got in the right lane, traffic was very light, the other semi should have gotten over too, maybe he was zombie also!)


Sometimes its nothing to do with you whatever, people are an accident looking for a place to happen. Driving slow or playing the hills wont stop them from or help them to have the accident they are looking for.

[Sularus]

Really ecomodded, "I do not think anybody has a right to drive below the posted speed limit". The limit is supposed to be the FASTEST you shall go on that road. It is acceptable to not go faster than the SPEED LIMIT! If I have traffic behind me I will do the speed limit on the dot, if not I am usually 5 under. I cannot stand the attitude of those like you who believe the speed limit is a minimum speed. I used to speed like everyone else, until I realized it wasn't saving me any time and costing me a ton in fuel. Take from this what you will, but don't presume to say that we are wrong for going slightly under the speed limit.

Jason

[pete c]

Originally Posted by Sularus

Really ecomodded, "I do not think anybody has a right to drive below the posted speed limit". The limit is supposed to be the FASTEST you shall go on that road. It is acceptable to not go faster than the SPEED LIMIT! If I have traffic behind me I will do the speed limit on the dot, if not I am usually 5 under. I cannot stand the attitude of those like you who believe the speed limit is a minimum speed. I used to speed like everyone else, until I realized it wasn't saving me any time and costing me a ton in fuel. Take from this what you will, but don't presume to say that we are wrong for going slightly under the speed limit.

Jason

If you are going to quote someone, use the entire quote.

At least two posters have quoted ecomodded's statement and convieniently left off the part at the end about holding up other drivers. When you do this, you sound like a typical a-hole politician trying to make someone look bad.

As another poster in this thread said, it's all about being considerate to others. If you are under the speed limit and traffic is building behind you, either pick it up a bit or pull aside to let others pass when it is safe and convenient to do so.

As for the definition of "limit", lets be honest, it is generally a speed well below what a typical driver would consider a safe speed anyway. So, while it is officially a maximum speed, it should also be viewed as a minimum speed, by those that give even the slightest damn, about those they share the road with.

This is not about forcing anyone to drive a minimum speed, it is about imposing your own maximum on others. Doing so pisses people off and increases the chance of someone doing something stupid such as making a dangerous pass because they got tired of someone else imposing a lower than posted speed limit on them.

[pete c]

Originally Posted by Marc F.

This is related to the discussion, bear with me.

I am on a two lane, hanging back as a car tries to pass a semi repeatly. The two lane divides into a four lane and the truck stays in the left lane. The car HAVING a right lane is so fixated on passing to the left that it stays right behind the truck looking for a way to pass in the median/shoulder. 4 miles later the truck turns left and the ZOMBIE driver speeds off still in the left lane?!??! I now call them zombie drivers, people so oblivious to what is happening around them they could be zombies.

(a side note, I got in the right lane, traffic was very light, the other semi should have gotten over too, maybe he was zombie also!)


Sometimes its nothing to do with you whatever, people are an accident looking for a place to happen. Driving slow or playing the hills wont stop them from or help them to have the accident they are looking for.

The semi driver was an idiot, which is slightly different from zombie. Being a professional driver, he should have known to get right and let the guy pass ON THE LEFT as the law dictates. The guy in the car may have been an impatient dooosh, but, I wouldn't categorize him as zombie. You could even give him credit for refusing to make an unsafe pass on the right of the semi.

[JacobAziza]

Originally Posted by pete c

As for the definition of "limit", lets be honest, it is generally a speed well below what a typical driver would consider a safe speed anyway. So, while it is officially a maximum speed, it should also be viewed as a minimum speed, by those that give even the slightest damn, about those they share the road with.

This is not about forcing anyone to drive a minimum speed, it is about imposing your own maximum on others. Doing so pisses people off and increases the chance of someone doing something stupid such as making a dangerous pass because they got tired of someone else imposing a lower than posted speed limit on them.

A "typical driver" does not set the law, and they most definitely don't decide the laws of physics, and therefor what is safe. Traffic engineers, who get degrees in relevant fields of study, set particular speed limits for a reason. Going above the speed limit, even by 0.5mph, is a crime. Speeding is the single largest factor in traffic fatalities, so it definitely is not safe, regardless if the typical driver "feels" that it is.

It is a maximum speed, not a minimum speed, and that is not really up for any legitimate debate. States that have a minimum speed usually set it 15-20 mph below the maximum. Many states have a maximum speed for semi-trucks 10-20mph below the max for cars. Some highway legal vehicles are physically incapable of going the max speed in some states. So drivers need to be expecting to come across vehicles going less than the speed limit.

It doesn't matter if the lead car was doing 15 under the (MAX) limit, the car rear-ending them is at fault. If they did not have time to see and react to coming up on another car, they were driving too fast for conditions - regardless of the posted limit, that is illegal and dangerous.

The vast majority of roads either have low limits (<45), multiple lanes, or regular passing zones / turn outs, so there is really no reason a person should ever have to speed up or drive in the shoulder for the person behind them. The person behind a slower car can go around when its safe and legal to do so.

[Marc F.]

pete c -- your right he should have gotten over. There are times when I know I am going to turn soon and the heavy traffic makes lane changes difficult or impossible, on those times I stay in the lane, BUT 4 miles in very light traffic? (I drive a semi, got a new one this week )

I also see alot of the stickers on the backs of trailer that say:

<Passing Side...................................Suicide>

But I saw one that I just loved it said:

<El Paso......................................Tombston e>



P.S. Trust me I know the laws, my tickets cost $1000's. We get training all the time at work.

[ecomodded]

I am curious as too how many of the previous posters who disagreed with my post hold up people regularly, daily, year in year out. Each of you a king of the slow speed corner, pathetic driving ABILITY i say.
It comes down to the question, should those slow drivers who everyone HATES be permitted to drive on the road ? they are obviously incompetent nincompoops.

[pete c]

Originally Posted by JacobAziza

A "typical driver" does not set the law, and they most definitely don't decide the laws of physics, and therefor what is safe. Traffic engineers, who get degrees in relevant fields of study, set particular speed limits for a reason. Going above the speed limit, even by 0.5mph, is a crime. Speeding is the single largest factor in traffic fatalities, so it definitely is not safe, regardless if the typical driver "feels" that it is.

Speeding is a factor in the majority of fatalities. I would be willing to bet that in the very large majority of these cases, we are talking extreme speeds. People driving 5-10 over the limit, in normal conditions do not cause these accidents. Accidents at these speeds are caused by inattentiveness.

It is a maximum speed, not a minimum speed, and that is not really up for any legitimate debate. States that have a minimum speed usually set it 15-20 mph below the maximum. Many states have a maximum speed for semi-trucks 10-20mph below the max for cars. Some highway legal vehicles are physically incapable of going the max speed in some states. So drivers need to be expecting to come across vehicles going less than the speed limit.

There are vehicles such as farm vehicles incapable of the speed limit. These vehicles require special markings or emergency flashers. I don't have an issue with them and they are rare enough in most areas that they are not an issue.

It doesn't matter if the lead car was doing 15 under the (MAX) limit, the car rear-ending them is at fault. If they did not have time to see and react to coming up on another car, they were driving too fast for conditions - regardless of the posted limit, that is illegal and dangerous.

If they are driving the limit and come around a turn and can't get their vehicle under control in time to keep from hitting someone moping along in front of them, they suck at driving and need to pay better attention. We know that these idiots exist. And knowing this, we should drive accordingly which means keeping to something approaching the speed limit in areas where they know that driving well below the limit could result in an inattentive driver causing an accident. A good example of this would be driving at night where depth perception is crap, or driving on roads with many sharp bends.

In the end, it really doesn't matter who was right or legal. We have to share the road and that is a two way street.

The vast majority of roads either have low limits (<45), multiple lanes, or regular passing zones / turn outs, so there is really no reason a person should ever have to speed up or drive in the shoulder for the person behind them. The person behind a slower car can go around when its safe and legal to do so.

Yes they can. And on roads with minimal shoulders this is certainly the way to do it. On roads that have wide shoulders, it is perfectly safe to slow a little more, put on your right blinker and allow others to pass. I have a toyota motorhome, so I get to practice this technique frequently when driving it.

[pete c]

Originally Posted by ecomodded

I am curious as too how many of the previous posters who disagreed with my post hold up people regularly, daily, year in year out. Each of you a king of the slow speed corner, pathetic driving ABILITY i say.
It comes down to the question, should those slow drivers who everyone HATES be permitted to drive on the road ? they are obviously incompetent nincompoops.

It's not necessarily a case of ability, it is more a case of self-righteous doooshbaggery. Unfortunately it is fairly common.

These people remind me of the "take the lane" militant "vehicular cyclist" crowd. A "vehicular cyclist" BTW, is a cyclist that uses the letter of the law giving him full vehicular rights and duties to an absurd level. Folks like this haven't any problem with large backups of ICE powered vehicles behind them, even when a decent sized shoulder exists. I am a cyclist and even I want to mow these dipsticks down when in my car!