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Old 08-08-2015, 09:11 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Does the driving style of "normal" people flip YOU out?

Not too long ago I spoke about giving my sister a ride and her flipping out over my hypermiling, EOC driving style.

Well, she recently gave me a ride. While I didn't say anything, the hypermiler part of me was silently flipping out over HER driving skills.

I couldn't believe how unconscious she was about not noticing traffic ahead was slowing and her approaching the car ahead so fast as to wear out her brakes AND waste gas.

Am I alone in my silent pain? Do you flip out when riding in other people's cars?

Doug in Oakland, CA

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Old 08-08-2015, 09:25 PM   #2 (permalink)
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I try to explain the rationale, then if nothing sinks in, I just say "A brain is a dangerous thing to waste and you have nothing to worry about."

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Old 08-08-2015, 09:34 PM   #3 (permalink)
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It seems I'm often subjected to neocon hate radio in other people's cars. Wouldn't listening to nails screeching down a chalkboard be better?

Just like virtually all Hardley-Ableson riders suffer from wrist seizures, many drivers suffer ankle seizures resulting in seemingly uncontrolled herky-jerky throttle inputs, even on the smoothest and straightest of roads. I wonder if these people are capable of eating soup without flinging it about?
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Old 08-09-2015, 09:42 AM   #4 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChewChewTrain View Post
I couldn't believe how unconscious she was about not noticing traffic ahead was slowing and her approaching the car ahead so fast as to wear out her brakes AND waste gas.
That would be my wife. And she complains about poor gas mileage while she does it! I've made attempts at suggestions but, well, I'm sure you can guess how far that got.

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It seems I'm often subjected to neocon hate radio in other people's cars.
That would be my dad. At least he grew up in the First Depression and drives economically without a second thought.
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Old 08-09-2015, 12:30 PM   #5 (permalink)
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Too many complaints to bother listing them all.

One of my biggest complaints is when people pass me on a straight section of road, and then brake hard for corners. I don't brake for corners, but am often forced to because of traffic ahead of me.

It seems most people are not looking ahead and anticipating what traffic is doing. I had a coworker tell me that she almost honked in rage at me when she was behind my car accelerating onto an onramp. It always slows down at the merge point, so I allowed a gap to initially form so that I didn't have to brake, but she thought it was crazy that I didn't just fill the space with my car and then later brake when it slows down.

My friend treats the throttle like an on-off switch. His speed fluctuates by 10 MPH on the freeway as he goes above the speed limit, takes his foot off the gas, goes below the speed limit, and then accelerates hard past the speed limit again. The transmission downshifts at each one of these acceleration cycles. He has gone through at least 1 transmission in every vehicle he owns. Lexus ES 350, Acura MDX, Ford Ranger... he says they all have poorly built transmissions. Meanwhile I've never had a transmission fail on me.

I once experimented in stop and go Portland traffic with driving the average speed of traffic. This means when traffic speeds up, I allow a gap to develop between the car in front of me. When traffic slows down the gap closes. This minimizes braking and allows me to get better fuel economy in stop and go traffic than on the freeway. My assumption was that it would take me significantly longer to arrive at my destination due to people cutting in to fill the gap. I kept a tally of cars, adding 1 to the total every time a car moved in to the gap, and subtracted 1 every time the car directly ahead of me moved out of my lane. In 1 hour of driving, only 9 more cars moved into the gap as moved out of it. In other words, my commute was likely only 30 seconds longer than if I had driven bumper to bumper. It also improved the fuel economy of everyone behind me since they too drove at the average speed instead of accelerating and braking all of the time.
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Old 08-09-2015, 03:25 PM   #6 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by redpoint5 View Post
I once experimented in stop and go Portland traffic with driving the average speed of traffic. This means when traffic speeds up, I allow a gap to develop between the car in front of me. When traffic slows down the gap closes. This minimizes braking and allows me to get better fuel economy in stop and go traffic than on the freeway. My assumption was that it would take me significantly longer to arrive at my destination due to people cutting in to fill the gap. I kept a tally of cars, adding 1 to the total every time a car moved in to the gap, and subtracted 1 every time the car directly ahead of me moved out of my lane. In 1 hour of driving, only 9 more cars moved into the gap as moved out of it. In other words, my commute was likely only 30 seconds longer than if I had driven bumper to bumper. It also improved the fuel economy of everyone behind me since they too drove at the average speed instead of accelerating and braking all of the time.
Long before my ecomodding days my commute was on a long and very busy trajectory. I maintained a safe distance braking gap where the rest of traffic did not, and counted every car that took the gap.

Usually the cars that darted into the gap darted out of it again at the first perceived chance.
Nonetheless, most ended up somewhere way back behind me rather than ahead.
I wondered why, but think I found it.

When it gets really busy all lanes move at more or less the same average speed; when one moves faster it is a temporary thing and usually followed by the same lane going slower again.
So all the lane switching got them into lanes that had already used up some of their stretch, and when the cars ahead slam their brakes there is no time to switch back as they were too close upon them!
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Old 08-09-2015, 04:42 PM   #7 (permalink)
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I've NEVER been in a car with someone else driving, where I was comfortable, except for Pop, when he was younger. The only time he ever fell asleep riding in a car was with me driving. Brother number 4 is very close to that level of expertise in technique, to the point where I feel I can afford to NOT pay attention to what is going on.

Mom (90) and Pop (94) work as a team,with here the pilot and him the copilot.

She (mom) has scared the crap out of me a couple of times and no one wants to argue when I drive exclusively when we travel in a car together.

regards
mech
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Old 08-10-2015, 10:52 AM   #8 (permalink)
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Have you ever been on a roller coaster?
Even though it feels like you're going to die in a horrible wreck, you know that it hasn't crashed yet and probably isn't going to suddenly decide to crash during your run.

Have you ever been deployed somewhere?
People may seem to act randomly and stupidly, but after observing them for a while you can see that there is a system to their behavior. The criteria underpinning their systems are probably random and stupid, but there is a system at work: actions are taken based on decisions, which are based on observations filtered through values and goals. Other peoples' driving styles may not be any way to run a railroad, but it's not your railroad and it is in fact being run.

Douglas Adams put it quite well:
Quote:
Slartibartfast assured him... that they were perfectly safe and that it was all going to be extremely instructive and not a little harrowing.

Ford and Arthur decided just to relax and be harrowed.
The gas you'll save by trying to take over and "improve" things isn't worth the friction it'll cause: yes, you'll burn less gas. No, the situation will not be improved.
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Old 08-10-2015, 10:56 AM   #9 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Mechanic View Post
I've NEVER been in a car with someone else driving, where I was comfortable, except for Pop, when he was younger. The only time he ever fell asleep riding in a car was with me driving. Brother number 4 is very close to that level of expertise in technique, to the point where I feel I can afford to NOT pay attention to what is going on.

Mom (90) and Pop (94) work as a team,with here the pilot and him the copilot.

She (mom) has scared the crap out of me a couple of times and no one wants to argue when I drive exclusively when we travel in a car together.

regards
mech

If your Mom can scare YOU, Mech, I'm beginning to like her!

When riding along with one of my sisters, my right foot is often reaching for an imaginary brake peddle.

Last edited by ChewChewTrain; 08-10-2015 at 11:14 AM..
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Old 08-10-2015, 11:08 AM   #10 (permalink)
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LATIN TERM: STUPIDIOUS MAXIMUS

I was in the apartment complex garage yesterday.

A couple climbed into their SUV.

He started the engine and let the SUV idle for 45+ seconds.

As they backed up and began to drive away, I started my car and thinking I'd follow them out the parking structure gate when they pressed their gate, keychain FOB.

But instead of easily opening the gate from a distance so he could simply roll through it, he comes to a complete stop, which forced ME to stop behind him on a rather steep up-ramp, then presses the button on his FOB, while idling his engine AND mine waiting for the gate to open.

HELP! I'M SURROUNDED BY IDIOTS! IT'S THE END-OF-THE-WORLD, I TELL YOU!

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