Does Hypermileing make you a safer driver?

[SentraSE-R]

I'm definitely a safer driver now. I used to join the high speed unsafe tailgater Conga Line. I routinely drove 7 mph over the PSL, and topped 90 mph on every trip, because I was always passing slower traffic.

Now my top speed is often under the PSL.

[markweatherill]

The realisation that one isn't in a race helps!

[gone-ot]

...the HARE might win the SPEED race;

...but, the TORTOISE wins the MPG race!

[Fat Charlie]

I'm paying just as much attention, I'm just looking with a different set of goals.

[PaleMelanesian]

Yes. It's all about paying better attention. It's hard for that to make you less safe.

I'm the safer driver when I notice the oblivious cell-phone driver behind me before they see me in front of them.

[99metro]

If I follow the rules of the road (and I do), I definitely put myself in harms way. Most people DO NOT follow the rules. Examples: Not stopping at stop signs, left turning into the farthest lane, Right turning on red against the "no turn on red" signs, left turning on the red arrow, crossing solid white lines, etc. Most people allow less than 1/4 second between them and the driver in front (vice the 2 second minimum), most all drive at least 10 mph over the speed limit. Lots and lots of violations.

I always have to anticipate that the other drivers will always break the rules/laws - and that keeps me out of trouble. BUT, I do my best to to be an example of good driving, part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

[slowmover]

In and of itself, no. For someone who hasn't ever learned how to try to use well every foot of the road, probably so.

[AltFuel]

Once I realized how inefficient going 80 on the highway was I slowed down. Now I pay alot more attention to what is going on ahead of me. I am sure that it has made me safer.

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...cautious? yes!


...safer? really depends on what others do.

I agree. At best you can drive more cautiously. But it won't make you any safer if another driver is driving recklessly.

Decades ago they used to call the strategy "defensive driving". To me, that always conjured up images of having a hood mounted machine gun - which, as a defensive measure might be very useful, although not legally permissible.

[endurance]

While I've always been a pretty safe driver, hypermiling cuts both ways for me. While I do generally keep better following distances and watch further down the road, I also use that following gap as a cushion to avoid braking and sometimes can get rather close to cars if I'm expecting them to resume quickly. I also watch my SGII a little too much and now have a traffic app (Waze) on my windshield mounted Android that serves as a distraction. Add it all up and I'm probably worse off as a hypermiler than I was before.