"Hypermiler" pulled over for driving too slow

[Blue07CivicEX]

Alrighty, so, I read through most of this thread, and I agree people shouldn't be going 80mph on the highways, but if they aren't allowed to go 80, and the cops pull people over going 80 (most places) why should we be allowed to go 15mph slower?

I understand everyone saying slower is safer and we shouldn't have to change for everyone else, but what happens when somebody comes up on a car going 65 and the car is going 50? that's still a significant difference in speed, or 70mph vs 50mph which is not that uncommon.

Everyone on this site says people going 80mph need to slow down to conserve fuel and to drive more safely you can use the same argument that we need to speed up to 55 in a 65 or whatever is appropriate for the area. I know I haven't been doing this for too long but from the point of view of somebody driving 70 or 75 it would be a bit scary to come up on a car doing 50mph in a 65mph zone. When I'm highway driving in a 65 I keep it within 10 either way for safety and for fuel economy. Just because we are trying to stretch are gas doesn't mean we should be putting ourselves at risk of getting rear-ended by somebody going 10-15mph OVER the speed limit.

Ok, down off my soap box, I just believe if we expect other people to drive more considerately we should be as well. Why shouldn't we be held to the same delta from the speedlimit as the speeders?

[Johnny Mullet]

I don't think the Interstate is a good place to practice any kind of Hypermiling except maintaining the speed limit. A true "Hypermiler" would use an alternative route with less traffic and resistance.

[dcb]

Originally Posted by Blue07CivicEX

Why shouldn't we be held to the same delta from the speedlimit as the speeders?

The speed limit is a maximum, so if we were to be going 15 under the lower limit, say that lower limit is 45 around here, we can do 30 on the hiway before ticketing, Cool!!

[Coyote X]

Around here it is mostly 2 lane roads and at best I can go 35mph in a 55 zone The coal trucks set the speed everyone gets to drive and if you pass them you can drive good for like 2 minutes before getting behind another one. I wish they would enforce the driving slow rules here. Going 10mph up every hill and stopping at all the tight spots on the road so the trucks can pass each other sucks.

btw they doubled the weight limit on trucks around here so now they are way heavier and slower than even a normal semi everyone else is used to.

When I am not behind a truck or on the 4 lane I usually race everyone off the stop lights and go above the speed limit so I am in the mods are more fun than hypermiling group. I figure a best tank of 70mpg isn't bad considering how much full throttle acceleration and heavy braking I do.

[Blue07CivicEX]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mullet

I don't think the Interstate is a good place to practice any kind of Hypermiling except maintaining the speed limit. A true "Hypermiler" would use an alternative route with less traffic and resistance.

Sometimes there aren't many options, I have to travel from Albany to Buffalo (and back) for work a lot of weeks, I 90 runs directly between the two, if I was to take back roads it would take me twice as long and use a lot more gas. But today I drafted a Semi for about 250 of the 280 miles (about 4-5 car lengths back most of the time), I maintained between 58 and 63 for the majority of the trip, I felt safe as I was moving with traffic, I didn't impede anybody else and I got excellent mileage.

Anyway! If I had been going between 50 and 60mph (pulse and gliding) I would have been causing people coming up from behind a lot of problems, I guess I just think people should be considerate of others, regardless of whether it's speeding or slowpoking, we all need to live together.

[dcb]

It is nice to be in a state of mind where you no longer mind a truck in front of you going 35. It is like a gift

[Blue07CivicEX]

Originally Posted by dcb

It is nice to be in a state of mind where you no longer mind a truck in front of you going 35. It is like a gift

HAH! I agree, I used to get annoyed when I had two trucks in front of me, one passing the other, one going 60 and one going 61. Now I just think of it as options "Do I want to go 60? or do I want to go 61? hmmmmmm?" :-)

[nwbabybronco]

I showed up at my mom's house the other night with a wild cardboard aero job and explained I was trying hypermiling. I was surprised to find my mom had heard of hypermiling, and thought it sounded dangerous. I told her I kept the engine on coasting down hills at standard speeds and she said "It still sounds dangerous to me." I didn't delve into that too much because she's not fond of rationality, but it made me wonder if other people think the same thing.

Our highways here are 60mph for trucks, 70mph for cars. I, and many people, do 55 for long distances. In my particular town, I and many other people are a bunch of "goddamn hippies" and do 45-50 with nobody making a fuss. My general strategy is to set cruise for 55, then I'll pulse to 60 at hill crests, and coast down to 50 - assuming nobody is close behind me. I find by doing a +/- 5mph P&G, most of the other 55ers don't have a problem with me at all.

If a semi comes up behind me, I look to see if they can pass safely. If they can't, I speed up to 60. If they can, I stay at 55 until they pass me, then I catch their draft and will go 60 behind them for a while.

Edit: In Washington state, delaying 5 or more vehicles is illegal.

Thank you, Kevlar, for the reality check

[JamesLaugesen]

Originally Posted by AXMonster

I guess its difficult for you guys in the US as you don't have the lane specific requirements we have here in the UK. Our first lane (inside lane) is the main lane, and the other two (or sometimes more) lanes are for overtaking. So I can quite safely sit in the inside lane at 55 as cars will pass me in the middle lane, and faster cars pass them in the outside lane. So I can be at 55 while others are 90+

Same here... this is kind've eye-opening for me, I think.
Is it unusual for someone to be going this slow on a high speed road in the US?

This wouldn't raise an eyebrow here (aus), and definitely wouldn't make the News! hahah.

When there are potentially hasards not moving at all I don't see why a 20% speed differential is such a problem.

Race circuits have the "you're responsible for everything in front of you" rule and cover mirrors and speedo for a reason. There's no problem when everyone is focused in the same direction.

FYI, Learner drivers here have a max speed of 80km/hr (50mph), P1 drivers (first 12 months of being licensed) 90km/hr and P2 (following 24 months) 100km/hr, and are allowed on any roads.

[SVOboy]

In the US I find that the "slow lane" is almost always speeding, and then the other two are mehbe going +5 mph and +10 mph, or so. It's not regimented like it is everywhere else.