"I drive 55mph" on the 65mph interstate.

[campisi]

Originally Posted by XYZ

YES! Please - by all means DO IT!!! Enjoy your slow ride.

Slow ride, take it easy ... Man, makes me think of HS. Hogfat (wasn't that the band's name?).

[Daekar]

Hrmmm... a bit of angst in this thread. Amusing.

I have been experimenting with driving lower than the PSL on the homeward leg of my commute because I work second-shift, and am on 65-70mph roads from around 12:10 to 12:40am every weeknight. Since there is minimal traffic, the only thing I have to worry about is being pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving. Yeah, don't laugh, it happened to my wife when she was driving 5 under going up a large hill! The cops around here are under pressure to pull over drunken college students (of which there are many) and they cast their nets a little wide sometimes.

So far I have had no issues driving under the PSL. In fact, I often find that I can hook up with an 18 wheeler going about the same speed and semi-draft (don't like getting close enough to really draft) while going the slower speed I want. I think it's something I'll continue to do.

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by campisi

Slow ride, take it easy ... Man, makes me think of HS. Hogfat (wasn't that the band's name?).

I'm not angry. Maybe one smilie wasn't enough to communicate that. <?>

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Daekar

Hrmmm... a bit of angst in this thread. Amusing.

I have been experimenting with driving lower than the PSL on the homeward leg of my commute because I work second-shift, and am on 65-70mph roads from around 12:10 to 12:40am every weeknight. Since there is minimal traffic, the only thing I have to worry about is being pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving. Yeah, don't laugh, it happened to my wife when she was driving 5 under going up a large hill! The cops around here are under pressure to pull over drunken college students (of which there are many) and they cast their nets a little wide sometimes.

I believe it. Actually during late hours many fatal accidents are caused not only by drunken drivers, but by drivers who fall asleep at the wheel. Falling asleep while driving is just as deadly as drunk driving - maybe even more so.

If the cop follows you and he finds that you are going slower and slower, his suspicion is reasonable.

[Daekar]

Originally Posted by XYZ

I believe it. Actually during late hours many fatal accidents are caused not only by drunken drivers, but by drivers who fall asleep at the wheel. Falling asleep while driving is just as deadly as drunk driving - maybe even more so.

If the cop follows you and he finds that you are going slower and slower, his suspicion is reasonable.

I completely agree! This is one reason why I do not P&G except in very limited circumstances - inconsistent throttle control would be a major red flag, especially during the hours of my commute.

In the case in question, the issue of going slower and slower does not really apply unless the magnitude is really quite significant, since the nature of this hill (would be called a mountain in some parts of the country) is such that many 4-cylinder cars are hard-pressed to ascend it without wide open throttle to avoid slowing down, and even then many slow down anyway. This particular cop was simply hoping to find something, intoxication or other offense, after using the speed as an excuse to pull someone over.

I have been pulled over once when I was extremely fatigued but obligated to make a trip by financial necessity, and I believe that I owe my life to the trooper who did it, thanks to the stimulating effect and the unambiguous realization that I was not fit to continue driving. That ticket was an inexpensive fee to pay for the preservation of my vehicle and my life, not to mention the safety of others on the road.

[JethroBodine]

Campisi- Foghat, and it was Junior High for me.

Sheepdog- I do drive 50-55 on divided highways and have never had a problem with Law Enforcement Officers, aggressive drivers, road rage, or columns of people behind me. Take it for what it's worth. And, yes, I've driven through major cities during heavy traffic times. Just remember, there is always someone who is going to drive faster than you, so why worry about other people passing you, they will anyway.

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by songman

I thought we had road rage problems in the UK. Going by this thread, US drivers are in a state of permanent meltdown.

You have no idea. It's amazing. Even my mom - my sweet, little, 67-year-old mom - confessed to giving another driver the finger once.

To her credit, she's still ashamed about it.

I drive 59. Only 4 over in the 55 areas, only 6 under in the 65s, and people pass me no matter what kind of speed zone I'm in. I'm cool with that - and utterly invisible to all the police cruisers. Muy bueno.

I am not obligated to go faster because someone else is. That's mob rule. And no percentage supporting a change in the speed limit is going to change that - because the speed limit is what it is. I won't be able to defend myself in court with a percentage, not when the speed limit says something less than what I'm traveling. So I'm taking the entire ad hoc, ad hominem, vox populis and whatever other argument anyone wants to make and throwing it out. It's all noise. It has no bearing on me.

I drive the speed I drive. Pass or don't. I will not speed up for you. I do not drive too slowly - below a certain speed, surface streets are much more appealing than the sturm und drang of the interstates. And if you are slower than I am (this is uncommon), I will pass you. I won't climb up your tailpipe and be a dick about things, I'll signal from a polite distance, add a little gas so I don't spend a lot of time in an uncomfortably fast lane, and move on by.

It took the wisdom of Rodney King to make us ask ourselves, "Can't we all just get along?"

[Daekar]

This is what I love about living away from the city... the average driver around here, unless they have been imported from the NoVa/DC area, is relatively courteous. They don't tend to cut people off, they let you merge more often than not, and generally traffic tends to flow within +5mph of the speed limit. It's very different from where I grew up.

I believe I have only been given the finger twice in my life, and one time I suspect the giver was at least partially justified, because I gave him a scare by almost merging into him but saving myself with a head check (I am religious about head checks... have saved me countless times for from blind-spot loiterers).

I now dislike city driving, despite my youthful familiarity with it, because of the generally aggressive style of driving required to cope with 4+ lanes going each way and the accompanying traffic. Here it's just... different. Even if people are in a hurry, they're usually not jerks about it. I would hate to think that the average urban population has succeeded in having all US drivers tarred with the same brush.

[Mustang Dave]

I conducted an "experiment" on July 7th. I was in southern California for a family reunion that weekend (as I was the last several years). This year, after filling up in Barstow, I drove @ 65 MPH from Barstow to Flagstaff, instead of driving the 70-75MPH speed limit. I saved enough gasoline to commute to work for 3 days before needing to fill-up. 32.9 MPG vs 27.9 MPG. And it only cost me 35 minutes of time doing something I really enjoy. (I really enjoy driving my Mustang.)
No one honked at me, no one shot at me, no one even gave me the finger!
Driving slower on the interstate highways can make a BIG difference in FE.

[HypermilerAX]

I always drive 50 mph on 70 mph divided highway and never have problems. At rush hour, 55 mph minimum is better but I only drive at 5am, 12am, 2pm and 10pm so there is almost no traffic. Besides, truck with chemicals are limited to 50 mph (regular trucks 56 mph) so I often follow one of them.