Long Commutes Are Sucking the Life Out of You

[seantobin5]

I have a 15 mile commute every day but it's all in traffic most mornings. My friend drives a '98 Saturn Sl1 auto and drives 114 miles a day to and from school. His car burns an average of 1 quart of oil a week while my '98 Civic HX 5 Speed gets around 42 mpg in traffic, city and normal highway driving conditions. I would definitely want to live close to my school, and if I were my friend, I would get a dorm rather than drive that distance every day.

[sheepdog 44]

Not just money, also a colossal waste of time. My 20 mile 45 minute one way commute sucks an hour and a half out of my day a week. I'd rather be walking my dog. Even better, what if i instead went fishing for an hour and a half everyday! That would be a great stress reliever.

[D.O.G.]

That's an interesting read, but most of it (for me) just isn't true.

I choose to live outside the suburban sprawl, mainly for lifestyle, partly for cheaper housing.
I accept that that means I have to travel longer distances for work.

I choose jobs, partly, by their proximity to the motorway, partly for the start time to be outside normal rush hours.
I drive 52km each way, about 45 minutes, for a 6:00 start or 14:00 start depending which shift I'm on that week.
I leave at 5:00 or 13:00 so I'm not rushed and can cruise under the speed limit, with minimum stress.

I'm not obese. I'm not divorced (29th anniversary this month).
I'm not paying stupid amounts for car repayments, my car cost about 3 weeks pay, and returns 6.2 l/100km average. Would I like that to be lower still?... You Bet!... but that's why I'm here.

I'm not saying that article isn't true for some people, but not me.

[Regenerit]

Originally Posted by euromodder

I've always commuted between 40 and 50km.

Surpeisingly, the people who live closest to work are the ones who are most often late.

True story lol! I live 5 miles from work and often find myself leaving 8 minutes before the time I'm supposed to clock in vs. leaving at least 15 minutes before (like I should be). Often times when I leave 8 minutes before I clock in, I come real close to being late or actually being late (like today). lol

There is something about knowing that you are so close to work and knowing that you can get there super quick that you risk playing game of getting there just on time when all it takes is a slight amount of traffic or an extra red light to make you late.

[Brad9660]

I had a pretty good job a few years ago, it was about 4 miles round trip. Then the company moved 50 miles away, a full one hour drive, and I hated it. The part that bothered me most was the fact that 2 hours of my day were lost, I ended up getting fired pretty quick, and didn't really mind, in fact it felt great. Right now I drive 15 miles to and from work, and that's about as much as I want. As far as blocking the sun during long drives, I had a friend who made a light weight driving sleeve for his left arm, he said it worked pretty good.

[99metro]

Originally Posted by D.O.G.

That's an interesting read, but most of it (for me) just isn't true.

I choose to live outside the suburban sprawl, mainly for lifestyle, partly for cheaper housing.
I accept that that means I have to travel longer distances for work.

I choose jobs, partly, by their proximity to the motorway, partly for the start time to be outside normal rush hours.
I drive 52km each way, about 45 minutes, for a 6:00 start or 14:00 start depending which shift I'm on that week.
I leave at 5:00 or 13:00 so I'm not rushed and can cruise under the speed limit, with minimum stress.

I'm not obese. I'm not divorced (29th anniversary this month).
I'm not paying stupid amounts for car repayments, my car cost about 3 weeks pay, and returns 6.2 l/100km average. Would I like that to be lower still?... You Bet!... but that's why I'm here.

I'm not saying that article isn't true for some people, but not me.

I guess I'm with D.O.G here. I live very rural now - needed the 80 acres for the horses. Would have liked to live closer to work but there just isn't any REAL horse property in town (1/4 acre IS NOT horse property). Commute is longer, but relatively quiet paved rural roads. Reduced my daily dirt road part of the commute from 22 miles, down to 5 miles - easier on the tires.

The 3/5 Metro saves gas as a commuter car - but I take this as a "hobby" rather than a necessity for saving money. I leave at 4:30 to get to work at 6. Leave work mostly at 14:30, get home at 16:00. It's just a relaxing drive, I can think thoughts and figure $hit out, make plans, drive 10 under the speed limit (55 in a 65 isn't too drastic, but I sometimes go 45-50 with no one following).

[mechman600]

I wonder what the emission difference between an ultra short commute (4 miles one way) and a longer commute (20 miles each way) is. I would bet that the difference is less than you would think. On the short commute, the engine and cat do not get a chance to warm up, whereas on the longer commute it does. Just a question to ponder.

I am one of those people with a 4 mile commute. I would ride my bicycle but there are a) too many large hills, and b) no proper bicycle routes. Not to say I haven't done it before, but it is scary to say the least. I commute with my DRZ400S. Puts a smile on my face all the way to work (which quickly fades once I get there....). Gets about 65 mpg without trying, the last time I checked.

[TheEnemy]

Originally Posted by mechman600

I wonder what the emission difference between an ultra short commute (4 miles one way) and a longer commute (20 miles each way) is. I would bet that the difference is less than you would think. On the short commute, the engine and cat do not get a chance to warm up, whereas on the longer commute it does. Just a question to ponder.

The engine and cat still need time to warm up. If you count emmissions per mile the longer commute would be lower but total emissions would be higher. Its still good to get the car out and do a long drive to get it fully warmed up from time to time for various reasons.

[tehgyb]

I agree 100%! My hour and a half round trip commute for work each day is not only murder to the wallet, but it becomes mentally overbearing in that its eats even more of my "down" time.
On the other hand it does give me some time to be at peace and just drive, which could be a bonus, but many times I just am not in the mood for it...

[big shafe]

Originally Posted by Regenerit

True story lol! I live 5 miles from work and often find myself leaving 8 minutes before the time I'm supposed to clock in vs. leaving at least 15 minutes before (like I should be). Often times when I leave 8 minutes before I clock in, I come real close to being late or actually being late (like today). lol

There is something about knowing that you are so close to work and knowing that you can get there super quick that you risk playing game of getting there just on time when all it takes is a slight amount of traffic or an extra red light to make you late.

On the flip side, if I'm 15 minutes late I will stay 15 minutes later and still get home before most of my coworkers.