Tips for a beginner

[camry25]

Originally Posted by Ladogaboy

I refuse to go less than the posted speed on freeways/highways. In my experience, doing so creates more of a danger that it is worth. If I'm on less populated roads with less aggressive drivers, that's one thing, but Southern California freeways are not the place to do so. In my opinion, I'd only consider going significantly less than the posted speed if you feel that the conditions are safe.

agree. one time I thought I was in Indy500.

[lacole725]

One little thing to remember: those aggressive drivers are not paying for your gas, you are. Once I got this through my head, I blocked out the idiots around me because I know I am saving money.

[66sprint6]

You can still drive with MPG in mind while not pissin everyone around you off. I can zip around shifting before 2K rpm and still get moving plenty quick enough to not start a line, then on the hwy I just run the speed limit or a little under and noone cares. Sometimes you will even get a couple people who seem to like your pace and wanna convoy lol. Ive played with P&G only when noone else is around or I have room and EOC only when safe. It doesnt HAVE to be extreme to see gains so find the best mix of comfort and MPG!
Matt

[jasonst]

Good info

[slowmover]

Legal or safe?

Prove that it's not safe . . how hard is that? Where is the evidence? I've got hundreds of thousands of miles all over the United States over four decades at speeds under the posted limit and never found it to be a problem (though I'd make an exception for a ready-mix concrete truck, ha!).

This is the point of learning to use the mirrors. 55 might feel too slow, but under 60 is still do-able. I don't have to have an exact travel speed, but one that inside a small range.

[jsatter]

Knowing that I'm saving a good chunk of money is all I need to deal with the faster moving traffic around me. And chuckling at how the fast and agressive drivers are wasting their money driving the way they do.

[user removed]

Two options here. Drive the old state routes which are mostly 4 lanes and deserted once you get out of the metropolitan areas. Second is drive the Interstate and look for a big rig that is doing the speed limit. Drop in behind them at 150 feet separation and just keep an eagle eye for gators (pieces of tire tread). Traffic will flow past you nicely, they don't want to mess with the big rig, and you can average the same MPG as you would alone at 55, while averaging 65-70.

The best trip mileage I ever got in my VX (now gone) was 300 miles on 4.627 gallons of gas in the early summer of 2008. 64 MPH in the right lane of I64 west and I95 north from Williamsburg to Chantilly (near Dulles airport) and back. On the return trip there were 12 big rigs drafting each other in the right lane at night.

The car had it's ORIGINAL 15 YEAR OLD Bridgestone tires, which I replaced soon after, and never got that mileage again. I did not want to risk having one come apart and trashing the bodywork that had just been finished. The car was totalled in 1995 and I bought it and rebuilt it in March 2008. It had 27,492 original miles on the odometer and sat in an insurance training institute from 1995 until I bought it in 2008.



regards
Mech

[gasstingy]

I used to find it easy to rationalize why driving slow {at or slightly below the posted limit} was unsafe / hazardous / etc. But it is not. While "everybody" was going faster than the posted limit, I decided to slow down just a bit. I found out that "everybody" was not going that fast, I just never paid enough attention to notice the slower movers. Even on the interstates, it is doable.

Example: Atlanta, GA I-75 heading north or south during the morning or evening commute hours, Speed Limit 50. I would estimate ~ 35 - 40% of the traffic is driving around 70. Another similar amount is at about 60 and the balance of the traffic is outside those parameters either above or below. I taught myself, then my daughter to drive through Atlanta at the posted limit of 50 mph. While it takes getting used to, I spent FAR less time stomping on my brakes and swerving than before I decided to drive a bit slower. It is far less nerve racking than before.

We always try to justify our actions, whether those actions are meant to be legal, safe, tastes great or less filling. Ultimately you decide. But, even the best of drivers can be involved in an accident. When that happens, it is nice if you are not the one who gets the traffic citation, personal feelings of guilt and the corresponding increased insurance premiums.

[Ladogaboy]

Originally Posted by gasstingy

We always try to justify our actions, whether those actions are meant to be legal, safe, tastes great or less filling.

Or economy minded.

You are right that accidents can happen at any time and in any place, but in my experience, slow drivers contribute just as much to the total number of accidents as speeders. The disparity in speeds and the inaccurate expectations of other drivers cause a large number of accidents. Regardless of whether you feel you are justified for traveling less than the posted speed limit, if another driver inaccurately gauges your speed/acceleration and hits you, you were still -- at least partly -- the cause of the accident.

[Diesel_Dave]

I think a distinction should be made between going slightly below the speed limit and gong greatly below the speed limit. If you're going slightly below the speed limit (say 5-10 mph under) and you "cause" an accident, then I'm totally blaming the other guy. If you're going to go greatly under the speed limit you gotta use some common sense and watch out for other drivers (not that you shouldn't do that all the time).

The thing that you have to remember is the way the human mind and senses work. It's amazing how much of the world we don't actually "sense" because most of the mundane details of our surroundings our mind just "fills in" based on assumptions and past experiences. It's basically a techniques our minds use to conserve brain power. That's how many magic tricks work--we don't actually see everything--we mostly "see" what we expect to see. That's also the reason why people get so mentally tires when they're in a new environment--they're mind doesen't know what to expect so it has to work harder.

This applies to driving, when you're doing something vastly different from what is expected ("normal") you always run the risk of somebody not seeing you becuase they expected something different. This is also why there's a lot of accidents involving motorcycles and cyclists. People don't "see" them because their minds get lazy. They look but they look for a car. When nothing in their mind triggers "that's a car", the mind moves on.

Just the way the human mind works.

Here's an interesting example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtKt8YF7dgQ