I’m the car at which you direct your honking.

I’m a slow driver. I try to stay around 60 on the highway and around 40 on sub-highway roads. I also accelerate slowly. One might call it a crawl. I’m taking data to see how many miles per gallon I can get. This last fill up I hit 34 mpg in the Nissan Ultima and it felt great!

The down side of this is that the world hates me.

And when I say “hate” I mean “hate“. I don’t think a day passes when I don’t get scowls, horns, gestures, or harsh words. As I see it, there are three types of honks. 1) the ‘Lookout! my car is here!’ 2) the ‘just thought I’d let you know the light has turned green… in case you got distracted’ and 3) the ‘I hate you because you’re in my way’

1 and 2 are usually pretty well recieved. It’s 3 that’s a kicker. Why the hatred folks? I mean you no harm. What I’ve noticed is that the number 3 honks never really happen on the highway. As long as slow folks like me stick to the slow lane, fast folks like you can zip around and dart all you like. No one’s bothered.

BUT… on one or two lane roads with lots of lights, the fury is exposed. Remarkably, the extra speed of those drivers around me rarely helps. Usually they just zip ahead so they can reach the red light first, then I coast up to them and have to deal with more of their rage.

So, if you happen to be one of those folks that honks at slow drivers, realize that we don’t intentionally mean to cause you grief. Try and understand that we prefer to live life without the rush and hustle and are hoping to save a few dollars here and there.

*disclaimer below

I have received quite a bit of angst from individuals as they question my ‘scientific studies’ of gas consumption. This is especially true for air conditioner usage and speed tests for miles per gallon. The contradicting arguement is that it’s impossible to determine how some of the things I do influence gas milage because there are so many variables. Some of these variables include: stop lights, hills, temperature/seasons, weight of car (i.e. is Kurt in the car with me), car quality, maintenance, traffic, different routes, wind, etc.

During my original tests with the acclaim to fame, I was looking at a specific trip. The drive from Meriden to Stoneham. I would make this trip every weekend and would fill up upon leaving Meriden and again upon arriving in stoneham. By resetting the odometer and writing down the amout of gas I use to fill up at my destination, I could compute mpg. Because it was the same roads and there’s never traffic, I felt I could pretty accurately deduce how many mpg I could save by going at different speeds Especially as I could average the numbers from multiple trips. I would control the speed via Cruise upon first hitting the highway, and only reduce it for the tolls and my final exit. In the acclaim I would get an addition 3-4 miles per gallon at 55 than I would at 70. I have NOT yet done these tests with the Nissan.

These days, I’m playing around with acceleration. I can control my acceleration by keeping a close eye on the tachometer. Right now I’m trying to keep it under 2500rpm as I switch into 2nd gear (a feat on the nissan because heavy acceleration will result in it hitting >3600 pre 2nd gear). While I can’t control stop lights and traffic as carefully as I did in my first study, by recording my data over a month I should be able to get a decent average. I’ll then alternate and for one month accelerate quickly, trying to hit 3500 before 2nd gear and see how that influences mpg and finally repeat that process so I have four months of data. Once I take the average of that I feel I’ll have a pretty good understanding of how I can optimize my driving to save gasoline.

16 thoughts on “I’m the car at which you direct your honking.

  • 5/26/2006 at 8:04 am
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    I’ve read elsewhere that 55-60mph is generally the most fuel-efficient speed, and keeping the revs under 2500 maximises mpg too, so I would agree with your statements.

    I think I am called a “slow” driver by some of my friends, but their definition of slow is, apparently, “doesn’t break the speed limit”, so whatever. I generally travel at the speed limit (70 on motorways, 60 on major one-lane roads, 40/30 in built-up areas), and if the conditions are bad or it’s at night I’ll usually drop 5 or 10 mph off that. Drivers who are incredibly anxious to overtake (and who I inevitably pull up alongside at the next junction) annoy the hell out of me too – especially if they are breaking the speed limit by a significant margin – but I try to ignore them as much as possible.

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  • 5/26/2006 at 8:44 am
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    Although I have to admit I get cranky about the slow drivers sometimes, yesterday we witnessed a wreck that made me remember to not be like that.

    We saw an agressive driver get his car crushed by a semi. He was angry at being stuck behind a slow semi that was slow to start up after being stoped at red lights. He ended up trying to speedily pass the semi that was making a wide right hand turn. His car got crushed up agains the curb and under the truck. Scary sight (we were the car directly behind this, got to witness the slow motion crush of the car).

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  • 5/26/2006 at 8:53 am
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    I don’t get stupid people. There are huge sign on the truck all over the place that say “I TAKE WIDE RIGHT TURNS!”. Maybe not that big but there are tons of them. Perhaps having a parent as a truck driver, i’ll let you guess which one, has made me sensitive to them, but I hate stupid people.

    But back on topic, I’ve found that even on the highway I set the cruise at 72 and I still get passed. I like the ‘get right behind you and put on your highbeam’ tactic. People seem to think that will make me go faster. it doesn’t. Bright light actually slows me down.

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  • 5/26/2006 at 8:53 am
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    my goodness! Was anyone hurt?

    While the fault is obviously with the agressive driver, from your observance do you think the law likely find the semi at fault?

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  • 5/26/2006 at 9:23 am
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    Tom and I also wondered about who would be at fault.

    From what we could tell everyone looked fine. Most amusing thing after this guys car got crushed he put his car in reverse like he would be able to back up and drive away. That dudes car wasn’t going anywhere.

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  • 5/26/2006 at 9:43 am
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    I am probably one of the people who gets angry at you slow drivers. I can’t help it, I feel the compulsion to drive as fast as I feel safely driving. It’s not like I’m in a rush, it’s just that if I can go a little faster and be early, why not? I love being early.

    But, I’ve never honked for reason #3. I’ve been tempted, but only when stuck behind a 15mph driver in a 40 mph area.

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  • 5/26/2006 at 9:46 am
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    Mike D, you need to move to Seattle.

    1) Your gas-saving tendencies will be admired (though you do it to primarily to save money).

    2) Seattle drivers are the most passive drivers I’ve ever seen. Everyone drives the speed limit (60mph), and a few outliers drive 65mph. People don’t weave in and out of traffic. People stay in their lanes as if they bet money on it. Nobody *ever* honks. I’ve been here 15 months, and I think I’ve only heard a honk once. Maybe twice.

    Every time I go back to Kansas, I find myself only going 60 mph on the highways (instead of the usual 75 mph). I’m just that used to Seattle traffic now… I’m a slow driver, too.

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  • 5/26/2006 at 10:06 am
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    I can’t even imagine going the speed limit on a high way. I’ve seen Mike D drive and it is in fact very slow. Waaaay too slow for me. Although, my speeding tendencies usually come about b/c I’m late for something. And of course, I’m late for EVERYTHING! But, even when I’m not late I find myself going at the very least 75 on a high way. And, I can’t stand people that go UNDER the speed limit! My father was always a speeder, so I think I picked it up from him. I tend to be an aggresive driver, but I don’t ever honk my horn or flash my high beams or give people rude gestures or yell anything. I have been known to tailtage, though, but you’d have to be going real slow for me to do that.

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  • 5/26/2006 at 11:07 am
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    I like the Volvo because its got this little “Econ” switch that keeps the revs under 3000 under 95% of my driving, no matter the speed. I can then flip it to “Sport” when I know that I will need the extra power like an onramp or just want the cool sounds that the engine can make at 5500 rpms. Alas, the age of the car is keeping me from reaching 30 highway mpgs.

    This past week I started using my GPS to see how far off my speedometer is and how good the cruise control is at keeping said speed. Its been a lot of fun.

    All that said, even though i know that there’s not much difference time wise for most of my trips (2 hours and less), I can’t bring myself to slow down under 60. It becomes a compromise between saving gas and saving my life and I value my life more than the few bucks I can save at the pump.

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  • 5/26/2006 at 11:19 am
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    I am a fast driver. Very fast at times. Which was painfully when Mike and I carpooled.

    But I don’t honk at people.
    Sometimes, like when an 80 year old is driving 45 in the left lane on the highway, I’ll get their attention because they’re going to go completely cenile at any moment, lose contol of the car and kill everybody behind them. I don’t flip people off, either.

    However, I have been known to get ahead of someone going really slow, then go EVEN SLOWER making sure they stay behind me. Also, I tailgate horrendously.

    All that said, I don’t hate Mike D (at least not for his driving).

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  • 5/26/2006 at 1:38 pm
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    I try not to lose my temper at other drivers, and if i do so it’s in my head. The one thing that gets me is driving slower than traffic in the far left lane. It’s for passing, if you’re not passing move to the right. If you want to do 60 (5mph under the speed limit in most places, yikes) do it on the far right and we’re cool.

    On side roads the following annoy me:

    1) You cut me off because you’re on a cell phone and can’t check your blind spot well while holding the phone up to your ear. You’re going to kill someone someday.

    2) You’re sitting at a light, usually on a cell phone, and it’s green. Pay attention.

    3) Sudden braking and turning with no blinker, very very smart move.

    4) Driving under the speed limit on secondary roads… unless there’s bad weather, heavy pedestrian traffic, or some other reason, the speed limits posted on 1 lane roads are generally very cautious… drive the speed limit.

    So… I probably get annoyed at you for number 4. But seriously, if the speed limit is 35, do 35 or higher.

    But I speed a lot, and so I’m probably a horrible person… I even got the Prius up above 100 once.

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  • 5/26/2006 at 2:32 pm
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    My dad adjusts the rearview mirror when they do that so they get flashed right back.

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  • 5/26/2006 at 11:33 pm
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    I’m sure that was great for the gas mileage

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  • 5/29/2006 at 7:15 pm
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    I have determined that my car gets optimum MPG on the highway when I drive 80+ MPH. The bob-and-weave is fun. Tailgating will work most of the time, but not all! I loathe drivers that drive slower than (Speed Limit+15 MPH) in the left lane of the highway.

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  • 5/31/2006 at 4:55 am
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    I am a reasonable driver speed wise, I stick to all speed limits maybe going a little about 35 in 30 zones, and I average about 55 in 60 zones. I also haven’t done any motorway driving yet!!

    Me and two of my friends were out last night, my friend was driving pretty fast and we came upon a corner, that was not signed as being a sharp bend at all, so se had slowed down a little but not much, it ended up being a whacking great big almost 360 I would say like turn, the screeching of the tires, we ended up in the other side of the road, go thing another car wasn’t coming, we were very lucky she had such good control at such a high speed. I would like to point out we had never driven around this particular area before!

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  • 6/8/2006 at 2:25 pm
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    It’s also the fact that volvos weigh roughly as much as panzer tanks that is keeping you from hitting the 30mpg mark

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