"Hypermiling"
Jul. 31st, 2007 11:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
recalcitranttoyThe appearance of a Hobbit this last weekend brought with it his attempts to spread the word of "hypermiling" or the practice of changing driving in order to squeeze every last drop out of a gallon of gas. While at first glance it seems like a great idea, it's not quite so much fun when you're stuck behind someone whose speed wildly changes on each curve and hill, as one writer quipped "driving like a 90-year-old in a mobile sweat lodge."
As I was stuck behind an idiot on 193 last night, I began thinking about how frustrating it is to be irrevocably trapped behind someone who habitually drives WAY under the speed limit, giving rise to inordinate amounts of road rage like responses when all I wanted to do was to get home. This particular person was obviously not a hypermiler, slamming on brakes going up hills, down hills, on curves, and whenever someone approached from the opposite direction. This was on a windy hilly two lane road where passing is impossible unless you really want to die, with this fool going between 15 and 25 the entire way. This type of frustration causes accidents, as people try to find a way, sometimes ANY way, around the jerk. To think that some people drive this slowly on PURPOSE, and not as the result of having no brain cells to rub together, strikes me as entirely selfish and maddening.
Without even considering some of the obviously dangerous hypermiling "techniques" that include drafting 18 wheelers and taking turns at 50mph because you happen to be going downhill and can coast at the time (to save momentum of course), the idea of coasting to a stop sign from 1/2 a mile out, coasting down a hill and letting inertia carry you to the next hill regardless of the speed you wind up with, and constantly driving below the speed limit, leaving huge gaps between you and the rest of traffic, is to me the same as Mr. Magoo blindly putzing down the road while everyone else gets into an accident trying to get out of his way.
Echoes of Driver's Ed come to mind where the instructor kept telling us that the safest way to travel is to maintain a constant speed according to the posted limits. That way other drivers know what to expect and fewer try to zip around you or dive out of your way, causing accidents. That's impossible to do with speeding down hills to build up speed to coast up the next hill, hopefully keeping the car moving through the apex.
In this world of people having to get places on time or face dire consequences, already stymied by random road construction, vastly overcrowded and poorly planned highways with death merges, idiots who text message while speeding along at 70 while weaving in and out of traffic, etc., adding yet one more obstacle can be downright fatal. While our pal crests the hill at 40 on the interstate in the second to right lane while someone is trying to merge in and someone else is trying to dodge around him to the right, laws of physics take over and someone is likely to get hurt or killed. Does this matter to Mr. Magoo, getting 60 mpg? It certainly matters to the person on Georgetown Pike who is stuck behind the selfish wonder doing 15 at the crest of the hill to save some gas while 15 to 20 cars pile up behind, and the guy doing the speed limit goes around a blind corner only to slam on his breaks to avoid hitting the last one in line causing a 5 car pile up closing the road for 3 hours waiting for the med evac. Magoo drives on, blissfully unaware of the carnage behind, cheerfully announcing that he has raised his mpg average by .1.
Sure, gas savings is a great idea, and there are wonderful ways to do that. From checking tire fills, to keeping the car maintained properly, to making sure you aren't hauling 200 lbs of crap in your trunk you don't need, to driving more smoothly. You can even buy a hybrid. I drive mine the way I normally drive, and I use plenty of AC, and I get a respectable 46 mpg. But when you're going for that gas savings, please try to remember that there is a world full of other people, some of whom actually wish to get where they are going and would rather make their own choices about the speed at which to do it.
As I was stuck behind an idiot on 193 last night, I began thinking about how frustrating it is to be irrevocably trapped behind someone who habitually drives WAY under the speed limit, giving rise to inordinate amounts of road rage like responses when all I wanted to do was to get home. This particular person was obviously not a hypermiler, slamming on brakes going up hills, down hills, on curves, and whenever someone approached from the opposite direction. This was on a windy hilly two lane road where passing is impossible unless you really want to die, with this fool going between 15 and 25 the entire way. This type of frustration causes accidents, as people try to find a way, sometimes ANY way, around the jerk. To think that some people drive this slowly on PURPOSE, and not as the result of having no brain cells to rub together, strikes me as entirely selfish and maddening.
Without even considering some of the obviously dangerous hypermiling "techniques" that include drafting 18 wheelers and taking turns at 50mph because you happen to be going downhill and can coast at the time (to save momentum of course), the idea of coasting to a stop sign from 1/2 a mile out, coasting down a hill and letting inertia carry you to the next hill regardless of the speed you wind up with, and constantly driving below the speed limit, leaving huge gaps between you and the rest of traffic, is to me the same as Mr. Magoo blindly putzing down the road while everyone else gets into an accident trying to get out of his way.
Echoes of Driver's Ed come to mind where the instructor kept telling us that the safest way to travel is to maintain a constant speed according to the posted limits. That way other drivers know what to expect and fewer try to zip around you or dive out of your way, causing accidents. That's impossible to do with speeding down hills to build up speed to coast up the next hill, hopefully keeping the car moving through the apex.
In this world of people having to get places on time or face dire consequences, already stymied by random road construction, vastly overcrowded and poorly planned highways with death merges, idiots who text message while speeding along at 70 while weaving in and out of traffic, etc., adding yet one more obstacle can be downright fatal. While our pal crests the hill at 40 on the interstate in the second to right lane while someone is trying to merge in and someone else is trying to dodge around him to the right, laws of physics take over and someone is likely to get hurt or killed. Does this matter to Mr. Magoo, getting 60 mpg? It certainly matters to the person on Georgetown Pike who is stuck behind the selfish wonder doing 15 at the crest of the hill to save some gas while 15 to 20 cars pile up behind, and the guy doing the speed limit goes around a blind corner only to slam on his breaks to avoid hitting the last one in line causing a 5 car pile up closing the road for 3 hours waiting for the med evac. Magoo drives on, blissfully unaware of the carnage behind, cheerfully announcing that he has raised his mpg average by .1.
Sure, gas savings is a great idea, and there are wonderful ways to do that. From checking tire fills, to keeping the car maintained properly, to making sure you aren't hauling 200 lbs of crap in your trunk you don't need, to driving more smoothly. You can even buy a hybrid. I drive mine the way I normally drive, and I use plenty of AC, and I get a respectable 46 mpg. But when you're going for that gas savings, please try to remember that there is a world full of other people, some of whom actually wish to get where they are going and would rather make their own choices about the speed at which to do it.
