The slow down, save gas experiment
I am a lead foot.
I like to drive fast, and by that I mean, I always drive fast. I pick the fastest lane and keep up with the fastest car in it (except for those guys who zigzag through traffic at 100mph; they're just nuts), passing cars on the right that have no business being in the fast lane. Friends call my car "Tardis" because when we drive somewhere in it, we always reach our destination faster than anybody previously thought possible. I was pulled over seven times before even graduating high school, so early in life I knew what I was and that there was little use in fighting it. [Sidebar: although one time it was for blowing through a stop sign (a tree branch was hanging in front of it, I swear; I couldn't have possibly seen it in time to stop at the speed I was driving) and another time it was for changing lanes without using a turn signal and cutting off a cop. But I am anal retentive about using my turn signal and there is no way I wouldn't have seen that cop, as my convertible's top was down so there were no obstructions. I fought the cop on that one and won, which is a good thing, because I didn't have my driver's license due to a recent speeding incident. But I digress.]
Driving fast is how I behave naturally, anyway. That's the way my genes expressed themselves. Left to my own devices my favorite speed is 85mph, and I have been overheard asking slower folks if they are actually interested in reaching their destination.
Before you jump down my throat, understand that on the highways around where I live, I am not alone. Not only am I not alone, but it actually does feel a little dangerous to travel the speed limit, which is 55mph. (On I-294, 75 is about average.) And there is nothing worse than the traffic buildup that occurs when a cop pulls onto the highway and everyone slows down to the speed limit. People do not know what to do with themselves when they can't pass that cop. Their right feet twitch. Their blood pressures rise. All you see is a visual cacophony of flashing brake lights ahead of you because each driver is chomping at the bit to get out of the cop-traffic-buildup.
But as I age into an older, gentler person, I find myself becoming wiser as well. And there is simply no denying the fact that, if nothing else, lead foot driving wastes gas. With Earth's finite amount of oil and with our political barriers to obtaining all that our little American hearts desire, gas is something that we really should be proactively trying to conserve. In addition, gas is expensive already and the faster we drive, the more we use and therefore spend. With today's gas prices, the current factoid you'll hear is that for every 10mph you travel over 60mph, you're spending at least $0.50 more per gallon.
So in my current gung-ho mission of conservation, sustainable living, saving the environment and all that jazz, I decided to try changing my ways. I decided to find out just how much gas I am wasting by driving the way I do. So I've begun an experiment wherein I am tracking my driving and the gas I use, calculating both how much money and how much gas I can save by slowing down to 60mph. (I still ain't messing with 55mph, sorry.)
Of course this has been done before, but not by me. Nobody knows how much gas and money I am wasting by driving the way I do. And I suspect nobody really cares how much I am wasting, but maybe by making this contribution to the blogosphere, I'll help inspire somebody else to try the same thing, and in the end we'll be using a little less gas than we were before.
The experiment will be slow going, as my driving needs are erratic. Some weeks I drive only a few miles through town, and other weeks I drive 95 miles on the highway each day. So I need to compare comparable driving situations when doing the math. I will, of course, post my progress here.
Meanwhile, here are some related links for your educational pleasure:
Slow Down a Little, Save a Lot of Gas
Drive 55, save gas -- get flipped off - This one is great because it's from three years ago, when gas prices were hovering around the $3 mark (which was appalling at the time)
Airlines slow down flights to save on fuel
20 Tips to Save Money on Gas
How to Save Money on Gas - 29 Tips
Ask MetaFilter: Tricks to getting better MPG
Hey lead foot, if you want to save gas, slow down
How to save $0.54 per gallon on gas
Save More Gas by Safely Following Trucks
Gas May Finally Cost Too Much
I like to drive fast, and by that I mean, I always drive fast. I pick the fastest lane and keep up with the fastest car in it (except for those guys who zigzag through traffic at 100mph; they're just nuts), passing cars on the right that have no business being in the fast lane. Friends call my car "Tardis" because when we drive somewhere in it, we always reach our destination faster than anybody previously thought possible. I was pulled over seven times before even graduating high school, so early in life I knew what I was and that there was little use in fighting it. [Sidebar: although one time it was for blowing through a stop sign (a tree branch was hanging in front of it, I swear; I couldn't have possibly seen it in time to stop at the speed I was driving) and another time it was for changing lanes without using a turn signal and cutting off a cop. But I am anal retentive about using my turn signal and there is no way I wouldn't have seen that cop, as my convertible's top was down so there were no obstructions. I fought the cop on that one and won, which is a good thing, because I didn't have my driver's license due to a recent speeding incident. But I digress.]
Driving fast is how I behave naturally, anyway. That's the way my genes expressed themselves. Left to my own devices my favorite speed is 85mph, and I have been overheard asking slower folks if they are actually interested in reaching their destination.
Before you jump down my throat, understand that on the highways around where I live, I am not alone. Not only am I not alone, but it actually does feel a little dangerous to travel the speed limit, which is 55mph. (On I-294, 75 is about average.) And there is nothing worse than the traffic buildup that occurs when a cop pulls onto the highway and everyone slows down to the speed limit. People do not know what to do with themselves when they can't pass that cop. Their right feet twitch. Their blood pressures rise. All you see is a visual cacophony of flashing brake lights ahead of you because each driver is chomping at the bit to get out of the cop-traffic-buildup.
But as I age into an older, gentler person, I find myself becoming wiser as well. And there is simply no denying the fact that, if nothing else, lead foot driving wastes gas. With Earth's finite amount of oil and with our political barriers to obtaining all that our little American hearts desire, gas is something that we really should be proactively trying to conserve. In addition, gas is expensive already and the faster we drive, the more we use and therefore spend. With today's gas prices, the current factoid you'll hear is that for every 10mph you travel over 60mph, you're spending at least $0.50 more per gallon.
So in my current gung-ho mission of conservation, sustainable living, saving the environment and all that jazz, I decided to try changing my ways. I decided to find out just how much gas I am wasting by driving the way I do. So I've begun an experiment wherein I am tracking my driving and the gas I use, calculating both how much money and how much gas I can save by slowing down to 60mph. (I still ain't messing with 55mph, sorry.)
Of course this has been done before, but not by me. Nobody knows how much gas and money I am wasting by driving the way I do. And I suspect nobody really cares how much I am wasting, but maybe by making this contribution to the blogosphere, I'll help inspire somebody else to try the same thing, and in the end we'll be using a little less gas than we were before.
The experiment will be slow going, as my driving needs are erratic. Some weeks I drive only a few miles through town, and other weeks I drive 95 miles on the highway each day. So I need to compare comparable driving situations when doing the math. I will, of course, post my progress here.
Meanwhile, here are some related links for your educational pleasure:
Slow Down a Little, Save a Lot of Gas
Drive 55, save gas -- get flipped off - This one is great because it's from three years ago, when gas prices were hovering around the $3 mark (which was appalling at the time)
Airlines slow down flights to save on fuel
20 Tips to Save Money on Gas
How to Save Money on Gas - 29 Tips
Ask MetaFilter: Tricks to getting better MPG
Hey lead foot, if you want to save gas, slow down
How to save $0.54 per gallon on gas
Save More Gas by Safely Following Trucks
Gas May Finally Cost Too Much
Labels: conservation, environment, frugality, gas, saving
posted by Jen S. at
11:08 AM
2 Comments:
Joe Doyle forwarded my a link to this entry on your blog, because I'm doing something very similar, only I'm not modifying my speed, but modifying how quickly I get to my speed.
Reading your into was like reading something that was written about my life. I've had more tickets than I can count, so I'll be interested to hear how you do. Hats off to you, but not sure I can do it.
So, here's what I'm testing... we only have manual transmission cars which are supposed to get better gas mileage, but I can't tell that they do. After some investigation, I've come to the conclusion that it has to do with how quickly we accelerate, and how soon we shift gears. So, instead of shifting at 3500 RPMs, I'm trying it at 2500 RPMs. We'll see.
Good luck with your experiment!
By
Amy, At
May 8, 2008 4:44 PM
Amy: That's a good experiment, too! I hope to hear how that goes. I've barely driven in the past couple weeks so I have no data yet.
By
Jen S., At
May 9, 2008 8:36 PM
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