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48 messages, Last post on Dec 24, 2008 at 9:27 AM
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Hypermilers: Breaking the 100-MPG Barrier -Kelly is using one of the techniques of "hypermiling," the fine art of wringing the greatest fuel economy possible from a vehicle through a selection of clever driving techniques. The 100-mpg barrier is the elusive goal. (more)
| Let's discuss the Pros and Cons of driving styles, particularly the "Hypermiler" style, which leads to amazing fuel economy but sometimes irritates speeders. | |
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Replying to: larsb (Dec 14, 2005 2:32 pm) Also, from the perspective of the REST of the driving population (ie: the 'speeders'), it doesn't matter one iota what the aim of your driving style is (hypermiling). All that matters is you are holding up traffic. What kills is not speed in and of itself. What kills is speed DIFFERENTIALS. If 90-95% of the drivers on a particular stretch of road are driving at 70-75, the 'dangerous' drivers are not those going 70-75, the dangerous drivers are those interupting traffic flow by driving at 60-65, creating a large amount of lane changing and slowing down/speeding up. Is it more reasonable for the 5% of those going slow to pick up the pace with the rest of traffic OR is it more reasonable to expect the other 95% to slow down?
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Replying to: rorr (Dec 14, 2005 2:53 pm) You have pointed out a big problem on freeways. If someone is plugging along at 60 MPH in the right lane just prior to an exit they will find people rushing to get past them then take the exit. In that case both the person not going with the flow and the fool trying to squeeze in to make the exit are at fault. If you are not able to at least go the speed limit during heavy traffic. Maybe you should stay off the freeway during heavy traffic. |
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| The most dangerous drivers I see on the freeway are those that want to change three lanes at once, regardless of speed. I have been cut off more than once by one of these drivers while 'poking along' at 65 mph...which, by the way, was the flow of traffic. Worse yet are those cars that are seeking the fastest lanes on the freeway along with one of their friends in another car. As for the slow cars, I am content to let them be in the slow lane. | |
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Replying to: rorr (Dec 14, 2005 2:53 pm) Bingo! If you are a hypermiler doing 20mph below average traffic speed on any road, you are a hazard regardless of posted speed limits. You are more dangerous than the guy doing 20mph above average traffic speed, since in your case you cause more than 1 person to weave in and out, although you may feel self-righteous in doing so.
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quote rorr-"What kills is not speed in and of itself."-end quote I beg your pardon sir - did you misspeak? Speed DOES NOT Kill, is that what you meant to say? You are correct in one fashion - it's not the SPEED but the STOPPING FROM HIGH SPEED which kills. You know there is a direct correlation between highway speed limits and roadway deaths? http://fleetowner.com/news/speed_limit_repeal_maximum_120805/ Research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) indicates 31 states have increased their speed limits to 70 mph or higher on some portion of their roadways since the repeal of the NMSL in 1995, and it said that global studies consistently show that when speed limits are increased, highway deaths on the roads go up. In 1999, IIHS researchers compared the number of motor vehicle occupant deaths in 24 states that raised speed limits with corresponding fatality counts in the six years before the speed limits were changed – and estimated that there was a 15% increase in deaths on interstates and freeways. Or: http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051212/OPINION01/5121- 20311/1015 The association contends that police in 42 states routinely permit drivers to exceed the speed limit, which is obvious to anyone who uses highways around here. So the PROBLEM is not people who drive too slow - it's the fact that in virtually EVERY STATE the police allow people to drive too fast. Hypermiling will SLOW people down, and that is nothing but good. |
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http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/local/13366796.htm "If you can reduce the speed, you can reduce crashes and the severity of crashes," Timmins said. "Everything is based on doing the proper speed limit: the curves of on and off ramps, the distance of passing zones, the size of signs, everything, and it all changes when you speed." |
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http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-07-safety-changes_x.htm "The safety community is very frustrated," Harsha says. "We should have much more gains in highway safety than we're seeing." Congress' repeal of the national maximum speed limit of 55 mph in urban areas and 65 mph on rural roads went into effect Dec. 8, 1995, enabling states to set their own limits. Since then, 31 of them raised their speed limits to 70 mph or 75 mph on some roads, the GHSA says. Speeding is a major factor in about one-third of the 42,000 U.S. traffic deaths each year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says. "We are not advocating a return to the national maximum speed limit," Harsha says. "But we want more attention paid to the issue. We want speeding to be a national priority."
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Replying to: zodiac2004 (Dec 22, 2005 2:33 pm) 1.Who would go 20MPH under flow? In a 70 limit would be 50, 50 would be 30, 45 would be 25. 2. Going 20 over the limit is extremely dangerous and will land you in jail in many areas. You'd be driving 90 in a 70, 70 in a 50 65MPH in 45 (65MPH on residential streets not dangerous???) (I truly hope you don't drive like that- although some still try it) I'm not sure if you are aware but slower traffic stays right. Which means the Left lane is the fastest, the next lane to the Right is a little slower, the next lane to the right of that is a little slower, etc. You must be judging your traffic flow based on the far Left lane of a 5-7 lane freeway. The far Left lanes in my Atlanta area flow at about 75MPH. (65 Limit 5 lane) General traffic flow in the Right lane is about 58. If you attempt to go your 85-95MPH in the right lane you'll hurt people or worse. You won't be able to swerve fast enough. It's not the people causing the wreck minding their own business in the Right, but the speeders who need to swerve to maintain their gamebox type thrill. And last, If the person in the far right lane gets gently passed 5 times over 20 miles of road, while the 85-95 MPH driver needs to aggressively swerve around 40 other speeders then who is creating a more dangerous situation? Who will the side of the law be on when a wreck happens? |
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This one attacks the "speed variation as the problem" question: 3. Isn't speed variation — not high speed— the real problem? No. Both variation and speed are important. Although research conducted in the 1950s on two-lane rural roads did indicate that vehicles traveling much faster or much slower than average were more likely to be involved in crashes,6 that study also showed that severe crashes increased with speed. The risk of death and severe injury is a direct exponential function of speed, not speed differences. Many differences in travel speeds are unavoidable because of the slower speeds of turning or merging vehicles. Higher speeds of the other vehicles exacerbate this problem. Besides, many crashes, and nearly half of those resulting in occupant deaths, are single-vehicle impacts in which differences among vehicle speeds play no role or only a very minor one. http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/speed_limits.html |
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