Tactical Tips for the Tenacious
Driving tips that is.
A few, some, all of you have probably gotten a speeding ticket at some point in your life. I graciously received mine a few years ago. I went to the courthouse and had it deferred for one year as long as I didn't get another moving violation, at which point it would be forgiven. During this agonizing (at first) year, I learned a few things:
1.) Driving slower builds gas milage. There is a point where driving slow no longer effectively saves time though. Consider when your car shifts gears from its second highest to its highest and note your RPMs. The faster you drive on that top gear, the more gas you will burn.
2.) If you are city driving, you don't really gain any time advantage. I drove to work at 55 MPH for a whole year, unless the limit was 60, and many times, switching lanes to pass a 55er to go 60 was ineffecatious, I arrived at work either the same time or 5 minutes later than I would have driving faster. You must also consider that when driving faster than the majority of traffic, you often have to slow down when someone wants to pass another, or if other commuters aren't sharing your velocity of choice.
3.) I lost a lot of my road rage. As efficient of a driver I am, I hate braking on the freeway with a passion. It's useless. When I drive slower, I'm not as pressed to move throughout traffic (I was never a weaver - I hate those assholes) and thus, I don't brake as much, and I don't get (as) impatient.
4.) I don't know for sure, but it's probably harder on your engine at higher RPMs, especially from rapid accel/decelerating from maneuvering through traffic. Add that to the fact that in MN, the weather, especially in the winter, will take a higher toll on your vehicle than probably anything you can do to it yourself, and you've got a great reason to slow down. Think of the savings in repairs and maintenance! This is also difficult to gauge, as when you don't have problems, you tend to not monitor time between repairs. You can always see this post for previous thoughts on the matter. I can't believe how long it's been since I've written about this!
5.) Most people would say it's safer to drive slower. I would disagree on one point. I'm a very aware driver. I always pay attention to everything around me, and it has saved me from countless accidents, truly! I will say that driving slower otherwise is safer. From a physics standpoint think of the Laws of Energy, momentum, inertia, etc.
If your velocity goes from X>0 to X=0
then there's going to be a problem if
problem severity=X=velocity, assuming problem severity has negative consequences when X>0.
Please check my math (that was fun!).
So there were 5 solid reasons that might convince you to reconsider your driving habits, unless you already know this stuff!
A few, some, all of you have probably gotten a speeding ticket at some point in your life. I graciously received mine a few years ago. I went to the courthouse and had it deferred for one year as long as I didn't get another moving violation, at which point it would be forgiven. During this agonizing (at first) year, I learned a few things:
1.) Driving slower builds gas milage. There is a point where driving slow no longer effectively saves time though. Consider when your car shifts gears from its second highest to its highest and note your RPMs. The faster you drive on that top gear, the more gas you will burn.
2.) If you are city driving, you don't really gain any time advantage. I drove to work at 55 MPH for a whole year, unless the limit was 60, and many times, switching lanes to pass a 55er to go 60 was ineffecatious, I arrived at work either the same time or 5 minutes later than I would have driving faster. You must also consider that when driving faster than the majority of traffic, you often have to slow down when someone wants to pass another, or if other commuters aren't sharing your velocity of choice.
3.) I lost a lot of my road rage. As efficient of a driver I am, I hate braking on the freeway with a passion. It's useless. When I drive slower, I'm not as pressed to move throughout traffic (I was never a weaver - I hate those assholes) and thus, I don't brake as much, and I don't get (as) impatient.
4.) I don't know for sure, but it's probably harder on your engine at higher RPMs, especially from rapid accel/decelerating from maneuvering through traffic. Add that to the fact that in MN, the weather, especially in the winter, will take a higher toll on your vehicle than probably anything you can do to it yourself, and you've got a great reason to slow down. Think of the savings in repairs and maintenance! This is also difficult to gauge, as when you don't have problems, you tend to not monitor time between repairs. You can always see this post for previous thoughts on the matter. I can't believe how long it's been since I've written about this!
5.) Most people would say it's safer to drive slower. I would disagree on one point. I'm a very aware driver. I always pay attention to everything around me, and it has saved me from countless accidents, truly! I will say that driving slower otherwise is safer. From a physics standpoint think of the Laws of Energy, momentum, inertia, etc.
If your velocity goes from X>0 to X=0
then there's going to be a problem if
problem severity=X=velocity, assuming problem severity has negative consequences when X>0.
Please check my math (that was fun!).
So there were 5 solid reasons that might convince you to reconsider your driving habits, unless you already know this stuff!
posted by P-Wagz at 6:34 PM
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