Fuel Efficient Driving -- road lingering is not a sign of dementia.

 How to improve mileage substantialy with some simple principles.  Yes,
driving as if there were an egg on the accelerator that must be kept
unbroken is a good rule of thumb, and does reduce wear on the vehicle,
but there are some other principles that can be applied..

This little article is from a motorscooter enthusiast site
(http://inpraiseofmotorscooters.com ) but applies to any vehicle.

(from: http://abacus-es.net/motorscooter/fuel_efficient_driving.html )

If choosing what one drives is the mother-load of fuel savings, how one
drives it can be the gold flecks in the pan - meager perhaps, but
consistent. The principle of driving for fuel conservation can be
applied in any vehicle, however, and when applied in a gas guzzler, the
savings can easily be enough to fuel a smaller vehicle - say, a
motorscooter (see Motorscooter Economy:
http://abacus-es.net/motorscooter/economy.html ).

The key is anticipation -- reducing speed in advance of a looming
obstacle by judiciously easing off on the throttle rather than sinking
fuel into acceleration which will later be thrown away by braking.
When approaching a red light, any throttle applied beyond that which is
required to  reach the signal at the next green light is wasted effort.
 Speeding forward only to come to a stop may well consume twice as much
fuel as coasting leisurely toward the signal and, without having lost
all momentum, resuming speed when it turns green.  The same principle
applies on the highway when congestion ahead promises to render any
further acceleration pointless.

There are several ways to think about this process: anticipate by
easing off on the throttle, avoid using the brake,  or simply avoid, as
much as possible, coming to a stop at all.  On a scooter one could
interpret this principle as: try to put your foot to the ground as
seldom  as possible.

This driving behavior may well irritate other drivers who do not
understand that they aren't going to reach their destinations any
earlier by racing toward red lights.   Unfortunately, cross traffic, or
left-turners seeking to cross your path do have a legitimate gripe if
they are forced to wait as you progress leisurely along.  There are
times when consideration for others must take precedence over fuel
conservation.

Applying fuel conservation driving principles and thereby largely
eliminating sudden stops and starts is also kinder to the vehicle and
can substantially reduce wear.  It can also be a lot of fun and can go
as far as  learning the period and sequence of traffic lights along
commonly taken routes.   Concentrating upon factors in the road ahead
is just as essential to safety as to gas savings and thus serves a dual
purpose.  Most drivers tend to speed along until some  obstacle or
other prevents further progress, and then upon encountering it, whether
it be a vehicle they creep along behind, or a temporary delay that must
be waited out, they always find themselves without a clear path ahead.
The fuel-efficient driver, on the other hand, often retains leading
space ahead, seeing no need to speed towards a stop.  This space,
together with concentration upon anticipating conditions on the road
ahead, also provides a margin of safety.

Unfortunately, the driver who adheres to these principles is frequently
misunderstood and generally disparaged by those who mistake road
lingering and velocity circumspection for dementia.  Let's all help
them understand.

  web site:


Apply them if you want, just do it in the appropriate lane so that
people who actually have someplace to go can use the passing lane to
get around you.


Ah, yes, the Sloth Coaster philosophy. Once again, feel free to save
your fuel by wasting your time, but be sure to do it in such a way
that you don't impede the progress of others.

You see, when you Sloth Coast, everyone behind you is forced to slow
down, as well - which may cause them to miss (for example) a left turn
arrow. Thus, your Sloth Coasting may save a few drops of fuel for you,
but it wastes fuel for all those people who must now sit idling at the
red arrow for an extra cycle. By blocking other drivers, you may
actually INCREASE the amount of wasted fuel.

Here's an example of what I mean:

http://www.zippyvideos.com/6203519534801576/sloth/

Here we have someone whose Sloth caused both of us to miss the left
turn arrow. Perhaps he was trying to save fuel, or wear and tear on
his vehicle, but by forcing us to miss the green arrow and sit there
idling for an extra 2 minutes, we ended up consuming MORE fuel than we
would have if we had made the light.


That's fine, as long as you pay attention and actually do accelerate
once the wave of slowing has passed you. There is nothing more
wasteful of road capacity than some somnambulist driver who hits a
wave of slow-and-go traffic and continues to Sloth along even though
traffic ahead of him has returned to freeway speed.


It won't irritate anyone if they have a way to get around you.


And, of course, part of that consideration should include the Golden
Rule of Driving: "I'll stay out of your way, just as I would have you
stay out of mine." In other words, feel free to practice our Sloth
Coasting as long as you don't impact anyone else. Then nobody will
have any reason to get annoyed with you.


This is another common fallacy of the Sloth Coaster crowd. Wake up and
smell the new millennium, dude - traffic lights are no longer
controlled strictly by timers! Nowadays, traffic signals also take
input from vehicle detectors such as hall effect loops embedded in the
pavement. If there are no vehicles at the intersection to trigger
these sensors, the light will not turn green. In a way, Sloth Coasting
is actually self-defeating: you drive slowly to avoid hitting red
lights, yet your slow driving is actually CAUSING the light to remain
red longer.


The irony is so thick you could pave a road with it.

 wrote:


I see belatedly that Scott has cross-posted this to RAD, which opened
it to lead-footed trash who think they own the road.
I removed RAD.
I repeat.  Drive in your own style, and drive safely.
Don't be pushed into speeding up for any Tom, Dick or Scott who
thinks you are going too slow for his tastes.
That is frugal.
BTW, I often speed, but that's between me and the State Police, and
I don't advise for or against it.
And my sincere apologies to the denizens of MCFL if more of the
RAD lead-foots show up itching to prove their manhood with endless
accusations that we are getting in the way on *their* roads.

--Vic

 

A daughter got a $90 ticket in the mail Thursday with pictures.
The pictures show her just entering a wide intersection and the light
is yellow, stopped at a second light which is red in the same
intersection (the first light is still yellow, indicating to me that
it had just turned yellow as she entered the intersection!), and a
clear shot of her license plate.
She says she did nothing wrong and I believe her.  A court appearance
will cost her more than $90.  She is going to send in the money.
What a rip.
A son got the same type of $90 ticket last year in a different
intersection, and the pictures showed him entering on a yellow,
exiting on a red.  He paid that.
Where these stoplight cameras are installed and tickets issued as
described, Big Brother is forcing drivers to take the following
actions:
1. Approach lights at slower than safe and efficient speeds.
2. Make unsafe sudden stops on yellows.
3. Hit the accelerator hard if the light turns yellow as you enter,
which is another unsafe move.  
I have nothing against picture ticketing if the violation is for
entering on a red, but this ambiguous ticketing in Chicago is clearly
a scam.  Thankfully, I don't drive there myself.

--Vic

 
(In short, pictures taken by red-light cameras that show vehicle entering
the intersection on yellow but ticket is issued anyway)

1.  I think people hit with these should take them to court even if there
is an expense.  The courts would loathe the increased caseload and tell
those responsible (or irresponsible), "We are busy enough as it is, and
now we have to kick in even more work to overturn your bleeping
yellowlight tickets!"

2.  I do have the impression that redlight cameras are rather unpopular.  
Issuing tickets for entering an intersection on yellow would make them
even more unpopular.  I suspect that politicians running to get into or
stay in an office where they have any say in this matter could strike
quite a chord with the voters!

 - Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)