As demonstrated by the hyper-miler I had to drive behind yesterday, this version of lame driver has two (three) objectives:
- Maximize the number of miles per gallon
- Minimize carbon emissions
- Annoy me
To accomplish these objectives, a variety of methods are used, such as:
- If a light ahead is red, slow down WAY before and begin coasting in an attempt to arrive as it turns green (you will probably be right behind this driver and then get stopped as the light goes back to red)
- Never accelerate faster than 2000 rpms (to estimate this speed, practice the moonwalk – its about that fast)
- Drive at 50 mph on the 65 and 70 mph freeways (some choose the far left lane instead of the far right lane to not have to deal with on and off ramps)
- Remove unnecessary weight from car such as mirrors and seats (and common sense)
- Extreme hyper-milers may even put car in neutral, then turn off car while traveling on the freeway (nothing unsafe here)
By utilizing these methods, there is no doubt that they are achieving goal 3… BUT they are definitely not achieving 1 and 2 for anyone besides themselves. In fact, they are increasing everyone else’s carbon emissions and lowering everyone else’s mileage efficiency by reducing the “predictability” of the road.
The purpose of driving laws is to ensure safety and predictability. If you see a 65 mph sign, carbon emissions are at their lowest and mpg are at their highest if everyone travels at the same rate. A single car breaking this pattern causes all others to have to modify their driving behavior. Further, breaks in this predictability cause car accidents and pile-ups. This was researched by a group of MIT scientists (see video here).
So, for my sanity… Hypermilers – buy a bike.
Last 3 posts by Eric B.
- Nassim Taleb on the Economy - June 25th, 2010
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Annoying. These fools should be ticketed and run off the road into a ditch.
My defensive driving instructor would disagree with you on some points:
Why are you in a rush to get to a red light? If you pay attention while you’re driving, it’s not that difficult to time lights. Same applies with fast acceleration off the line. Stop being in a rush to get places is what he would say. It’s especially stupid when you see cars do this downtown from one red light to another.
Having all drivers maintain a constant speed is ideal. However, it’s also best if vehicles stayed 4 seconds apart from one another. It would greatly improves the flow of traffic. Why? Because you have more time to react when there is a legitimate slow in the flow of traffic.
One major problem is that people tailgate each other and then hit the brakes when the person in front of them does. As you mentioned, this messes everybody up. Texas is has a terrible problem with tailgating (in all lanes).
The same needs to be said for people on the opposite side of the spectrum. Hyper-speeders. Driving 20 over during your normal commute might save you 2 minutes. Is it really worth the risk?