Regarding driving and saving gas

I might have given the wrong impression so here’s a more in-depth entry on the subject.

There are really three issues here: saving gas/money, and driving slower:

Saving Gas

The idea of driving to save gas amuses me. If you want to save gas, don’t drive. Take bart, bus, caltrain, muni, bike, walk, whatever. Or carpool.

It also has the added bonus of being better for the environment.

Yes it takes much longer, but that’s the price you pay. If you think your time is worth more than the environment or price of gas, drive.

Saving money

If you need to drive, there are other ways to save money — eat out less, cook more, make your own coffee, turn the lights off when you leave the room, etc.

I’m sure you get the idea.

Improving gas efficiency may work, but it’s more about driving smart than slow.

Ex: when approaching a red light, slowly take the foot off the pedal so you coast toward it. I usually do this around 200+ft (at 25mph) before the last stopped car.

By the time you get there, the light will be green and you won’t have to accelerate from a full stop (using more gas). It also reduces car sickness for passengers because it’s less jerky.

However, you need to be alert and remember to slow down early enough.

If you simply break when you get to the light, you may have less gas efficiency than someone who was driving faster but did. That’s why I think it’s more about driving smarter than slower.

Driving slower

Driving slower increases safety and gas efficiency because you have more time to react, think, and drive smarter.

Take the previous example: If you’re driving 30+, you will have to start decelerating at least 300+ ft away.

I’m all for driving slower for safety reasons, but telling people to do it to save gas, without telling them to stick to the right lane or pay attention to faster cars is just irresponsible.

For example, if you’re going to drive below the speed limit, you should NOT attempt to pass trucks.

You’re going slower than the speed of traffic in the other lane, and you’re very likely to cut someone off (resulting in the hostility mentioned by commentators in the article).

Even if “there was space”, unless you’re highly alert and an expert at estimating speed, you probably missed something and made other cars slow down (at best).

The average driver is either sleep deprived, on the phone, or listening to the radio/passengers (aka. not alert), so I would not advocate driving slower simply to save money.

I WOULD advocate changing driving behavior overall so you’re safer while increasing mpg.

P.S. I’m not saying I can do all that — just that I think that is optimal. I’m changing my driving behavior myself, but I wouldn’t do it just to save a few bucks.