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FacebookLetter to the Editor:
If you drive slowly, please move over
Thu, Jul 3, 2008 (2:04 a.m.)
In a recent letter to the editor, a physics professor wrote that accelerating slowly, driving more slowly and coasting to a stop between red lights will save fuel. He’s right, but it’s arguable that this style also would cause you to miss the timed green light, resulting in idling through a red light, wasting the savings.
In any event, I would simply ask the good professor and his ilk to please stay in the right-hand lanes when using this style of driving. Thank you.
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I have recently embraced the "hypermiling" driving style where you spend as much time as you can coasting from light to light. The new driving style demands more attention to things like crosswalk signs, which are a great indicator as to when the light is going to change. You're absolutely right, if you miss the light you're missing the point! If I do hit a red light and know I'll be sitting for more than 30 seconds I shut the car off to save even more gas! I keep the ingnition in the on position and the AC continues to run cold for several minutes. Also, I always drive in the right hand lane and let people get around when possible - I even wave when they tell me I'm number one (;
My car is rated for 21 mpg in the city and I get 30. I save $20/tank hypermiling - See you at the next stop light!
John Devine's comments are indicative of the kind of thinking that has gotten us into the fuel demand mess we are in currently. What Mr Devine does not acknowledge is that traffic lights and MPH restrictions are designed to restrict and regulate the movement of traffic for the purpose of avoiding gridlock--such as that experienced on the strip--and not to maximize fuel savings. So, in order to "make the light" one must ignore the posted speed limits, and in the process waist fuel through unnecessary down-shifting, not to mention reckless maneuvering. I defer to the experience of Dr. Pravica, over that of laymen, when it comes to matters of science, and I recommend that we all lend an discerning ear to scientific advice. As for Mr. Devine, I would just like to personally 'thank' him for driving up demand.