Gas, Not Too Expensive to SOME People

---by Micheal

Okay, so gasoline is expensive. What are you going to do? Gripe, but keep guzzling? Or, reduce how much you have to buy?

I've opted to save. Some people obviously don't think gas costs too much. Me? I've been practicing "hypermiling" (see previous post) techniques for just over a year now. I've increased my mileage from 18 to 27%.

Some hypermile techniques are invisible to other drivers -- increase your tire pressure, don't carry around any extra weight, etc. No one cares if you do these things because they don't get in their way. (Heaven forbid!)

Some hypermile techniques, however, do affect other drivers. One hypermile tenet is "Don't Stop at Red Lights." This doesn't mean to run red lights, but rather to avoid braking (which is essentially burning off energy you just consumed gas to create. It's like regulating the heat of your house in winter by opening the windows instead of turning down the thermostat). You adjust your speed such that by the time you get up to the light, it will have changed to green and you can proceed on through at a steady speed. Saves gas. Other drivers don't like it, though. A great many people like to race up to the red light as if their pants were on fire, brake hard to a stop and sit there idling (and fuming about how long the lights are) so they can punch it and roar back up to 10 mph over the speed limit when the light turns green.

For these folks, gas is clearly not too expensive.

Another hypermile tenet is to leave a few minutes earlier so you don't have to drive fast to get there on time. The goal is to drive slower. It takes energy to make your car push air out of its way. How much energy it takes grows exponentially with speed. (Try fanning with a big piece of cardboard for two full minutes. You'll feel how much energy it takes to move air.) At lower speeds, you spend energy to push air out of your way. At higher speeds, you're actually compressing air. That takes a LOT more energy. It takes 10% to 15% more gas to drive 70 instead of 60. It can take 35% more gas to drive 80. Want to save gas? Try driving the speed limit. Want to make people mad? Try driving the speed limit.

For all those angry-eyed people in my rearview mirror, gas is obviously not too expensive. They'd rather leave a few minutes late, drive like scalded bats out of hell and pay whatever it takes to Chavez or Prince Sahud for those precious few minutes.

Me? I've been hypermiling for over a year. I've increased my mileage by roughly 20%, usually more. I'm counterculture. Drivers around me don't want to slow down a little, or float through traffic lights. They have their type-A, get outta-MY-way, gas wasting habits and they don't want to change.

Perhaps this marks me as a social loser. 5 minutes of my time is not worth the extra gas.

But, for all these very important people, gas is apparently not too expensive.