Drivers sacrificing safety for savings

By Libby

As the sticker shock at the gas pump continues to shake up the citizenry's sense of economic security, a new movement called hypermiling is growing. While its aims are noble and should in theory be contributing to safer roads, it appears to having the opposite effect as its practitioners take it to the extreme.

It’s a good idea, of course, to try to save on fuel. The problem comes when people who don’t know what they’re doing seize on what they think are the principles of hypermiling, leading them to adopt dangerous tactics, such as driving too slowly in traffic, tailgating larger vehicles or “drafting” (driving in another vehicle’s slipstream to reduce wind resistance) too closely, rolling through stop signs or making turns without using the brakes.

My first husband wasn't much for driving slowly but he was a early adopter on drafting off ten wheelers on the road all the back to the 1970s. I used to hate to let him drive because it was so terrifying to be staring down the tailpipes of a big rig at 75 or 80 mph. Never seemed worth the trade off to me.

The experts also suggest that you can acheive significant savings by turning off your AC and keeping the windows closed in the car. That doesn't sound worth the trade off either. The savings probably won't mean much if you pass out from heat prostration and go off the road.

Comments

[Earl]

My sister sent me an article on hypermiling just yesterday. It was strange reading, since I was already DOING most of the things listed for saving gas.

I've been driving, by choice, a manual transmission for most of my life, and, thanks to living in a rural area, have the option of rolling through most stop signs. (Although I didn't even say that out loud, right?)

Inertia. It's not just a good idea, it's a law.

[Libby]

LOL Earl. I also drive a manual and coast to stop lights as a matter of course and I rarely brake to make turns, I downshift instead. As for rolling through stop signs, well we'll just keep that our little secret, okay?