Slow down, morons

I'm an overly cautious driver, or so I'm told.  By "overly cautious," most people mean "overly law-abiding."  I don't run stop signs or red lights.  I always signal my intentions to turn or change lanes.  I don't tailgate and I never ever speed.  My dad was a driver's ed teacher for many years and he's the one who taught me to drive, so maybe the blame lies there.  I learned to drive exactly as it was printed in the driver's ed textbook, and I still drive that way.

Boring, consistent, and safe, thank you very much.

Gasprices
Gasprices
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Over the years I've preached against speeding and been ignored and mocked.  It used to be that I preached against speeding because of the gamble inherent in it.  Anytime you speed, you're betting that the cops won't catch you.  You're betting $80, $120, $180 that you won't get caught, and you're bound to lose some time.  (Or several times *cough*)

Some of the recipients of my lectures at least lowered their speeding threshold, choosing to go only 5 or 6 miles over the speed limit.  Most of the time, the police won't even stop you if you're only going 5 miles over on the highway.  The problem is, you're still speeding, and it's still bad. 

To tackle that lingering urge to speed, a few years ago I added a new element to my diatribe against speeding: gas prices.  As gas prices go up, it makes sense to slow down, because the faster you go, the more gas you burn per mile.  People didn't believe me.  My own husband didn't believe me until I showed him the numbers.   Finally, CNN agrees with me--slow down and save gas.  Save money and lower your contribution to greenhouse gas accumulation.

So, now that CNN says it's true, will you believe me? 

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Lauri
[this is good]
Um. Um. I'll try to slow down, Redz. It's difficult for me to go slow.

I always go 4 mph over the speed limit on city streets. 9 miles over on highways. I am safe, I signal, I have good reactions, I always know exactly who is around me....but, I have a hard time going slow.

If it will help the environment, I'll try harder!
pyrit
I remember taking a family car trip out west in the 1970's. Us kids in the back of the station wagon had paper and crayons and were making signs to put in the back window; big smiley faces, "Hi", etc. I clearly remember making a, "Go slow. Save gas." sign, holding it up to the window, and a hot-rodder zooming past, honking and giving us the finger. I think it was a Dodge Dart. LOL.

I love the fact that speeding rarely saves more than, what, a few mere piddly ant seconds??? Hello. Driving slower does save gas, save money, save pollution.
Toe-Knee
But... I like driving fast. I only do it about 5 days out of the month. Plus I have a big V8 that sucks gas like an overachieving prostitute.... yeah I'll end that metaphor there. Anywhoo... I don't speed in the city, there are kids and pedestrians there which I have no desire to hit. However, I do take great pleasure in having my spritely truck beat most everything off the line at a stoplight. So not good for milage, but it gives me a happy feeling and like a good john, I'm willing to pay a few extra bucks for a good fuel sucking happy.

On the highway on the other hand I enjoy putting the truck through her paces but I'm quite cautious to avoid tickets. To do this I employ a number of tricks, I slow down a bit before most villages and towns, and on the highway whenever possible I'll use a decoy, by decoy I mean someone stupid enough to be driving faster than me. I let them pass and get a reasonable distance ahead and then match their speed, that way the police will spot him first giving me enough time to slow down and drive by grinning. I also expect most highway patrollers to run in packs of 3. Where you see one you will always see two more, two many speeders figure they're safe after the first patrol car passes.

But hey, props for being sensible, I've got a few more years of impulsive youthfulness to burn along with several hundred litres of gas. I'll see you in the slow lane in a few.
Redzilla
Well, if the guy was driving a Dodge Dart, it was a self-punishing crime ;o)

Oh, and Lauri--it's not difficult for you to go slow. You've just given yourself permission to think it's difficult. It's all psychology, babee.
Lauri
True. And I gave myself permission to stop clicking the mouse after 15 seconds on a 30 second test cuz I got bored.

I just have to breathe and relax.
crankypants

LOL--I just got back from running an errand and my thoughts the entire time were: So many ASSHOLES on the road today!!! NO one used their signals but me.

But I'm with Lauri. I like to drive fast. But I am a very aware driver too and I follow all the other rules. (usually)

I don't shower every day though, and my 2005 car only has about 20K miles on it, does that counteract my moronicity a little bit?

please?

PS if you and Hubbicula ever split up, I have a friend who drives like a grampa you might be interested in. His netflix interests woulf probably match yours like 85%.

:-P

Redzilla
Well, I'll give you a little break, because you're part of that not-every-day-shower club that gets trash talked so much. And because your netflix interests match mine about 95%. (It's eerie, I tell you. Oh and Smokin' Aces has more than Kevin Durand to recommend it. Ryan Reynolds and Jeremy Piven are both quite good in it.)
crankypants
I thought we were down to about 59% matchy matchy? well, maybe our queues are similar but our ratings are 59%. I'll check out Smokin Aces!
Redzilla
Yeah, but the ratings thing...I don't bother to rate much of anything, so there's no way to know how they came up with that. Is that wrong of me?
Valerae
I had been living on the advice of a couple of cops who told me they don't pull anyone over for going 8 MPH or less over the limit. But I must keep Redzilla (and the environment) happy. I will try 55 today and see how I do. Farewell 63 Mmphs (as Kelly Bundy would say)!!!
crankypants
LOL--my issue with ratings on Netflix is there is no wishy-washy middle of the road rating for folks like me who think "...eh..." to a lot of stuff. You have to either like it or not like it. funk dat! I'm a middle class white chick, I have to have a middle of the road apathetic rating available! (i don't even know what that means)
Redzilla
That's why I don't think so much of rating things. I mean, half the time if I do rate something I rate it 3 stars. Okay, I guess. Rarely do I rate anything higher, and not all that often lower. Rather, it just cracks me up how similar our tastes in movies are.
Redzilla
Thanks, Val. The environment appreciates your efforts.
crankypants

Yeah--I mean, I have added stuff to mine because of seeing it on your list but mostly when I first saw it I was like....wow! not to mention the random comments we make every day that we agree with!

I just think it's hilarious when I think I am alone in thinking one way on something (as in Juno) and I find all these people agreeing with me, thinking THEY were the only ones they felt that way.

But back on topic...I'll think about this post when I am driving the open road in West Texas. I really don't want to get pulled over in Texas again.

Lauri
*grumpity grump*


I don't have Netflix.
I don't wash my hair every day.
I may not drive slow, but I drive efficiently. I don't fart around.

Lapis' struts are done, I can pick him up in an hour. I love my car.



Zhadi
[this is good]
I usually take Muni any more... Hah!
pyrit
Oy! You sayin' Redzilla farts around? Is that what you're sayin'? You sayin' dat? Oh yeah? Whaaat? Why I oughtta...
(Vox road rage)
Mr.Nice
the day i start relying on CNN for news is the day pigs will learn to fly.
though in this case, i probably do believe you.
Redzilla
That's what peeves me! I've been telling people that for years, but now that CNN says it, folks will probably believe them.
Ross
[this is good]
Definitely some valid points. Don't forget the safety aspect, too. If you normalize the risk of death in an accident to "1" at 50 miles per hour, your risk is about 1.2 times that at 55 miles per hour, but geometrically increases to 12 times the risk at 85 miles per hour.

If the idea of paying more money for more gas or more money for traffic tickets doesn't dissuade you from speeding, maybe the thought of you dead inside the twisted wreckage of your automobile will help. Even if you're the most competent driver in the world, there are so many factors outside your control that make it just plain unsafe to speed.
Lauri
Ooops! I just got back from picking up my car!

At safe and reasonable speeds, as always. :P

Farting around? I doubt that Redz farts in any shape whatsoever.
Redzilla
HA! As for "farting around," I don't think going exactly the speed limit qualifies me for that epithet. Going under the speed limit? I would never--that's dangerous.
Lauri
Yes, it is. Insecure, slow drivers cause a lot of accidents, too.
spucko
[this is good]
Salutations, fellow pokey driver. (Pokey = drives at posted speed.)

I figure, what's the hurry? I'm already in Lawrence, Kansas.

- spucko
Jenn F.
[this is good]
I have the same driving style, and it almost gets me killed on I-95 when I drive between D.C. and Richmond. I will be in the far right lane (you know, the frigging slow lane), and have someone three inches from my bumper, flashing their high beams and, sometimes, honking because I'm going 65 in a 65 mile an hour zone. WTF? I should put a sign on the back of the car the CNN headline. Or maybe one that says "you're burning gas faster, Asshat!" Of course, a significant number of them have chosen to purchase SUVs-- and not a small number of them Hummers, so I doubt they care. *sigh*
Redzilla
That's what Tampa was like--people freaking out if you went the speed limit in the slow lane. Of course, there was the added element of danger that a good 10% of drivers on the road were elderly people going 20 mph below the speed limit. Some nice fiery crashes.
bryus
I don't follow the speed limit all the time. I generally drive with the flow of traffic or what I think is a reasonable speed. Most of the time that's 5-10 over. I have a few school zones on the way to work that I am particular about observing because I got an $80 ticket at one last year.

The article is going to make me think more about my speeding on the highway since that's where I really hit the high speeds. Most of the time it's 40ish on the surface streets but on the highway it can reach 80+. Since I am trying to conserve gas I'm going to watch that now.
Valerae
[this is good]
Mad-tante posted an update on saving gas today that reminded me to come back here and thank you! I have completely changed my approach to driving and I cannot believe the stress that has been eliminated from my commute. I am no longer trying to get ahead of everyone else, I am driving way less aggressively and it feels great! I got a new tank of gas around the same time as your post and I'm at half a tank today. I get good mileage as it is, but I'm still surprised at the additional savings. I'm definitely going to calculate my exact mileage with my next tank to see specific savings in numbers. Thank you!!

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