gas mileage and traffic jams

[ZippyDan]

article on cnn led me to:

http://www.hypermiling.com/

which has 6 good (but maybe obvious) steps to cut down on gas use (but some dont help for my manual.) which then led me to...

http://amasci.com/amateur/traffic/trafexp.html

which has an interesting theory on mitigating traffic jams. something i had already done myself at times... basically: drive at the average speed of the traffic jam instead of starting and stopping

 

[Lithium381]

yep, i do that too, staying on the guy's bumper in front of you isn't going to get you there any faster..... it allows movement within the freeway too, which means adjacent lanes don't have to slow down waiting for someone to merge(what seems to me a large factor in jams!)

 

[BW86]

Rather than repeatedly rushing ahead with everyone else, only to come to a halt, I decided to try to move at the average speed of the traffic. I let a huge gap open up ahead of me, and timed things so I was arriving at the next "stop-wave" just as the last red brakelights were turning off ahead of me.

yea...thats not going to fly here in NY. I'd have 10 people ahead of me every time i tried to leave a gap.

 

[Baked]

LOL leave a gap in front of you. Are you crazy!

 

[Kirby64]

Originally posted by: Baked
LOL leave a gap in front of you. Are you crazy!

QFT. I dunno where this guy lives, but in Houston if you leave a gap it'll be filled instantly during rush hour traffic.

 

[BoomerD]

Leave a gap? WHAT? Let someone in front of you? Are these people nucking futs?

 

[AccruedExpenditure]

Originally posted by: Baked
LOL leave a gap in front of you. Are you crazy!

ROTFLMAO

 

[Eli]

I'm a gap leaver.

Mostly because I drive a manual, and flooring it up to the guy infront of you is stupid. It DOES help the flow of traffic though. As someone else said, lanes ending, and merges, are a huge source of traffic jams. If you leave a gap, people can merge and you don't have to stop, causing everyone behind you to stop...

People who fly up to the end of an endling lane and cause traffic behind them to stop are NOT merging correctly.

Leave a gap.

 

[JTsyo]

This is where driving a hybrid pays off. The engine is off until the battery runs low, then it's on for a short while to recharge a bit.
I read in a facts book that Americans waste over 1 billion hours each year in traffic. Too bad we can't send a message back a 100 years and tell them to leave enough room for 8 lane highways when developing cities.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: JTsyo
Too bad we can't send a message back a 100 years and tell them to leave enough room for 8 lane highways when developing cities.

If you had the capability, would this really be the thing you'd want to tell them? I'm thinking that more R&D into non-oil based fuel technology would be a better message, or some form of medical technology to combat polio and the flu.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Originally posted by: JTsyo
Too bad we can't send a message back a 100 years and tell them to leave enough room for 8 lane highways when developing cities.

If you had the capability, would this really be the thing you'd want to tell them? I'm thinking that more R&D into non-oil based fuel technology would be a better message, or some form of medical technology to combat polio and the flu.

Come on, money grew on trees back then.

 

[feralkid]

I've got Accelerate and Brake on my car. Which pedal do I use for Coast?

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: feralkid
I've got Accelerate and Brake on my car. Which pedal do I use for Coast?

It's the handle with the little button on it between you and the shifter.

When you get up to a good speed and want to coast yank up on it.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: feralkid
I've got Accelerate and Brake on my car. Which pedal do I use for Coast?

If its an auto you just let off the gas and guess what 5 mph or so

If its a manual, (at least in the manuals I've driven) you can put it in first and it will not stall if you do not give it gas. It actually keeps you at about 5 mph. You have to get started of course, but once moving. For that matter I have gone to parking lots before and started from a dead stop without using the gas pedal....

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: feralkid
I've got Accelerate and Brake on my car. Which pedal do I use for Coast?

If its an auto you just let off the gas and guess what 5 mph or so

If its a manual, (at least in the manuals I've driven) you can put it in first and it will not stall if you do not give it gas. It actually keeps you at about 5 mph. You have to get started of course, but once moving. For that matter I have gone to parking lots before and started from a dead stop without using the gas pedal....

u love riding your clutch don't u?

 

[sierrita]

Originally posted by: feralkid
I've got Accelerate and Brake on my car. Which pedal do I use for Coast?

:thumbsup:

Lol. So true. I swear most people have only two driving modes: floor it until tailgating the car in front of them and then slamming on the brakes.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: JTsyo
This is where driving a hybrid pays off. The engine is off until the battery runs low, then it's on for a short while to recharge a bit.
I read in a facts book that Americans waste over 1 billion hours each year in traffic. Too bad we can't send a message back a 100 years and tell them to leave enough room for 8 lane highways when developing cities.

You mean send a message back 100 years and tell them not to sprawl out into suburbs

 

[Tremulant]

Originally posted by: sierrita

Originally posted by: feralkid
I've got Accelerate and Brake on my car. Which pedal do I use for Coast?

:thumbsup:

Lol. So true. I swear most people have only two driving modes: floor it until tailgating the car in front of them and then slamming on the brakes.

I see that all the time..

The most memorable is when I saw this one person who would floor it until he (or she, dunno) was just about to hit the person in front of them, then slam on the brakes, and then floor it again... for like 2 miles straight. Probably continued longer, but I had to turn so I wasn't able to watch the idiot show any longer.

 

[Saint Nick]

If you leave a gap here, it gets instantly filled.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: ZippyDan
http://amasci.com/amateur/traffic/trafexp.html

finally had time to read part of the article.

the strategy works in theory but not in practice because of the volume of drivers out there.
it will only work if everyone participates... all it takes is a couple of people to break the pattern and they'll create new mini traffic jams.

what we need is nation-wide traffic reform and re-education which starts in driver's ed for new drivers, and the media to publicize it for current drivers.
They should also point out the fact that the left lane is for passing only. it's stated in the manual but it is not stressed enough.

something else that can help is changing the timing of the lights to allow for best traffic flow, which may vary throughout the day and during rush hour.
i'm shocked there isn't more being done about this right now this moment. how many times have you driven on a road with an alternating red/green/red/green traffic light pattern?

lastly, we really need more strict road testing to eliminate all the morons on the road that cannot drive, take 90 degree turns at 10 mph, idiots that cannot merge, judge distance/speed, etc.
then we'll need traffic cops to enforce the idiots that get by this testing and revoke their licenses after a couple of offenses.

 

[evident]

Originally posted by: Kirby64

Originally posted by: Baked
LOL leave a gap in front of you. Are you crazy!

QFT. I dunno where this guy lives, but in Houston if you leave a gap it'll be filled instantly during rush hour traffic.

yeah, i wish the leave gap in front ofy ou theroy and drive up slowly worked, people are assholes and will just get in front of you, causing you to put your brakes on anyway

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: feralkid
I've got Accelerate and Brake on my car. Which pedal do I use for Coast?

If its an auto you just let off the gas and guess what 5 mph or so

If its a manual, (at least in the manuals I've driven) you can put it in first and it will not stall if you do not give it gas. It actually keeps you at about 5 mph. You have to get started of course, but once moving. For that matter I have gone to parking lots before and started from a dead stop without using the gas pedal....

u love riding your clutch don't u?

I did it with my old car, not my current one. I don't ride it on my current car. My old one I didn't give a crap about, and my friends and I were trying different things just to see what we could do. I also started that car out in 4th gear just to see if I could. Now I don't do any of that because I have no interest in replacing a clutch.

 

[markgm]

I'm pissed we don't spend more money on roads. People bitch and moan about gas prices but don't complain about the time spent sitting in traffic.

 

[Auggie]

yeah, hypermiling is familiar to me. great stuff on there.

The best case was when I was leaving Houston during the Hurricane Rita evacuation. Roads were clogged and I'd been hearing that drive times to Austin/SanAntonio/Dallas were 12+ hours, with all the gas stations long since empty. I'd filled my tank a week before (and don't drive much) so it was full when I was starting out. Basically it was stop and go traffic (5-6 lanes wide, depending on whether or not people were using the shoulders) as far as I could see. I decided from the get go that I was going to pick a slow speed and go with it to even out the constant stop/start/stopping that was going on.

What ended up happening would be that I would go ~5-10MPH, and during periods where the traffic in front of me was going, a decent space (maybe 500-1000ft at some points) would open up. LESS PEOPLE THAN I EXPECTED changed lanes and got in front of me. Eventually, my pace would catch up the traffic during periods where they were stopped for extended amounts of time (one time we were stationary for almost 20 minutes, I'd guess), but even when I was just stopped behind the cars in front of me, I'd managed to avoid almost all of the acceleration/deceleration cycles that the traffic in front of me was experiencing. Ended up taking 9 hours to get up to Tomball (~60 miles north of Houston), and then it was highway speeds after that, since I cut over and was avoiding I-45North traffic. Got to Dallas with ~1/3rd tank still in my car.

Gas conservation techniques are useful to know.

 

[EarthwormJim]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: ZippyDan
http://amasci.com/amateur/traffic/trafexp.html

finally had time to read part of the article.

the strategy works in theory but not in practice because of the volume of drivers out there.
it will only work if everyone participates... all it takes is a couple of people to break the pattern and they'll create new mini traffic jams.

what we need is nation-wide traffic reform and re-education which starts in driver's ed for new drivers, and the media to publicize it for current drivers.
They should also point out the fact that the left lane is for passing only. it's stated in the manual but it is not stressed enough.

something else that can help is changing the timing of the lights to allow for best traffic flow, which may vary throughout the day and during rush hour.
i'm shocked there isn't more being done about this right now this moment. how many times have you driven on a road with an alternating red/green/red/green traffic light pattern?

lastly, we really need more strict road testing to eliminate all the morons on the road that cannot drive, take 90 degree turns at 10 mph, idiots that cannot merge, judge distance/speed, etc.
then we'll need traffic cops to enforce the idiots that get by this testing and revoke their licenses after a couple of offenses.

The lights in my town are often re-timed for traffic (maybe once every 6 months). It costs a lot of money to do it, millions. Some towns and cities simply can't afford to do it.

At the bottom of the page, it says "Normally I got as much as 1/3 less MPG than the value advertised. "

I'm always able to get the EPA mileage if not better. In fact, my BMW 318is is rated for 31mpg and I regularly get 38 or 40 in good traffic.