Drawback of hypermilling

[aalb1]

Originally Posted by JacobAziza

A sticker is a really good idea, if just so other drivers realize why and maybe a few decide its a good idea.

How about this one:

[slurp812]

Originally Posted by JanGeo

I think there is a law that says if you are going below a posted speed by X mph you have to have your flashers on. You are expected to drive slower if conditions require it like fog, heavy rain, snow, etc. and you can be stopped for that reason if you are going FASTER than conditions permit safely.

In Ohio, it says this. I drive 60 in a 65 mph zone quite a bit, and they haven't messed with me, YET!

I. No person shall operate a vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic. '4511.22(A)
II. A person, driving at less than the normal speed of traffic, shall drive in the right-hand lane then available for traffic or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway. '4511.25

[thisisntjared]

Originally Posted by slurp812

II. A person, driving at less than the normal speed of traffic, shall drive in the right-hand lane then available for traffic or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway. '4511.25

i do this if i am driving slow for whatever reason, including turning right. there are a lot of people that should....

[TruckHyperMiler]

Originally Posted by slurp812

In Ohio, it says this. I drive 60 in a 65 mph zone quite a bit, and they haven't messed with me, YET!

I. No person shall operate a vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic. '4511.22(A)
II. A person, driving at less than the normal speed of traffic, shall drive in the right-hand lane then available for traffic or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway. '4511.25

Thats exactly the same way its written in CA too (where I am).

I ended up getting some stickers





Although after going on this site and ecomodder's (originally just to post this story) and being inspired to start doing some physical mods, I recently was able to cross out the 30% and replace it with a big fat 60%!

[GasSavers_maximilian]

I noticed myself speeding up when I saw cops last weekend on my road trip. Even though I never went below 45 and the low limit was 40, I didn't want to attract too much scrutiny for minimal mpg gain.

[bobc455]

Originally Posted by JacobAziza

I slowed even more to let them in, but they were going SO slow I just moved to the left instead.

1) You should never change speed when onramp traffic is trying to merge. It is THEIR job to yield to your right of way, and if they make their decision to pull ahead/behind you and you change speeds, you are causing a problem for them to merge into traffic.
2) It is only okay to pull into the left lane if there is no other traffic that will want to pass you (such as this cop).

If you can't pull into the left lane (which is a courteous thing to do whenever possible), then keep your speed DEAD STEADY and let the onramp traffic decide whether to pull ahead or behind you. Don't try to do their thinking for them. (obviously you should be aware of them, and if they start to merge into your car without looking then be on the horn and be ready to make evasive maneuvers)

-BC

[TruckHyperMiler]

Originally Posted by bobc455

1) You should never change speed when onramp traffic is trying to merge. It is THEIR job to yield to your right of way, and if they make their decision to pull ahead/behind you and you change speeds, you are causing a problem for them to merge into traffic.
2) It is only okay to pull into the left lane if there is no other traffic that will want to pass you (such as this cop).

1)That was the plan, but a lot of drivers around here don't get the whole "it is the responsibility of the person merging on to the highway to mesh with traffic on the highway" thing.
Many times (this time included) they will just merge right into you if you don't make sure to avoid them.
2)Its not like I cut the cop off or anything. There was space to safely move left, I just try to minimize changing lanes, and stay to the right when I am going slower than the general flow of traffic.

The cop didn't say a word about my lane or merging choices (and he was back there to see the whole thing) he was just concerned about the speed (or rather, lack there of)

[bobc455]

Wait a minute. So you were going 20 MPH slower than the rest of traffic, then slowed down even further?

Are you aware that far more accidents are caused by speed *variation*, then by speed? If everyone is going the same speed (even if that is well over the speed limit), that is a much safer situation than where cars are traveling all kinds of different speeds (but closer to the speed limit)?

Anyhow, in this case it sounds like the onramp traffic had decided to pull in behind you, but when you slowed down even more then he had to slow down more, and so on. This is another reason you should keep your speed nearer to the traffic around you - since the onramp traffic had a certain expectation of your speed and decided to pull in behind you, by the time he discovered you were going so slow then he had to slow down to pull in behind you.

I'm all for good gas mileage, but not at the expense of safety. I'll typically drive between 0 and 5 MPH below the speed limit, but that always depends on the traffic around me, the number of lanes on the highway, and all of those things. I don't know if you broke the letter of the law, but you certainly were creating an unsafe situation.

-Bob C.

[ma4t]

I get his point. People don't just drive trucks for the fuel economy.

Bumper stickers are a great suggestion.

We got pulled over at 3 am after leaving a party at the dock. If you see people leaving a party on a boat at 3 am, you would expect them to be drunk. I don't drink - it doesn't agree with me. I know he was looking for drunk drivers. We had actually pulled in to a gas station to get some coffee for the long drive home after the party.

He said he had a report of a bar fight with people in a vehicle matching ours.

Cops seem to have a backup story for why they pulled you over. And they know the badge and the ability to give you a ticket based on whether you suck up to them means most people won't argue no matter how weak the story.

MA4T

[TruckHyperMiler]

Originally Posted by bobc455

Wait a minute. So you were going 20 MPH slower than the rest of traffic, then slowed down even further?

Maybe people outside of CA are better driver's?
Even before I started hypermiling I noticed plenty of people around here merge at 45mph, on highways where the limit is 65 and the average speed is 75.
(Of course, when I was going 65 it would drive me nuts, but now that I'm going 50 it doesn't bother me as much)

My target speed is almost always 50, which was the speed I slowed down from. I slowed down to 45.
The cop said it was 20 under, but I think that section was actually a 55 zone.
For some reason the highways alternate back and forth between 65 and 55 every few cities around here.

I've heard people claim that speed variation causes more accidents, but from the statistics I've seen speed is the higher contributor to deaths. Better to have 10 accidents at 50 than one at 80, because at 80 you won't have a chance to have another. Besides, these are mostly 5 lane (each direction) highways, there is plenty of room for people who want to speed to go around me.