interesting discovery on speed and time to distination

guest001 · 08-25-2009, 12:16 PM

I found this calculator online that shows how long it takes to go X amount of miles at a given speed.

http://www.csgnetwork.com/csgtsd.html

I do not know how there calculating the answer, but to travel 31 miles at 75mph it takes 25 minutes vs about 27 minute at 70mph. wind resistance is a real thing. you can see it if you ever ride a motorcycle. get to your destination 1 and 1/2 minutes earlier or save gas how much, i dunno that????
EDIT: at 60mph you only take a whole 6 minutes longer to get there.

I think it is a real interesting perspective.

FrugalFloyd · 08-25-2009, 12:40 PM

Quote from this source.

Quote:

There is, of course, an obvious drawback to driving slower: it takes more time to get somewhere. If you do the math, you discover that slowing down from 75mph to 65mph means it will take you an additional 7 seconds to go a mile. (Slowing down to 55 will cost another 10 seconds)

What all this means is, over a 10 mile commute, you will waste 25% more gas (which also means you spend 25% more money), and increase your risk of death by 160%, all to save 2 minutes.

**Jay2TheRescue** · 08-25-2009, 01:06 PM

I remember from my days driving an ambulance, that they taught us that if you had 2 ambulances leave the same scene at the same time, one going with lights & sirens, the other one following all traffic rules and just driving with the lights & sirens off, on average will arrive at the hospital 2 - 3 minutes apart. Plus, when the lights & sirens are on you greatly increase the chance of being involved in an accident. For that reason my crew used to tease me that I drove the ambulance at "turtle warp speed". I'd drive fast when needed, but if the patient was stable I'd usually just drive to the hopsital with no lights or sirens.

-Jay

**bobc455** · 08-25-2009, 01:12 PM

I gotta admit, if I were an EMT half the fun would be violating all kinds of traffic laws and such. There isn't much else they have to look forward to (unless you have a thing for blood & guts and long tedious hours)...

**Jay2TheRescue** · 08-25-2009, 03:02 PM

Yeah, it was fun, but driving fast has its place. 99% of the time I drove to the hospital with the lights off. I got enough "Lights & siren" driving to the scene. We were a small, rural squad so our area was large. I can remember there were some parts of our first due area that took 20 minutes to get to, and that was with lights & sirens. Plus, we had I-95 running through our county, and that was always fun. Not many people know how fast you gotta get a Ford Powerstroke diesel going before the engine computer shuts off the fuel to the engine.

I would have to say that the most fun was our squad car though. It was a retired Sheriff's dept car. 1986 Chevy Caprice with the police package on it. That car was FAST! More fun than any sports car I've ever driven. Plus, how many sports cars have a bench seat, 4 doors, and a column shifter. I had come close a couple of times to burying the needle on runs up & down I-95 in that. You really appreciate how well the caprices were made when you get one going in excess of 120 MPH. Its relatively quiet, with a firm, smooth ride. For this reason when I become rich & famous one of the cars I want in my garage will be a 1990 Caprice with the police package. (1990 was the first year of fuel injection for the 9C1 Police Interceptor package.)

theholycow · 08-25-2009, 04:16 PM

That Caprice sounds freakin' sweet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by guest001

I do not know how there calculating the answer, but to travel 31 miles at 75mph it takes 25 minutes vs about 27 minute at 70mph.

The calculation is spelled out for you right in the speed unit. MPH is Miles Per Hour. "Per" means "divided by". Divide 31 Miles by 75 MPH and you get 0.413 (3 repeating) hours to go those miles. To change that into minutes, multiply by 60 and you get 24.8.

At 60MPH, you're going 1 mile per minute, which is very convenient.

Don't forget that your actual travel time depends on your average speed, which is usually far lower than your target highway speed

guest001 · 08-25-2009, 05:52 PM

I am retarded, I could never figure out the formula.

yes, average speed is important. when your not on the highway it goes way down. but if just look at highway speed as being the factor to travel time it is still relevant. One might speed through the city, but I'd guess most wont to pick up the time on the freeway. going 15MPH faster your not really going to get somewhere that much faster. Learn to leave on time. It's funny because I swear 75mph feel way faster and I get there sooner.

**Jay2TheRescue** · 08-25-2009, 06:37 PM

Yeah, Stafford County got a lot out of those sheriff's dept cars. The rescue squads & fire departments got them, and I remember drivers ed in high school. We drove White Crown Vic's with bucket seats and you had to let the person in the back seat out, because the door handles in the back seat didn't work. Imagine getting in the drivers seat for the first time in drivers ed class and see a HUGE speedometer that takes 3/4 of the instrument cluster, and goes up to 140 MPH. If I remember correctly the speedometer in the caprice went to 150 or 155 MPH. I know of 2 people that have claimed to have burried the needle in the squadcar, and I believe them, but I feel that 150 is just too damn fast on public roads, even with lights and sirens going.