Fuel Saving Tips

..Road Mgt..

..i know it's sorta counter-intuitive, since folks here are trying to maximize their OWN fuel economy, but since we're paying much more attention to the road than the average Joe/Jane, this sorta makes sense to me.. ..rather than driving the freeways at 50-55mph & becoming an "obstacle" to other drivers, be aware of your surroundings & gradually increase speeds when you see someone charging up on you..or increase speed to start with (i like to use this on pickups, SUVs, & other low-mileage types), then ease off, causing the faster moving traffic to ease their speed (without braking, optimally).. ..the idea is to prevent other drivers from doing the rush-brake..by being a "road manager" you can help prevent other, more clueless motorists from wasting fuel..if it costs me a MPG or so but helps improve the clueless one's by the same (or more) it's a net wash/gain, no?.. ..for ex: if i see a semi coming up from behind in the distance (knowing their propensity to tailgate & try to intimidate cars to move out of their way) & i can tell he's traveling faster than me, i'll gradually increase my own speed to prevent him from having to step on the brakes..if there's plenty of passing room/lanes, it's not so much a concern, but if traffic is heavy or i'm on a narrower-type highway, it makes sense (to me) to up my speed a tad.. ..i also like to do this "road management" thing when i realize the vehicle following is willing to adapt their speed down to my own..often someone will approach more slowly & then cruise behind me for awhile (`til they get frustrated, i guess) before passing in an empty lane..so long as they don't vrrooom by, it's a success in my book.. here's to hypermiling!>> --c.