55mph Club

But not on a bike... in a car. Any car. On a highway. For at least a week.

If you are familiar with EVs, you know speed is a battery killer. With an ICE it's a fuel-economy killer. But I will tell you, driving 55mph on a US highway is not easy; makes one feel like a naked leper at the Miss America pagent... only the most overloaded trucks and farm equipment might be going slower than you.

I operate EVs and a WVO-diesel. None of which can go over 60MPH. The first thing I did, was to put a sign in my diesel's rear-window: "More Speed = More Foreign Oil". But that's a damn good reason for trying to reduce fuel consumption in the US: 4000 troops and countless others are killed and wounded in a war... just so ordinary folks can drive 70mph and play with powertoys. It's obscene.

To some extent, I'm preaching to the choir here; but we almost all have to drive sometimes. So consider this: speed is a luxury. Taken to it's logical extent, only the most decadent will use a private jet to travel cross country... Taken at it's minimum, how often could you use a bike instead of a car, or cut your driving in half by putting off a trip until tomorrow? (I know, some of y'all have no car )

Some of you will be itching to respond right away... don't, unless you have already tried this. All the issues about safety and economics, speed and aerodynamics, etc. are well covered. The important thing is actually doing 55mph (or less) for a week to see what adjustments you make in your lifestyle. It points directly at how we accept high-speed travel and integrate it into our everyday lives, and what it costs us and our people in the Middle East and the locals there.

I don't blame everyone for the speed, I blame the nefarious oil companies and their minions. Every luxury is addictive, if available and convenient. It may start out cheap, but you (or someone) will pay big in the long run.

"You don't miss your water, till the well is dry..." Think you're not addicted to speed? Try 55mph for a week. Come back and tell us what your life was like.


Here's an article from 2005:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/19/MNG3NFAOF11.DTL

Drive 55, save gas -- get flipped off
Trip shows slowing down boosts mileage but can make you unpopular on the road
Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

With gas prices hovering around $3 a gallon, a lot of people say they're making big sacrifices so they can afford to fill their gas tanks. They're cutting back on travel, curtailing shopping expeditions, going out less often.

But hardly anyone is talking about -- or practicing -- a surefire way to save on gas: Slow down. Drive 55.

"It's amazing, isn't it?'' said Tim Castleman, a Sacramento Web site developer who runs the Drive 55 Conservation Project. "People just don't want to do it. It's hard.''

How hard? The drawbacks aren't measured just in terms of minutes lost. There's the feeling of inadequacy that comes from being flipped off by a 12-year-old boy in another car. From being tailgated by little old ladies and pickup trucks piled high with furniture. From being passed by 830 vehicles, including an AC Transit bus, on a drive from the Bay Area to deep into the San Joaquin Valley. "Is that all?'' said Officer Mike Panelli of the California Highway Patrol. "It must have been a slow-traffic day.''

Traffic was a bit light when The Chronicle decided to take a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu for a 200-mile spin from Emeryville to the dusty Interstate 5 stopover of Kettleman City -- sticking to 55 mph on the way down and going with the flow of traffic on the way back.

The idea was to test just how much better the six-cylinder Malibu (EPA-estimated highway mileage: 29 miles per gallon) could do at a speed imposed on the nation's freeway drivers as a fuel-saving measure during the Arab oil embargo of the mid-1970s.

The limit became increasingly unpopular and was repealed in 1995. Now you can do 65 mph on most of Interstate 580 in the East Bay all the way down to I-5, where 70 mph is the rule and 80 mph a common practice.

But as a gas-saving device, 55 mph still works. The Malibu got 35 mpg on the way down to Kettleman City; coming back from the Kings County settlement of fast-food restaurants and gas stations at the flow of traffic, a bit over 70 mph, the mileage dropped sharply -- to 25 mpg.

"That's pretty significant,'' said Sean Comey, spokesman for AAA of Northern California. "More than I would have expected.''

For every mile per hour faster than 55 mph, fuel economy drops by about 1 percent, said Jason Mark, clean vehicles program director for the Union of Concerned Scientists. The drop-off increases at a greater rate after 65 mph. The faster you go, the faster the fuel goes.

There are costs the slower you go, however. It took 49 minutes longer to make the trip at 55 mph -- three hours and 36 minutes total -- but it seemed like forever. Sitting in the slow lane, tapping the gas pedal to maintain a steady speed, the car felt like it was traveling at 25. Everything from Porsches and BMWs to big-rigs, the AC Transit bus and pickups towing boats -- and they're supposed to keep their speeds under 55 -- cruised past in the left lane.

A lot of drivers cast curious glances at The Chronicle's Malibu, and a woman in a black Volvo station wagon with three kids in the back seat glared. One person -- a preteen boy in the passenger seat of a Dodge Stratus -- made an obscene gesture, raising both middle fingers somewhere in Merced County.

A handful of drivers came within a few inches of the rear bumper before jerking their cars into the fast lane and flying by, but most simply passed. Actually, everybody passed sooner or later. The 830 cars and trucks that went by the Malibu as it poked along at 55 mph was nearly 10 times the number that passed on the speedier trip home.

Officer Panelli said the CHP sees very few drivers cruising I-5 at 55. It's not illegal, however -- there's no minimum speed limit on that stretch of road, and the Vehicle Code says only: "No person shall drive upon a highway at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic."

"If you're doing 55 in the right lane,'' Panelli said, "you're probably OK. It wouldn't be like you're the only one out there going that slow, since trucks and cars towing trailers have a 55 speed limit.''

Most motorists wouldn't dare try it, however. "You want to go with the flow,'' said Jihadda Govan of Delano, who was taking I-5 back from a wedding in Humboldt County. "You feel like a hazard doing 55 when everyone else is going between 70 and 90.''

Comey said that even though the AAA encourages motorists to conserve fuel by lifting the right foot off the gas pedal, he would worry about going 55 on the wide-open highway.

"You wouldn't want to sacrifice safety for fuel economy,'' he said. "If you're driving 55, and the ambient traffic speed is much higher, you could be putting yourself in danger because the other drivers might not be paying attention and might crash into you.''

But Panelli said he wouldn't classify 55 as an unsafe speed.

"I've never (responded to) a collision that occurred where someone said, 'This guy was driving 55 so I crashed into him,' '' he said. "Usually, the cause is the opposite. Someone's driving too fast.''

Many motorists said time was more important than money.

"We're coming from Seattle,'' said Hugh Lee, a content provider for an Internet music service, bound for West Los Angeles with his friend, Leah Clarin, a Nordstrom merchandiser. "So we just want to get to our destination as fast as we can.''

Seth Springer, an Oakland special-education teacher heading for the Grand Canyon in a Toyota Prius hybrid, said he was keeping a close watch on his mileage, which is recalculated and displayed on the dashboard display every five minutes. It was at 44 mpg, a bit better than the 42 he usually gets commuting to work in Hayward. He was trying to keep down his speed, he said, but wasn't too worried about the effect on mileage.

"In a Prius, you don't have to feel guilty,'' he said.

Despite the significant fuel savings, there's been no hue and cry to reinstate the national 55-mph speed limit. Castleman, who formed the Drive 55 Conservation Project as a way to lessen dependence on foreign oil after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said he's had trouble getting any politicians -- even his own state representatives -- to consider the idea.

"The 55 mph speed limit is not a number we're stuck on,'' he said. "I'd be willing to go to 60.

"The idea is to get people to slow down (and develop) an attitude of conservation,'' Castleman said.

That makes sense to Mark, who said the savings can add up by slowing down even on short trips. He figures that a commuter making a 30-mile drive to work at 65 mph instead of 75 mph would save about 30 cents in fuel costs per day -- or $150 a year -- and spend just 3 1/2 minutes more daily on the road.

"When we're talking about changing driving habits, we're not talking about driving like your grandmother,'' Mark said. "We're talking about just easing off the gas pedal a bit.''


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ON THE ROAD
With gas prices soaring and people searching for ways to reduce their energy costs, Chronicle reporter Michael Cabanatuan explored an old solution -- slowing down. He drove from Emeryville to Kettleman City at 55 mph, then drove back at 70 mph and compared his gas mileage on the two trips.


Emeryville to Kettleman City

55.6 mph, 35 mpg

Gas consumed: 5.7 gallons

Travel time: 3 hours 36 minutes

Cost of gas: $17.04 ($2.99/gallon)

Number of vehicles that passed driver: 830


Kettleman City back to Emeryville

70.8 mph, 25 mpg

Gas consumed: 7.8 gallons

Travel time: 2 hours 47 minutes

Cost of gas: $22.23 ($2.85/gallon)

Number of vehicles that passed driver: 94

E-mail Michael Cabanatuan at mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Click to expand...

its a good point, but it depends on the car, too. My truck gets almost 16mpg at 55, and thats right at the sweet spot in 4th (top) gear. pretty good for an old, 6 liter farm truck. On the other hand, my Hemi powered Durango gets 14mpg at 55, but 23mpg at 72. at 55, it can't get into over drive, and the MDS system can't stay engaged. MDS, multi displacement. it shuts off 4 cylinders, but it needs to be crusing in overdrive to stay that way. 72mpg is 1800 rpm, the motor's most efficent point.


I agree, though. if we all slowed down, and drove vehicles appropriate to the speeds we choose, we could help the planet, and help our selves in the wallet, not to mention cutting ties with forign oil.

You're basically right of course and I have no argument with what you said.

To some extent, I'm preaching to the choir here

Click to expand...

I agree that virtually everyone here has an interest in saving the planet. But speed seems to be a part of our make-up.
For example, theres another thread dealing with E-bike racing and everyones talking about speed. I confess I haven't read it thoroughly, but I don't believe anyone has mentioned a "road rally" as a type of race involving timed arrival points but not involving speed.
Many other threads involve higher voltages and amps or maybe a small motor on a road bike; all to increase speed. Not too many folks ask about downsizing.

My turbo cars have very flat mpg vs speed curves due to a 0.27Cd and high efficiency turbochargers. Above 80mph is where economy starts to drop slightly, and it really goes down above 110mph. On a 2+hr drive I see 20mpg at around 115mph average, but it's worth it to make the round trip in one day. I can't really imagine the same trip at 55mph... 9hrs of driving + see clients for maybe 6hrs.

And a graph from one of my cars:



Thankfully most people have the sense to travel with the flow of traffic instead of trying to get 82.75mpg.

Lowell said:

I can't really imagine the same trip at 55mph... 9hrs of driving + see clients for maybe 6hrs.

Click to expand...

This is gonna sound like I'm pickin on you, but I'm only trying to illustrate my point:

Most of our lifestyles are so tied to petrol that we couldn't live without it. Some of us can't afford to try slowing down.

This is Big-Oil's dream come true. They're screwin us and even slappin us; we still come back for more and say "thank you".

Let's have more babes on bikes. Going slow could be good.


Thanks J! http://copenhagengirlsonbikes.blogspot.com/

Not a problem, TD!

If you liked that, you'll love this

http://5x5m.com/files/speedbandits

...

Denmark, you say 8)...

Dee Jay said:

Not a problem, TD!

If you liked that, you'll love this

http://5x5m.com/files/speedbandits

Click to expand...

I'd vote for that!

TylerDurden said:

Lowell said:

I can't really imagine the same trip at 55mph... 9hrs of driving + see clients for maybe 6hrs.

Click to expand...

This is gonna sound like I'm pickin on you, but I'm only trying to illustrate my point:

Most of our lifestyles are so tied to petrol that we couldn't live without it. Some of us can't afford to try slowing down.

This is Big-Oil's dream come true. They're screwin us and even slappin us; we still come back for more and say "thank you".

Let's have more babes on bikes. Going slow could be good.

Thanks J! http://copenhagengirlsonbikes.blogspot.com/

Click to expand...

It's all well and good to say that, but put yourself in the shoes of the typical family man. A wife and young kids, single income and bills to pay. Hopefully the big one is the mortgage payment on the house, but all too often I rent to these types of people. (that's a whole other topic though...) Bottom line is that the time saved far outweighs the direct costs to go faster.

I hated 55 mph bitterly. As far as I could see, nobody but the US military observed it, so the only effect was higher revenue for the government for speeding fines. I sometimes think people have to be reminded each generation why certain things were bad ideas. People who lived under communism, for example, all hate it, but some of their children, along with others who never suffered under it, think of it wistfully. Likewise, those who didn't live through the 1970s don't remember how oppressive big overregulating high-taxing re-distributing governments can be. They need to personally experience what it feels like to have their taxes go to pay people to hassle them at every turn and provide a plethora of services which they don't want and can't use.

One more thing, while I'm at it. Not only is our present economy wholly dependent on oil, all of the progress we've made in the last 200 years would have been impossible without oil or its predecessor, coal. On the whole, fossil fuels have been a huge benefit for us, and we wouldn't have a large, healthy, mobile and educated population without them. Of course that has got to change now, and sure, our leaders are way too slow in getting on the ball, but for now, the only thing between us and economic collapse and mass starvation is a free flow of oil. However nice it will be to tell our enemies to keep their petroleum because our cellulose ethanol costs 40 cents a gallon, we're not there yet, and if we want to get there we'd better be prepared to defend our oil supplies in the meantime.

I'll keep riding my bike and save the car for the long trips, but life is short, and I don't want to waste mine going 55.

Well, the guy across the street from me is married and has a kid in diapers... he just moved closer to his job and parents, sold his car and rides his bike to work. My lawyer sold his car this year and rides his bike to work.

Hmmmm.... Maybe time on the highway is wasted at 70mph as well as 55mph... but at 70mph we waste more fuel too.

If someone has a TV, the fifteen minutes they saved @ 70mph got them opportunity to see fifteen minutes of commercials each TV hour. Plus, they got to pay for that priveledge with 15% of their gas-money. (Now that truly advances the "progress" of our obese, illiterate culture.)

Here's a little mnemonic we can play with: when you think of "Accelerator-Pedal", think: "Iraqerator-Pedal"... the more you use it, the longer we stay involved in Middle-East turmoils.

Here's an allegory we can also exercise: stepping on the Iraqerator-Pedal is like stepping on the paralyzed foot of a blind Iraq-War Veteran: You can afford it, and he won't know it's you.

Sure, the urge to go faster is always there. My leg gets really tired of mashing the pedal to the floor, even though my rig won't go any faster. I have to force myself to relax my foot and let the car go as fast as it will; which ain't that fast. But it's just perception: if everybody else were going 35mph and I were going 55mph, I'd feel self-indulgent and slow down... that wierd peer-pressure thing.

I figure, I'm not important enough to justify the speed and wasted fuel. If I feel the need to hurry, that was bad planning on my part. It's like running to catch a subway-train: It ain't gonna make enough of a difference, since the train won't go any faster.

Maxxing at 55mph for a week won't ruin your life... but you will never forget the feeling and it does give you time to think.

8)



"Iraqerator-Pedal!"

All that is fine. I usually drive slower than traffic most of the time because I'm not in that much of a rush. If you want to go 55, feel free, and feel free also to persuade everybody else that it is a good idea. I'll probably agree and drive 55 too.

Just don't pass a law that tells me I have to if I don't want to. It doesn't work. We tried it, no one liked it, and let's not do it again. To paraphrase someone's signature line, one test is worth a thousand opinions.

I agree that its all about time. Everybody is in a huge damn rush. Its not just shown in the freeway speeds. On surface streets people drive like idiots racing from one red light to the next. That can be as bad for mileage as doing 20 over on the freeway.

And I know these drivers are not all idiots, they just drive like idiots. These are the people you know and love... friends, neighbors, relatives, they drive like this. The next red light is within eye shot but they don't see it or think about it and instead floor it and slam on the brake up to the next intersection. Or tailgate and weave on the freeway. People (me included) need to find ways to not be in such a rush all the time.

Wordup.

I can't tell you how many people accelerate onto the offramp, when they have been behind me on the highway.

You'd think there was a law against coasting.

:?

And give you a dirty look as they blow by you like you're the one doing something wrong... oh yeah I know that one from the two lane offramps. I've always chalked that one up to the speed desensitization that happens on long freeway drives. After half an hour doing 70, going down an offramp at 45mph feels like you're at 20mph.

You know even my own pops sometimes complains about my driving when he's riding shotgun because of my coasting... uhg.

I don't think I'm ready for the 55 challenge yet... I will work my way down a couple mph at a time though.

I have been finding that I have been driving pretty slow lately. Diesel prices at $3.37/gal and I'm not really working at the moment. It kills me every time I gotta put my foot on that pedal. I've found myself driving around between 35-45. But I have been limiting my drives, so most of it is on surface streets. Even on the interstate I have been going about 55 though.
I remember when I lived in Cali, it would take me 2-3 hours each way for work. The same trip in the middle of the night took 45 min. I ended up moving closer to work. I had to pay more for rent, but it was basically the same amount when the gas savings was factored in. I saved almost $200/month in gas just by moving closer to my work. Even though it pretty much was the same cost, I also gained about 2-3 hours each morning to get other stuff done.

Not to mention in socal, if you live in the valley or inland, and commute in to downtown, your summertime A/C bill can be just as high as your gasoline bill... makes you think the outrageous prices on the west side are almost worth it.

I was thinking about this thread on todays morning drive, slowed me down a little. 8)

Also this morning, coasting up to a few red lights, I noticed people accelerating around me to get to them. Hurry up and wait I guess?

TylerDurden said:

Well, the guy across the street from me is married and has a kid in diapers... he just moved closer to his job and parents, sold his car and rides his bike to work. My lawyer sold his car this year and rides his bike to work.

Hmmmm.... Maybe time on the highway is wasted at 70mph as well as 55mph... but at 70mph we waste more fuel too.

If someone has a TV, the fifteen minutes they saved @ 70mph got them opportunity to see fifteen minutes of commercials each TV hour. Plus, they got to pay for that priveledge with 15% of their gas-money. (Now that truly advances the "progress" of our obese, illiterate culture.)

Here's a little mnemonic we can play with: when you think of "Accelerator-Pedal", think: "Iraqerator-Pedal"... the more you use it, the longer we stay involved in Middle-East turmoils.

Here's an allegory we can also exercise: stepping on the Iraqerator-Pedal is like stepping on the paralyzed foot of a blind Iraq-War Veteran: You can afford it, and he won't know it's you.

Sure, the urge to go faster is always there. My leg gets really tired of mashing the pedal to the floor, even though my rig won't go any faster. I have to force myself to relax my foot and let the car go as fast as it will; which ain't that fast. But it's just perception: if everybody else were going 35mph and I were going 55mph, I'd feel self-indulgent and slow down... that wierd peer-pressure thing.

I figure, I'm not important enough to justify the speed and wasted fuel. If I feel the need to hurry, that was bad planning on my part. It's like running to catch a subway-train: It ain't gonna make enough of a difference, since the train won't go any faster.

Maxxing at 55mph for a week won't ruin your life... but you will never forget the feeling and it does give you time to think.

8)



"Iraqerator-Pedal!"

Click to expand...

Unlike the couple across the street from you, by the time we're ready to start a family our mortgages will be paid off, and we'll be able to live on rental and investment income. By working hard when we're young, we'll be able to enjoy the compounded returns later on in life, and not have to commute to work at all. No need to sell the cars, although we did sell the TV quite a while ago.

Here's something to think about if you want to save the planet: What would make a bigger difference, a single individual with a minimal carbon footprint who recycles and makes eco-friendly choices, or someone who invests in companies that help bring green technology to the masses? For example I'm sure most ebikers would say that the battery pack they really want is too expen$ive. Ditto for plug-in hybrid cars with big lithium packs, or electric cars in general. $100k for a Tesla? It's funny that most of the people who really appreciate the Tesla can't afford it.

Each individual makes a difference... for better or for worse.

Would you rather raise your family next to a landfill or a recycling station?

Recycling stations tend to attract shopping cart pushing homeless people who collect containers for a living, as well as do rather annoying things like break into cars for little more than spare change. At least birds only crap on your car, not smash your windows.

"I remember when I lived in Cali, it would take me 2-3 hours each way for work. The same trip in the middle of the night took 45 min."

Yeah, you'd actually be lucky to drive at 55 most of the time here in LA. I'm still waiting for high gas costs to cause a reduction in traffic.

I'm hearing about more and more people that are commuting by other means, and as fuel prices keep going up, hopefully the number of people that leave their cars at home will too. A quick back-of-the-envelope scribble tells me that gas would need to hit about $7/liter for me to break even if I parked the car during the week.

Lowell said:

Recycling stations tend to attract shopping cart pushing homeless people who collect containers for a living, as well as do rather annoying things like break into cars for little more than spare change. At least birds only crap on your car, not smash your windows.

Click to expand...

And you can wash those windows while your kids are getting their chemotherapy; once the dioxins percolate into your yard.

:?




Q: Ya know why NYC has all the lawers and New Jersey has all the toxic-waste dumps???







A: New Jersy got first-pick.


8)

I wasn't saying I'd like to live near a dump, merely pointing out that recycling depots aren't exactly nice to live near.

None of our places are near either... would make them difficult to rent out.