Racing to work, to pick up your children from school, or go from one errand to the next not only wastes money and sends harmful emissions into the air, it barely saves you time, new research says.
Regarding passing in the passing lane when someone wants to pass. Firstly, if you wait for the guy behind you to pass you and the slow driver in front of you, when does it end? Pass them and get it over with. Secondly, I drive like truckers do. I set my cruise control at or near the speed limit to conserve fuel (acceleration uses more, cruising uses less, over time it does matter) and pass anyone going slower than me to maintain my speed. But, I’ve found that setting it 1-3 below means most people will push past me. It’s fine if they go around. My ego is not a factor when I drive, nor is my pride, only the safety of me and mine (and you and yours if I can help it). That way, I’m less likely to have to pass someone, and again, people going around me don’t bother me.
Even 10 years ago, it was so nice to just set the cruise control for 69-70MPH (the speed limit), and just… cruise. The gap between my vehicle and the one in front of me was always growing larger, which afforded me plenty of room to see situations developing, avoid slamming on the brakes, and not getting into crashes. (This habit saved me from a multi-car pileup once.)
But now, most semi trucks are speed-governed to 65MPH. It wouldn’t be so bad to cruise along at 65MPH, but now so many cars have adaptive cruise control. The semi truck is going 65, the vehicle with adaptive cruise approaching it from behind has to slow to ~60, and I have to slow to 55 to maintain a safe following distance. And then some asshole decides that I’m driving too slow in the right lane, and rides my bumper.
Regarding passing in the passing lane when someone wants to pass. Firstly, if you wait for the guy behind you to pass you and the slow driver in front of you, when does it end? Pass them and get it over with. Secondly, I drive like truckers do. I set my cruise control at or near the speed limit to conserve fuel (acceleration uses more, cruising uses less, over time it does matter) and pass anyone going slower than me to maintain my speed. But, I’ve found that setting it 1-3 below means most people will push past me. It’s fine if they go around. My ego is not a factor when I drive, nor is my pride, only the safety of me and mine (and you and yours if I can help it). That way, I’m less likely to have to pass someone, and again, people going around me don’t bother me.
Even 10 years ago, it was so nice to just set the cruise control for 69-70MPH (the speed limit), and just… cruise. The gap between my vehicle and the one in front of me was always growing larger, which afforded me plenty of room to see situations developing, avoid slamming on the brakes, and not getting into crashes. (This habit saved me from a multi-car pileup once.)
But now, most semi trucks are speed-governed to 65MPH. It wouldn’t be so bad to cruise along at 65MPH, but now so many cars have adaptive cruise control. The semi truck is going 65, the vehicle with adaptive cruise approaching it from behind has to slow to ~60, and I have to slow to 55 to maintain a safe following distance. And then some asshole decides that I’m driving too slow in the right lane, and rides my bumper.
Driving is the worst.