On my quest for better gas mileage, I've been trying to use wise practices such as driving as if your car had no brakes (safely) called hypermiling. I've been getting amazing results! One fill up I even had over 400 miles to the tank and the warning light hadn't even come on yet! This fill up I am disappointed by my 280 miles. :-( I will have to pay more attention when I am driving. Fortunately, gas is down below $100 a barrel (though somehow still over $3 a gallon) and its 5% back month for gas on Discover, so I'm still saving in other ways!
Yesterday, I was on my way home from work when my car started making a funny sound. I drove it straight to the best auto repair place in the entire world, Petry's in White Bear!!!! Seriously, the best!!!! I explained to him my car was making a funny noise and I said, "It sounds like the tire is falling off." He laughed and took it for a spin, brought it back, and put it up on the lift. Guess what, my tire WAS falling off! I was pleased to briefly consider myself an educated driver, but sad about the cost to repair the wheel bearing (but we later figured out my tire just wasn't screwed on tight enough and had rust in it, an easy and inexpensive repair!).
Showing posts with label Horray for Hypermilling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Horray for Hypermilling. Show all posts
Friday, September 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Creating Commuter Chaos
While driving in traffic this morning I was once again considering this. I've come to greatly enjoy coasting my way through traffic (not using the gas or breaks when there is traffic), the great gas mileage it is giving me, and the patience I've obtained (it is easier to be patient when you're moving...no matter how slow).
But today I had a cynical idea. Could one use the same theory to create a traffic jam? Could one create a jam of rush hour proportions? I guess if you got your buddies together and formed a "wall" across the highway this would work, but could one car cause it? I'm guessing yes. We've seen the minor jams before when someone is moving incredibly slow. I'm guessing you could bottleneck traffic by moving 40-45 mph in one highway lane requiring everyone to pass you in the remaining lane(s). This alone, on a busy enough highway, could possibly create a jam.
But today I had a cynical idea. Could one use the same theory to create a traffic jam? Could one create a jam of rush hour proportions? I guess if you got your buddies together and formed a "wall" across the highway this would work, but could one car cause it? I'm guessing yes. We've seen the minor jams before when someone is moving incredibly slow. I'm guessing you could bottleneck traffic by moving 40-45 mph in one highway lane requiring everyone to pass you in the remaining lane(s). This alone, on a busy enough highway, could possibly create a jam.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Traffic Theories
So, I stole this link from a friend's blog. It is about highway driving behavior.
However, I woke up and upon entering my car decided this would be a fun commute because I could try this theory out. However, I found three reasons this does not work in the real world:
1) That gap you leave in front of you is just asking for people to cut you off (or merge in front of you) In fact, merging is not factored into this theory at all.
2) It is hard to determine the average speed of traffic as a whole from the few cars you can see (and the average speed is sometimes slower than your car goes without doing anything. And even if you go the average speed of traffic, there is always the guy who will tailgate you to go faster or be pushed off the highway.
3) It doesn't work if "traffic" is due to an accident :-P
However, I woke up and upon entering my car decided this would be a fun commute because I could try this theory out. However, I found three reasons this does not work in the real world:
1) That gap you leave in front of you is just asking for people to cut you off (or merge in front of you) In fact, merging is not factored into this theory at all.
2) It is hard to determine the average speed of traffic as a whole from the few cars you can see (and the average speed is sometimes slower than your car goes without doing anything. And even if you go the average speed of traffic, there is always the guy who will tailgate you to go faster or be pushed off the highway.
3) It doesn't work if "traffic" is due to an accident :-P
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