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August 15, 2004
Life in the Slow Lane
Friends,
Hello, my name is John and I'm a commuter. Every day I drive my Honda
CRV 18.8 miles to work and 18.8 miles home. My Honda does great on long
trips to the desert, forest or ocean and gets nearly 30 MPG. But
commuting gets me a pitiful 22 MPG. Every day I burn 1.71 gallons of
regular unleaded gasoline. A sad sad reality check for an old fashion
card carrying Sierra Club and Green Party member.
But I have found a glimmer of redemption. I have performed dastardly
experiments on my CRV. You see, much of my commute is on Interstate 5
where traffic flies along at 70+ MPH in a dance commonly called "the rat
race", where cars jockey for position for the red light 2 exits and 9
miles down the road, accelerators brazenly pumped down, air conditioning
pleasantly converting octane into cool air. Now for weeks at a time, my
experiment has taken me to the Slow Lane. That's right, I'm that silver car
in front of you - tail gate all you want but I know a secret and I'll share it
with you on the road if I can.
I have found that driving consistently at 60 MPH makes quite a
difference in my fuel economy. Actually, I'd love to keep it at 55
but I can't stand looking in the rear view mirror at such a speed.
Seems like every tractor trailer on the road charges up behind me like
a giant Spanish bull on steroids. At the anti-social speed of 60MPH I
stay just ahead of the truckers and I have found that my wonderful
little SUV gets 10% better gas mileage. And these days I'm all to excited
about it. That extra 2.2 MPG means .17 less gallons per day, .85 less
gallons per week, and 44 less gallons per year. Or around $100 cash
depending on the current whim of oil industry executives.
So big deal right? I should just get a nice efficient VW Jetta TDI
diesel and get 46MPG and be done with it right? Well yes, actually. But
I read an interesting article today from George Monbiot called "War x4"
(http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2004/07/06/war-x-4/). According to
Michael Meacher, the British Minister of Transportation (via George):
"the US could do without its oil imports from the Persian Gulf if the
fuel efficiency of its cars was improved by an average of 2.7 miles per gallon."
I know every SUV and fuel inefficient car owner isn't going to run out
and buy the all too scarce VW Jetta, but I do know that every car
owner can slow down a little bit and get a little better gas mileage.
So, everyday now, I try to keep a light foot and take my time on the
highway. And I'm happy to share this secret with anyone else on the
road. Actually I seem to do exactly that every time I pass a truck. The
truckers keep their speed just below 60 so I find myself creeping past
them nonchalantly. And that's where I share my secret, as I look in my
rear view mirror and notice the long line of speed freaks all joining me
in my slow environmentally friendly and peaceful duty of gasoline
conservation. I can only guess that I'm getting that missing .5 MPG
savings vicariously through all my fellow travelers.
I encourage all my fellow progressive to slow down around town and on
the highway. Save a little gas. Together, we will add up to quite a
difference.
--John
Posted by John at August 15, 2004 01:33 PM
