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This question is not what it seems.

It's not: "How do you do 100mpg?", but how do can you hypermile with so many people willing or even eager to run you off the road? This morning I got a double dose while entering the freeway ramp. It was just after 6am, and I was going 50mph in a 60 zone.

I remember 4-5 years ago, wondering how people got over 70mpg in their Insights while I was getting about 55mpg at the time. It took awhile to improve my techniques and not let some of the animals on the road get to me so much.

Technically, I probably could get better FE if I slowed down some more, but cruising at 50mph before rush hour is about as far as I can go. Beyond that, there are more people that don't just pass by , but are downright hostile - even when you allow them to easily go by and go about their business. :mad:

I know that Dallas does not have a monopoly of agressive and reckless drivers, some of you have to be experiencing this.

While I think someday I can have a 100mpg or better run, it will almost certainly be a non-urban run.

It's not so difficult for me. Where I live, the population is not dense and I see few cars for 3/4 of my drive. The only place better for hypermiling might be South Carolina. While on vacation, I drove from Myrtle Beach to Sumter with the Prius, about 110 miles, at 60-70 MPH. Not really hypermiling but I got 58.5 MPG and i passed many cars on the two lane highway. On the way back, I drove the speed limit which was 45-55 and still I passed many cars. The return trip was 68.1 MPG.

The drivers in SC don't seem to be in much of a hurry to get anywhere and a good percentage drive at the speed limit or lower. Hypermiliers paradise. No doubt that Basjoos would agree. I will move there someday. Hopefully sooner than later.:D

It's funny that you posted this thread, because I probably would have created something similar after my drive this morning. The past couple of months have treated me very well from a hypermiler's perspective. I tend not to drive all that slow on the back roads so no problem there, but the folks on the highway have been relatively accomodating. Driving my usual 57-61 in a 65 zone results in quite a few willing followers, and the rest just flow around since I'm in the right lane. My technique is relatively steady and predictable which improves relations between me and "them."

But....

I think that the effect of higher fuel prices is starting to wear off. It slowed traffic down to a manageable speed for a while and reduced aggressive habits, but it has all started flooding back onto the roads again. This morning traffic was averaging at least 5mph faster than it had been, and I saw more idiot moves than on any single commute in quite some time. The worst part is the folks who fasten themselves to my rear bumper, which has been happening more and more. It didn't rattle me too bad, but it wasn't encouraging.

The worst part is the folks who fasten themselves to my rear bumper, which has been happening more and more.

I have taken to calling those particular individuals "proctologists".:D

I have taken to calling those particular individuals "proctologists".:D

I've been meaning to compare road behavior with the behavior of feral animals and other wildlife. Kind of like cats that sniff butts. :p

i too will tend to drive about 60 on the 65 MPH 4 lane i drive to work. but, it's not a major metropolis. for about 80% of the way into work, while there is some traffic, it's never the bumper to bumper you would see in a large city where to have to keep up or get killed. there is always room to pass, even close to town, and i work right on the edge of it.

at night, i will frequently take the 2 lane home, since the 4 lane is a direct link to the lakes areas farther north, and tend to get busy this time of the year, with thursday and friday being crazy nights with the boat parade. i want nothing to do with it. so i will putter home at about 50 mpg, and the passers will fly by for the most part, as they usually do on rural back roads. doesn't bother me, after i finish cursing their stupidity under my breath. i get a little self smugness going when i think how much it's gonna cost them to fill up.......and why the heck don't they care????

Normally I don't have that much of a problem on my 45 mile one way trip into work, because it is all freeway and I don't leave my house until 9 am, so most of the idiots have long since buzzed their way into work... Occasionally i do encounter a proctologist, and my solution has always been to slow down incrementally until they get fed up and pass me. Doesn't hurt the mileage either.....

Also, I draft semi's like a nascar wannabee, and that really helps mileage, tho they hate it!

In heavy traffic, especially on a 4-lane highway (2 lanes each way) where many would be passing me, especially trucks, I speed up. It is a compromise. The loss of mpg is worth the reduction in my own level of stress.

I've been meaning to compare road behavior with the behavior of feral animals and other wildlife. Kind of like cats that sniff butts. :p


But for cats, sniffing butts (also known as a "tail-check") is generally a non-aggressive behavior ;)

But for cats, sniffing butts (also known as a "tail-check") is generally a non-aggressive behavior ;)

Now that's the best first post I've seen yet!

1. stay on the right lane
2. never look at their faces (its distracting)
3. remember that you get a new car if they rear end you.
4. no fear
5. if too congested (in terms of traffic and boy it gets UGLY around here....) bite the bullet and save up for a prius.

Being tailgated doesn't bother me since I normally keep a good buffer distance ahead of me and the car being tailgated (drafted) gets a mileage boost by being drafted. So if they want to help me get better mileage by sitting on my bumper, that's perfectly fine with me.

As Dan said, rural South Carolina drivers are more accomodating of people going at or below speed limit since many of them are doing the same thing. I especially notice a drop of speed whenever gas prices take a sudden climb. When driving in urban, suburban, or interstates, I get more speed demons and get occasional rare, rude behavior, but apparently much fewer than in other parts of the country. I see more rude behavior when driving at the speed limit in the North Carolina mountains in the Asheville/Hendersonville areas.

The lightly-travelled rural Piedmont area of SC is the best place for hypermiling since the gentle rolling hills there allow you to FAS the downhills in a form of pulse and glide and the high summer heat/humidity creates high density altitudes that de-rate your ICE and allow you to coast long distances. On certain east-west roads that cut across the watersheds, my ICE will only be only running for 1/3 to 1/4 of the time, the rest of it is spent FAS'ing the downhills and the run out at the bottom waiting for my speed to drop before restarting.

Hi Chuck:

___I am both blessed and cursed with not only the ability to drive a slightly alternate route at slower speeds (even if it is only 15% of my daily commute, it adds time :(), but a rotating shift, rotating days off schedule to maneuver around the worst of the traffic congestion.

___While on nights, I take about an hour and a half nap in the car before actually leaving work so as to miss the worst of the crawling bumper to bumper stuff … Leaving home, usually about 4 hours early to arrive 1.5 hours early and still get to enjoy some of the greatest traffic nightmares on the planet when conditions arise.

___Because I can/am scheduled around the worst traffic times of the day yet still have some congestion to help/hinder, I find my actual average speeds closer to 50 - 55 mph vs. the 55 and 65 mph limits I am faced with out on the highway because of traffic.

___In a nutshell, I will drive at a steady 52 - 57 mph in the far right lane while DWL on the 65 mph limited Interstates if I cannot find a suitable draft target. If I have a target, I will take it up to 68 before I will D-FAS and drop away waiting for something else to come along. On the 55 mph limited roadways, I will take her all the way down to 45 mph and back up to 58 mph in a HS P&G when driving through some of the larger peaks and valleys with traffic clear from behind. If it is not, you can find me camping at 55 mph in the far right lane actively searching for opportunities in which to Close or Distant, HS P&G with an occasional D-FAS all the while DWL and WB along with a heavy dose of FAS’ing when traffic tie-ups are imminent or when I have an off-ramp to on-ramp (they do exist and I take advantage of them ;)).

___On a slightly OT note, if you can make it up here for Hybridfest next month, I would like to have you visit on Thursday/Friday so as to get a feel for my methods in the traffic conditions I see in the Chicago area on a daily basis. If we were to take the Accord out at ~ 01:45 on Thursday, head toward my work location and turn around at the half way point for the return, I am sure we would see a light to congested Interstate on the way out and a congested heavy to nightmarish conditions on the way back in which I could show you my own methods of dealing with the traffic conditions and obstacles at higher speeds. Not that it would help you given Texas drivers sound a bit more rushed as well as the Insight is at an extreme disadvantage being pushed in that manner but at least you would have a taste of how us Illini beat up on the EPA in and around Chicago :D

___Similarly, I have plans for Terry and his wife to be here on Thursday and heading up to Madison Friday afternoon. I believe Hobbit might need a place to stay (here at my home?) Thursday night and share a room with any number of us on Friday night up in Madison. Billy will be driving straight into Madison. I believe Brian H. and Mike D. are staying with Chisight on Thursday and Friday night and will be coming down to Madison on Saturday morning? Again, complete speculation on my part. If you need a place to stay or need a room to share while up in Madison, let me know as I am still in the pre-planning stage as to where to stay in Madison itself for Friday night only. If you would like to fly in, Tom or I could pick you up as O’Hare or Midway Fields in Chicago or Mitchell Field in Milwaukee given all three are a stones throw from either of us …

___To everyone else, it is great to hear about your personal commutes and how you deal with traffic situations when they arise. Sometimes I wonder if it’s not so much technique but gumption to push tanks that result in the numbers most here receive.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Wayne, I do look forward to some pointers from you.

Right now I'm planning to take Friday and the following Monday off. It might be possible to maybe get half or all of Thursday off, but would need to check into that.

Dallas to Madison is 1,000 miles - pretty close to a 15-hour trip from Dallas to the ski slopes west of Denver. Anyone know of some serious caffination for the trip? :D

it would be fun to meet you all, but that weekend i go to a horse show in southern minnesota as the official photographer.....hopefully i can drive my car and not have to haul my horse down there with the truck. he is for sale, and i am hoping he will sell before then. hate to do it, but i am not going to be able to ride for a year after i rehab both knees.

'sides, you wouldn't want to have to wait for granny here to catch up with you. if you think i drive slow, you should see me go down stairs.....

...'sides, you wouldn't want to have to wait for granny here to catch up with you. if you think i drive slow, you should see me go down stairs.....

Laurie,

This may not be enough train for the Pikes Peak Marathon on Aug 20 (26.2 miles horizontally - 1.5 miles up then down. :eek:)

I go at just under a jogging pace for 6 miles over about 40 minutes daily on one of these stairmasters (http://www.valeriefitness.com/images/stairmaster.jpg) and yield about a pint of sweat. The only torture worse than that is not completing the Marathon in then hours this August....

Since the air at 14,000 feet is just 60% at sea level, I am trying to sleep with a mask. The cats don't seem to mind cuddling next to "Darth Vader".
http://www.spencerthelion.com/forums/images/smilies/starwars2.gif

I don't hardly ever get tailgaters.

On a multilane road I'm on the far Right.
Folks usually figure I'm a bit slower than the 2nd to the Right lane quickly and go around without issue. Others stay behind a few miles then go around. A few stay behind for miles upon miles.
The very few tailgaters I get usually don't stay behind long and go around or dissappear in one of the other lanes. Then they tailgate the next person.

If there is only one traveling lane it's usually in a 35 or 45MPH zone and I DWL so speed varies +/- 5 if someone is behind.

Who is the worst tailgaters?
COPS

The other night (3:00AM) I had to turn Left into a quick mart to pick up milk.
In the middle of a FAS I was prepared to swing Left when all of a sudden a car which was clearly FAR exceeding the 45MPH limit came speeding tward me from ahead.
It was a choice of either jamming on the brakes, or Left-turnig onto the wrong side of those triangle-shape dividers placed in the driveway of the store I was turning into.

Yes, it was a cop and of course saw me Left turn onto the wrong side of that cement thingy.

He jammed on his brakes as if he was going to stop and give me something but dissappeared into the night.

The last time I was SERIOUSLY tailgated was by a cop. So close his headlights dissappeared behind me. GEEEZE this guy is in a hurry I thought so I went into a Left turn lane to let him pass.
Yes, he pulled me over to complain about an improper lane usage.
And Yes, I let him have it for tailgating which of course he denied to the end.
(Sigh)
I was so mad at this that I was going to talk to his captain the next day but decided to forget it for having a small town cop "Have it in for me".:rolleyes: