Thursday, June 5, 2008

Hypermiling

I understand a want for efficiency and getting Value for Money. I desire these things as much as the next guy, unless the next guy is a hypermiling enthusiast like http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=126611 <--- these guys. I appreciate the fact that they're trying to get bang for buck, but jesus christ, why the hell would you want to do 22 mph in a 55 mph zone? To me that's like dying a little bit inside. I struggle enough getting stuck behind a car going 80km/h in a 100km/h zone. Screw inflicting that kind of torture on myself deliberately.

The balance between efficiency and 'getting what you pay for' is thrown way off here for one very good reason: He's DRIVING SOMEWHERE in a CAR on a ROAD.

'I'm deliberately going slower than everyone else on the road because I would like to get to where I'm going as SLOWLY AS POSSIBLE.'

If he was content in plodding along to his destination, why didn't the lazy bugger walk?

If I want to go somewhere, and I have the opportunity to get there faster and therefore more efficiently in regard to time, then I try to get there as fast as legally possible. If I'm doing a job, I want to do an excellent job in the shortest time possible. Why would I take longer just for the sake of splitting hairs?

'Yes' petrol prices are going up, 'yes' we all want to save money, and 'yes' we all earn browny points for 'saving the whales, dude', but is driving erratically, avoiding using brakes PURELY to preserve momentum worth it JUST to save those few extra dollars?

'Do I brake early enough to come to a halt safely, knowing that everyone else on the road will do the same? Or do I coast that little bit longer at an excrutiatingly slow speed in an attempt to save a little bit of fuel only to have everyone else backed up behind me tooting their horns and getting increasingly maddened by my anal approach to fuel economy, therefore reducing their awareness for what else is happening on the road?'

Gee, decisions decisions. A pile-up worthy of the news and the added stress to boot? Or a more relaxed and safer driving experience?

I'm as big a fan of getting the High Score as everyone else, but not at the expense of the safety of others.

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