Coasting to a stop will save the gasoline you would otherwise use maintaining your speed longer.
What really irks me is the people who can’t seem to maintain a constant speed. One minute you’re 5 (empty)car lengths behind them doing 60 and not catching up, the next you somehow manage to catch up to them because they slowed to 50. They speed up to 60 again, then down to 45, then up to 55, back down to 50, then up to 65. All this and you’re barely close to the person.
I think it’s great that you average 35 mpg out of a car that is over a decade old. I’ve made a conscious effort to reduce hard stops/accelerations, not go as many mph over the speed limit, and anticipate red lights. I don’t ever go below the speed limit, however.
It’s a real shame that as technology has advanced over the years it has gone into increasing power/weight, rather than fuel economy. We got an advertisement in the mail from a Subaru dealer boasting that if we traded in our '07 Forester we could get an '09 Forester with “Up to 26 mpg!” On our last highway trip our '07 Forester achieved slightly over 29 mpg (FYI going 70-72 mph, and not in the left lane).
My driving habits are the same as the OP’s habits. The majority of the world does not agree with this method of driving and about the only suggestion I can make is ignore them. Tune 'em out; there’s nothing else you can do.
The drivers in a big hurry are also the ones eating up more of that 4 dollar a gallon gasoline and often are the accident statistics mentioned on the local news.
Good point about mileage dropping over the years. Back in the early/mid 80s a Subaru would easily get 35 MPG on the road and unless it was being driven hard; getting 40-41 MPG was common. Some of the 70s era Subaru FFE models would get 45.
I don’t drive below the limit. Please repost where I said that. Yeah, I’ll give you that if you’re doing 20 in a 25, and cars are backed up behind you, get your speed up to 25 or move over. That said…
I did say that I obey the speed limit in residential areas. And no, I’m not going to pull over so you can do 40 some MPH in an area where people live and children play. The idea is to have plenty of time to stop in the event little Johnny goes running after his ball that bounced into traffic or little Susie rides her tricycle out into the street without looking - these are prepubescent children who can’t be expected to know better. What’s more, these kids are small - they’re called LITTLE kids for a reason. It’s too easy for a motorist not to spot a kid dashing out from in front of a parked car until said motorist is within 50-100 feet of the child. I remember back when I was a young tad, my dad’s sedan was a mountain sized hunk of steel from my perspective - I have a photo of myself as a kid standing next to Dad’s old dinosaur, with the top of the wheel well almost perfectly parallel to my beltline, and I was standing up! Enter the 25MPH limit - plenty of time to stop at 25 with no worries - but if you’re speeding and you strike that child, expect a fat lawsuit, an arrest, and maybe a manslaughter charge. Call me strange, but if I pulled over for a speeder in a residential area, and that speeder were to strike a child further down the road, I would be partially to blame - okay, maybe not legally to blame, but certainly according to my personal moral code. Talk about arrogance, am I the arrogant one? Or is it the speeder who believes endangering a child to be acceptable if it means shaving five minutes off his commute?
On the highway, that’s different. Why, you ask? No pedestrians, no bicycles, few intersections, in a sparsely populated area on a road that’s built for speed. So yeah, I speed on the highway. But in residential areas, I’m gonna keep kids alive - and if you’re stuck behind me, so will you. Call me a scumbag all you want, but guess what…you’re still doing 25, like it or not.
OK, I’ll just kick back, grab a Dr Pepper, and prepare to roast some hot dogs over the flames that’ll result from this one…
Hehehe, a dweeb like that, I’d probably pass him.
No Passing zones be damned - if Johnny Law ain’t looking, and there’s no oncoming traffic, I’d pull into the oncoming traffic lane, throw the hammer down hard, then go back into the correct lane as soon as I’m past him, then slow to the speed limit or maybe a little over.
I’ve done that before. It’s a matter of choosing a part of the road where you have a view of at least a few thousand feet ahead of you, then go ahead and grab it.
Good deal. I was taught in Driver’s Ed to sloooowly step on the brakes, half coasting half decelerating, till I got to the light.
Naturally, you don’t want to “approach it at 50 and slam on the brakes”. But you should maintain appropriate speed without stalling tooooo much.
Good for you. That’s the RIGHT way to drive slowly.
What most people don’t realize is that when you’re purchasing a new/used car, right on the vehicles stickers it states, “MPG based on current driving trends.” So many people have this, "I HAVE to drive fast just to get to the red light first, that their driving habits actually make the MPG rating decrease!
Normal traffic flow violates most traffic laws. Coasting to a stop if you take the car out of gear is illegal. People learn by example.
Interesting perception of the speed limit. It is a maximum and not a minimum as traffic flow treats is. Do a search on the Dutch Bikini Bandits to see what Europe is doing to crack down on people driving as if the limit were a minimum.
That is dumb, then you will never get anywhere. Mentality and driving psychosis shows that people are followers with a grudge. They love to follow then bitch that they can’t push you faster.
Follow the law first, your heart second and if people have a problem with the way you drive then they will be responsible and contact their representative rather than getting angry at you. It is what any democratic, civilized, educated country would do.
The problem is NOT peoples driving habits…It’s when they interfere with other drivers. The kid who’s weaving in and out of traffic on the interstate…The guy who tailgates…The guy who drives 10 mph BELOW the speed limit on roads you can’t pass.
My father-in-law drives about 10mph below speed limit. And one day he’s driving down the road and comes upon a old lady driving about 20mph below speed limit…Boy was he pissed.
This is pretty much the same way I drive and it infuriates people. I find it amusing though, since 99% of the time with my slow acceleration and deceleration and their rapid rapid acceleration and braking that we both end up still sitting at the same red light. Driving this way not only helps save on fuel, but also wear and tear on your vehicle.
I’m with you, 2ndtiming! My Corolla is a dog off the line anyway (95hp??). What are we supposed to do? Race with people? We can’t. We have no choice. Now, I will only coast up to a red light when it is obvious that had I’ll be sitting there for a few minutes anyway when I get there (and so would those behind me). These people still don’t get it. The end result is that I am not only saving fuel, but saving them fuel too! Remember, there is no “flow of traffic” when there are 8 cars stopped at a traffic light 250 feet ahead and we ALL would be stopped there anyway! I can’t believe my eyes when I see people speed around me and accelerate just to be that 9th car in line at the red light then slam on their brakes and sit at a dead stop for 2+ minutes!!! This aggression can never be diffused IMO. Its very indicative of today’s average American who won’t think or plan their lives even 3 lousy seconds ahead!!!
I’m with you, man. People are idiots. My “impatient” driving friends wonder why they are sitting in the waiting room of a Midas every 6 months reading some Time mag from 2002 while I go YEARS without a brake job.
I disagree that normal traffic flow violates MOST traffic laws, though general traffic speed may violate the speed limit you should remember that yours and others safety is the first priority. If the surrounding traffic is travelling at 55mph in a 40mph speed limit then I would prefer to move with traffic as opposed to presenting a traffic hazard for the sake of being right. If I didn’t wish to travel with the traffic at that speed, I’d rather find an alternative route.
Coasting in neutral is illegal in some states but not all, if you have a late 50’s - early 60’s car fitted with a Laycock free wheel overdrive you’d break the law as soon as you took your foot of the gas. However it is dangerous for many reasons.
I doubt that many people learn by example when driving unless it is under instruction, very few people take the advantage of advanced driving courses even where they are available. The US driving course and test is derisory (though not as bad as some countries I could mention) and ill equips drivers for the realities of real world driving. A pity the IAM doesn’t exist over here, I did think of founding one but I’m too busy at the moment.
I drive the speed limit or even slightly under. 5 to 11mph over will cost you $200.00 in the city of Tucson. Now I dont know if a cop will cite you at this level of speeding but I cant afford to fin out. All traffic infractions are so expensive here $200.00+ for stop sign, red light running,$160.00 failure to yield right of way. wonder if we have a too slow law? I just leave with enough time and I have no concerns with traffic.
In Marion, Ohio, it’s $100 for rolling through a stop sign. I got one a couple weeks ago when I did a rolling stop near a set of railroad tracks. I’m used to there being several cars behind me, and the distance between the stop sign and the tracks is 3 (small)cars. The road I turn on to doesn’t have much traffic coming from the left, so you don’t wait too long except on those turning left. I’m used to just keeping traffic flowing and turning right as soon as I can, especially the way train traffic is in this town. I’m not gonna change my driving habits, I just consider it a $100 lesson to look right before I look left and go, cause the cop was sitting in the park. If I woulda looked right before, I woulda seen the cop and came to a complete stop to begin with.
I did say that I obey the speed limit in residential areas. And no, I’m not going to pull over so you can do 40 some MPH in an area where people live and children play. The idea is to have plenty of time to stop in the event little Johnny goes running after his ball that bounced into traffic or little Susie rides her tricycle out into the street without looking - these are prepubescent children who can’t be expected to know better. What’s more, these kids are small - they’re called LITTLE kids for a reason. It’s too easy for a motorist not to spot a kid dashing out from in front of a parked car until said motorist is within 50-100 feet of the child. I remember back when I was a young tad, my dad’s sedan was a mountain sized hunk of steel from my perspective - I have a photo of myself as a kid standing next to Dad’s old dinosaur, with the top of the wheel well almost perfectly parallel to my beltline, and I was standing up! Enter the 25MPH limit - plenty of time to stop at 25 with no worries - but if you’re speeding and you strike that child, expect a fat lawsuit, an arrest, and maybe a manslaughter charge. Call me strange, but if I pulled over for a speeder in a residential area, and that speeder were to strike a child further down the road, I would be partially to blame - okay, maybe not legally to blame, but certainly according to my personal moral code. Talk about arrogance, am I the arrogant one? Or is it the speeder who believes endangering a child to be acceptable if it means shaving five minutes off his commute?
You mean kids play outside these days? I thought they all just stayed inside playing their video games. 
What polite society are you talking about?