Well, i got 53 in traffic, but i'm NOT gonna drive that way!

Re: Well, i got 53 in traffic, but i'm NOT gonna drive that

Is that why they call it a parkway? ;-)

 

Re: Well, i got 53 in traffic, but i'm NOT gonna drive that

You need to read your signature line again...it has some good advice for changing your old bad habits .

Owning a Prius has made me a much more patient and calm driver. I am content to leave space between me and the car in front, coast when I can, and maintain my speed within the speed limit. I used to drive my VW GTI 80-85 mph, and didn't realize how much stress that adds to your drive :x . I am much more relaxed now! 8)

 

wtg aaron!!

but you can do better. as far as changing your driving habits. do you really think you would get somewhere faster? or is it more like you would spend more time waiting at a standstill instead of coasting up to the light?

where im at, (i doubt if things are that much different where you are) traffic density dictates how long it takes to get somewhere. i could race from light to light and if i did enough weaving, after several miles i may be a dozen car lengths farther ahead. but is it worth the headache?

since ive gotten my car, i have found it challenging to see how close i can come to predicting what speed i need to be at to get somewhere while not losing any time due to slow speeds, missing lights that i should have made, etc.

now after saying all that, i must say that if i have a choice, i always speed except when the speed limit is 70 or 20 (around here speeding in a school zone is an automatic video camera controlled ticket that you most likely will not escape)

i have found that at surface "through street" speeds, at 35-40 mph, that i can make the EPA. i have one tank at 56.39 mpg and one at 55.29 mpg so i know you can do better. the first tank was possibly a bladder issue, but the 2nd one, the computer reading was 54.8 so i feel that one was accurate.

 

:crazyeyes: :crazyeyes: :crazyeyes: :crazyeyes: :crazyeyes:
Ya Drive on a Parkway and Park on a Driveway, go figure!
:lolup: :lolup: :lolup: :lolup: :lolup: :lolup: :lolup:

 

i drive with a light foot on all my cars because i can no longer afford to drive any other way...

obtw... around here, the price of gas has gone up 11 cents in the past week and half... how about your area?

 

The tax break expired, and we are bracing for a hurricane Prices have gone up a minimum of 8 cents in one day (the price of the tax)

 

Everyone starts out in a different space with their driving. Some of it is us, how we drive. Some of it is where live, some environments are better than others. Some of it is simply the commute we take each day. I am getting 54 on the third tank. Moderate climate, a bit easy on the gas, with a lot to learn, and I suspect a commute that is conducive to low m.p.g. though I am not sure of the latter as yet I am not also willing to say it is just the former two. Hang in there observe, learn.

 

that is the same situation for me for the most part in about half to maybe a third of my city driving. you need to determine how fast you can go and maintain contact with the cars in front of you and FORGET the cars behind you.

what difference does it make if the car ahead of you jackrabbits to 40 mph right away when you already know that you will all be stopped at the next light?

your best bet is to gauge your speed to where you are just rolling up when the traffic is just starting to move out from the next light. when you can do that without losing touch with the car in front of you and not touch your brake then you are doing the best you can for the conditions you have.

to do it any other way DOES NOT get you any where faster. it only increases the time you spend at a standstill.

you say the road is dead straight, then you are lucky. it will be easy for you especially if you can see traffic and the light from a distance. if you can see the light from a quarter mile away, there is no excuse for you to not be able to get minimum 51-55 mpg.

my commute has a stretch that is single lane and has several curves right before lights going home (good view going to work) so i cant see the light until im only a block away. makes it tough to gauge my speed. (keep in mind that if you get caught by a red light that you should have missed then you negate all the good you have gained. keep in mind we do have places to go...this aint sunday drivin' im talking about.) also lights that are weight pad sensored are screwed and that is a problem for me going to work since i go to work before the lights start their automatic cycling (4:30 AM) so i cant time them. but also, morning commutes dont have the traffic problem so its easy sailing for the most part.

 

It is true - I see the Prius primarily as a vehicle for commuting use around town. My wife and I both drive large 4WDs (SUVs to you guys) and live on the outskirts of London. Now we have finally given in and ordered a Prius (should arrive in three weeks!) which will replace the older of our current cars. But we will retain the Landcruiser for long distance motorway driving, bad weather etc.

Its quite rare that we are both driving to different places at the same time - we will generally choose the car which is most appropriate to the journey of the day...

Martin (soon to be '04 TSpirit)

 

the tax break expired??

SHOOT!!

now i never be able to maintain my 3.5 cpm (cents per mile) goal. and winter is coming too. keep in mind that we all will suffer a 7-12% hit in mpg's when the winter gas formula arrives.

 

sorry, my county/city has added 8 cents to the already high enough florida gas tax, they recently gave us a "break" and as of my last post in this thread had re-enacted their tax

 

I find that driving my Prius is a bit of a Zen activity. I see those going by me and breaking hard at each light. They are one or two cars ahead of me but they don't get there much ahead of me. I am driving a little bit slower. My most recent relation is that I have been accelerating a bit too slowly. My m.p.g. increased by a bit more peddle pressure. I don't have people giving me the middle finger and such, and I am doing better and better. My ordinary driving habits are being modified just a bit but not a lot.

 

henry i know exactly the feeling. it makes me laugh when im coasting up to the light and people behind me get frustrated because they dont realize that im going as fast as i can.

they will zoom around me and sure enough, 5 miles further done the road, they are maybe 3-4 car lengths ahead of me and no doubt experiencing a much higher stress level than me.

 

I still have difficulties getting used to the Prius driving style. Although I manage to drive fuel efficient most of the time, it's hard to let others zoom pass by me. But it's getting easier and easier. It's hard not to get smug while driving a Prius; I told my GF how old fashioned it is to have a car that has a running engine while waiting at a red traffic light.

My daily commute is ~100 kms single journey. Most of it is highway with speed limit of 120 km/h (75 MPH), at those speeds it's hard to influence the mileage. Only when it gets too busy and traffic slows down I get better mileage. I do sometimes take short cuts/green lanes that have lower speed limits (80 km/h). On the highway I get something like 48 MPG. Still pretty good I guess.

 

considering your driving style and conditions, you are at the apex of mpg's.

at 60-65 mph, i get 51-53 mpg.

its only when im at surface street speeds where anticipating lights, traffic and braking techniques come into play and that is where you get the high mileage. i am to the point now that i can meet or beat the EPA at will. i originally wanted to do a couple of tanks with no freeway driving at all. but... life interupted and unless im on vacation or something, it wont happen. i was thinking if i restricted my out of town trips and got up 5 minutes earlier that would do it but being on call prevented that idea. but i do have

http://priuschat.com/forums/album_pic.php?pic_id=836

 

True, yesterday I filled up the tank again and got pretty good mileage on the way home through town and behind a elderly lady outside town (over 70 MPG). But that didn't last long this morning when I drove the highway