I tried a little experiment today.
I keep reading hints and tips about how to save gas and increase my gas mileage. So on my way to a Portland suburb I decided to be daring, be bold, be on the cutting edge of the green movement. Yes, today I vowed to go the speed limit on the highway.
The first frightening, and at the same time illuminating, realization was that I actually didn’t know what the speed limit is here in the great state of Washington. Nor in the fair state of Oregon. It seems somewhere along the line I stopped reading those signs in favor of reading the flow of traffic. As long as I’m not the fastest or the slowest I guess I’ve figured I am safe in any manner of ways. (We’re going to ignore that one speeding ticket in a construction zone barren of any comparative cars or construction. Apparently my sign reading days had stopped by then.)
I eventually spotted a 60mph sign along I-5 and set about trying to figure out my never-been-touched cruise control. In really very little time I was set at 60 and feeling rather vulnerable. This lead to the second frightening and illuminating realization: 60mph is dangerously slow on a Washington highway. Although I was in the middle lane, I was soon being passed on both sides by cars, trucks, RVs, and people with Peace bumper stickers giving me dirty looks. I was also tailgated for about a quarter-mile by a dark green Kia until I could safely move over to the right lane. I eventually snuggled in behind a semi (no sign of Jesus hovering above), grateful for an excuse to be going so dang slow. Really, I think I would have been less of a traffic hazard had I been talking on my cell phone while reading a MapQuest printout.
I saw an editorial in the paper over the weekend discussing whether or not the federal government should impose that nostalgic “55 Saves Lives” carrot for funding state coffers. After my nerve-wracking turtle trek at 60 today, I’m not so sure many lives would indeed be saved.
1 comment:
I've never been a big speeder. I used to do limit+5 on the freeway and strictly the limit on surface streets. The past couple years, I trimmed the +5 to 0. Gas mileage went from 28.8 to 31.1 miles per gallon.
Sure, I get a few dirty looks, but I'm off to the right, and I'm still not the slowest thing on the freeway. It's immensely frustrating having to pass or turn off the cruise control because the bozo ahead of you yacking on the cell phone won't drive 55 on the Dumbarton Bridge.
I find even more frustration on surface streets. In a 35 mph zone, the folks behind me can't pass fast enough. But around the bend the limit increases to 45, and NOBODY even tries to go more than 40.
Post a Comment