Speed Kills

So as summer approaches, it's pretty much a certainty that we will see $4/gallon gas prices. Hell, maybe some of you are already seeing it. And of course, along with the rise in prices is the matching rise in complaining about those prices. Bitching about gas prices has taken its rightful place in Americana alongside baseball, moms and apple pie.

Although, that statement could probably be clarified. The reality is that bitching without actually doing something about the problem has become part of our birthright. And that's less of an American quality than it is a quality of humanity. Humans love to bitch about their myriad inconveniences but that's as much work as they are willing to do to foster any change in regards to those inconveniences.

Nowhere does this apply better than the issue of gas prices. The truth of the matter is that as high as prices are and as much complaining as we do about them, prices still haven't reached that mythical point where Americans will substantially change their driving habits.

Exhibit A is the number of people that still insist on driving behemoth SUVs when they have absolutely no practical need for them.

Exhibit B is the issue of speed. The sweet spot for fuel efficiency is between 55 and 60 mph. And fuel efficiency drops the higher you get above 60 mph. So here's the question: how many of you are willing to drive 55 mph when the speed limit (in Ohio) is 65 mph? Anyone? Yeah, me neither. I don't know that I'd ever be able to bring myself to drive 10 mph below the limit. It just isn't in my DNA. Plus, on some roads (I-670, the Autobahn of Central Ohio) driving 55 mph would be putting your life in danger. But over the last 4 or 5 days I've been doing something that I don't typically do: actually following the speed limit.

Historically, I am a 5-10 mph over-the-limit driver with the occasional 15 mph over thrown in for good measure. But my thinking has been that even if I'm not getting the ideal efficiency of driving 55, I can still get some savings by reducing my speed. Every little bit helps, right?

So what have I learned from this little experiment? That people who actually follow the speed limit are in a very small minority. I'm getting passed like crazy. Especially by people driving those idiotic SUVs. And as I see car after car fly by me, I can't help but wonder...what the hell is the big hurry? Even though I have a history of treating speed limits as friendly suggestions, I've never been stupid enough to say that the reason I speed is so I can get to my destination quicker. My reason is simple. I LIKE GOING FAST. There is no other reason. I like passing other people. Is it ego? Testosterone? Who knows? It just feels good. But saving time is not a valid reason.

You're very rarely going to be driving more than 40 miles in the Central Ohio area. Assuming you can drive the whole 40 miles at top speed (which you obviously can't), driving 75 mph will save you a whole 8 minutes over driving 60 mph. That's it! 8 minutes! Yes, obviously, over long distances the time savings is more significant. But the large portion of our lives are probably spent within a 20 mile radius and speeding does not provide a material time savings.

Now, will all of this information stop your neighbor from driving their GMC Envoy 70 mph to work tomorrow? Probably not. And will they then bitch to you about how much it cost them to fill it up? It's very likely. But those complaints then have about the same weight as those of people who complain about the government but don't vote.

Bottom line, until you're willing to make some changes in your life to mitigate the effects of rising fuel costs...don't come crying to me.