Michael Braun's Blog

You’ve just gotten onto the busy interstate highway after racing up the entrance ramp. You’re in a hurry, late to work, or fixing to be unless you can make up some time on the road. Traffic is heavy, but seems to be moving along at a good clip. You have a little trouble merging, hitting the brake pedal to slide in between a semi-truck and a blue Honda Civic. You look in your side mirror, then over your shoulder, trying to find a spot to get into the left lane. Nothing doing; the traffic is packed, whizzing by. You look at your speedometer – 60 mph! A quick glance up reveals the speed limit is 65, and the traffic in the left lane is doing over 70! WHAT THE FUCK?, you scream, fighting temptation to lay on the horn. Why is that Civic driving so slowly?!

What you don’t realize is that it’s me in that Civic, and I’ve driving 5 miles under the speed limit in order to maximize my gas mileage. And one more thing, I don’t care how mad you get, how close to my bumper you drive, or how red-faced you are when you finally pass. I’m getting 40 miles per gallon and am happy as a seafood lover at a clambake!

According to Consumer Reports, the ideal speed for most vehicles is right around 55 mph. Going faster than that doesn’t open up any additional gears for use, increases your RPM, and increases your drag, lowering your fuel mileage. I used to be the guy in the left lane, passing everything going under 70, but have decided that I’m sick of wasting gas and money, sick of worrying about being pulled over, and sick of racing everywhere I go.

Yesterday, I managed to drive to and from Milwaukee in this manner. I’m sure I annoyed a fair number of people, and only passed one vehicle. I had cars rushing by me constantly, but kept up with my slow and steady pace. By the time I arrived (it’s around 90 miles), I had used less than three gallons of gas. By the time I got home, my gas gauge showed I had well over a half tank of gas (tank holds 12 gallons). That was enough to ensure I’ll keep up this kind of driving. So if you find yourself in a hurry, and want to waste gas, best watch out for blue Civics. Otherwise, sick with me, and we’ll all see lower fuel bills.