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Premium gas costs a small fortune here in the San Francisco Bay Area, plus we are not wasteful, so yes, we have adjusted our driving even more than normal.
My driving changed when I bought a hybrid for years ago. It was also when I switched from a stick shift to an automatic. But the one thing I learned is the hybrid does not like the action of jamming on the brakes. It prefers a slow and steady pressure on the brakes.
So I had to vote that I have not changed my driving style. My Kia Nero gets the same kind of gas mileage as a Prius, and on occasion I’ve coaxed it much higher. In fact, my sister lives of short distance away and driving to her house is pretty much downhill. And one day as I turned off my car the miles per gallon popped up and I had to turn my car back on and then off to take a photo of what I had witnessed.
The whole country is smaller than Massachusetts. Of course they can make things work there that would not be considered possible here.
Is it really impossible though? Massachusetts could do it. So could many other states. Some states are really huge. I get that. Why not just cities do it? We could do that.. The real reason is not that we can’t,, it’s that we won’t.
Don’t misunderstand me. I love America. I love driving. I don’t expect us to change to be like them. I just like what they did. I think it is good. That’s it.
I do that, too. Also on the rare occasions when I pass someone on a 2 lane road. However, I am careful to stay below 80 mph, so that Buick Smart Driver does not rat me out to my insurance company.
We bough bikes (used) and now I try not to drive but bike for basic errands if they can be done during the day. Things like dropping off dry cleaning, buying a few items in a grocery store, checking/returning library books, etc... Doing so is good for our family's budget, helps keep me in shape and is good for the environment.
We are fortunate to live in an older, compact suburb with side walks, street lights, 25mph speed limit and trains and buses...
Recently I did notice a difference in traffic speeds but have not noticed much change in other gas wasting routines.
I still notice a lot of folks idling their cars with the A/C running.
What I've seen is a decrease in traffic speed on the highways, more people slowing down around 60mph vs 75mph on old fast sections of the highways.
A lot of people with windows wide open instead of running their AC.
Not less traffic overall, still about the same amount of traffic.
More hybrids and EVs being used.
Not really. I drive less than 100 miles a week so even though my Frontier is a gas guzzler, gas prices have had minimal impact on me.
I did have to run a 300-mile round-tripper twice in the last week. On the first trip, I accelerated slowly and never exceeded 70 mph on I10, drafting semis when I had the opportunity. On the second, identical trip I ran 80-85 for 90% of the way. There was about a 1 mpg difference between the two trips. Gas isn't high enough to make me want to drive 70 mph.
The whole country is smaller than Massachusetts. Of course they can make things work there that would not be considered possible here.
We have bike lanes or sidewalks on almost every major road here. I could ride a bike from here to the beach, crossing two bays - about 17 miles with 75%-80% of it being in bike lanes, and most of the rest being on sidewalks. But I don't own a bicycle.
Haven’t completely filled up in 3-4 months. We no longer go for long drives in the country.
I quit speeding like a 16 year-old somewhere in my 20’s and that’s been a while ago now.
If 65-70 isn’t fast enough, I should have left earlier.
Actually, I take 55 mph roads whenever possible and go 45 if no one is behind me and do 65 when the maximum is 70. If you’re comfortable going 80-85 on public roadways with all the distracted idiots rolling around in poorly maintained cars, you do you.
Slow driving is more peaceful and relaxing anyway.
Since choosing my routes and trips carefully in addition to how I drive I use roughly 7 gallons of gas every 2 weeks with roughy 250 miles driven on my odometer. Filled yesterday and I has 32 mpg with no highway miles driven.
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Solly says — Be nice!
