Old Koreelah Posted October 27, 2016 Posted October 27, 2016 A thing that I have seen more and more is that people who (over)pay big money to by a hybrid car (such as the Toyota Prius for instance) are so obsessed about saving a few petrol dollars that they travel between 10 and 15 km/h below the speed limit. Is this in order to make even greater petrol cost savings? ...I am not sure without asking those drivers but there certainly seems to be a pattern in my highway encounters. I'll defend economical drivers, 80kt. Some of us see a red light or a stop sign up ahead and ease off the power. Plenty of others hammer it all the way and then brake heavily. When they get a green light it sounds like the start of a Grand Prix. I've done pretty well on the racetrack and know how to get good times around a demanding circuit, but road driving is not a race. I use considerably less fuel than many people and my rubber and brake pads last longer.
Old Koreelah Posted October 27, 2016 Posted October 27, 2016 Dead right OK. They scream past you giving you a dirty look... The car (or bike) as an ego extension. Sigh...I was never like that...
M61A1 Posted October 27, 2016 Posted October 27, 2016 I'll defend economical drivers, 80kt. Some of us see a red light or a stop sign up ahead and ease off the power. Plenty of others hammer it all the way and then brake heavily. When they get a green light it sounds like the start of a Grand Prix. I've done pretty well on the racetrack and know how to get good times around a demanding circuit, but road driving is not a race.I use considerably less fuel than many people and my rubber and brake pads last longer. I'm sure a lot of city drivers do this, but, take into consideration that while the slow accelerating person up the front is saving their fuel, the other 10 people that would have been through the intersection, but couldn't have now got to waste fuel waiting because one person (or several) could be arxed to move in a timely fashion. Not saying be off like a rocket, just move off at a reasonable pace when the light goes green. If they have more than one or two brain cells, they can see the other lights turning amber and red, and be checking the other traffic has stopped even before the light changes. The old excuse of "I always wait a few seconds before moving to make sure the intersection is clear" is just rubbish. No the road is not a race track, but it is a transport system, and needs to be used with a degree of efficiency.
M61A1 Posted October 27, 2016 Posted October 27, 2016 Dead right OK. They scream past you giving you a dirty look, and at the next set of lights you cruise up beside them with a smug look on your faces. P's them off no end. There used to be bumper stickers around which read : RUSH ON WISE GUY, HELL AIN'T FULL YET! Did you realise they give you the dirty look because you're the reason they're stuck at the same set of lights as you and not miles down the road? I have found a certain speed that will get me from one side of town to the other catching the green lights (and that means a lot of time saved). I won't say what it is, because it's somewhat more than they'd like. It has nothing to do with being an "extension" and everything to do with getting where you're going in a timely manner.
Marty_d Posted October 27, 2016 Posted October 27, 2016 I have found a certain speed that will get me from one side of town to the other catching the green lights (and that means a lot of time saved). I won't say what it is, because it's somewhat more than they'd like. Your town's lights are obviously set up differently to Hobart's. You have to maintain about 45km/h in the 50 zone in order to get all the lights in Davey St.
kasper Posted October 27, 2016 Posted October 27, 2016 Your town's lights are obviously set up differently to Hobart's. You have to maintain about 45km/h in the 50 zone in order to get all the lights in Davey St. Oh well then nothing has changed since I left in 1993 then
Marty_d Posted October 27, 2016 Posted October 27, 2016 Oh well then nothing has changed since I left in 1993 then Well yes, Davey St would've had a 60 limit then. You'd be doing 15 under instead of 5...
kasper Posted October 27, 2016 Posted October 27, 2016 Well yes, Davey St would've had a 60 limit then. You'd be doing 15 under instead of 5... Dream on - the Hillman Hunter couldn't reach 45 if I drove it off the cliff down at Taroona!
PA. Posted October 27, 2016 Posted October 27, 2016 Your town's lights are obviously set up differently to Hobart's. You have to maintain about 45km/h in the 50 zone in order to get all the lights in Davey St. So 90 km/h should also work.
spacesailor Posted October 27, 2016 Posted October 27, 2016 I seen an awful lot of roads that if you drive 5 ks over, you'd catch a green light every time. Aussie, NZ ,Ireland and the UK. My older brother never had a speeding fine in his life, & he was an awful driver! 130k on the wrong side of the road coming to a right hand bend, left side queued to the corner, and he smugly says, "they'll let me in", my wife & I both had our eyes closed. spacesailor
M61A1 Posted October 27, 2016 Posted October 27, 2016 Ok this is the humour section - so are Hybrid drivers the Volvo drivers of the 20 teens??? No, I think you will find that Subaru Forrester drivers are the new Volvo drivers (also Hyundai Excels)
M61A1 Posted October 27, 2016 Posted October 27, 2016 A thing that I have seen more and more is that people who (over)pay big money to by a hybrid car (such as the Toyota Prius for instance) are so obsessed about saving a few petrol dollars that they travel between 10 and 15 km/h below the speed limit. Is this in order to make even greater petrol cost savings? ...I am not sure without asking those drivers but there certainly seems to be a pattern in my highway encounters. Probably why the same drivers are so inattentive, those speeds on the highway would put anyone to sleep. As far as the numbers go...my drive to Narromine: about 750 km, if I do 85 and save money, I will spend almost 9 hours of my life fighting to stay awake, at 100, still around 7.5 hours and still fighting, if I bump that up to 140-150 ( a nice comfortable speed on the open road), I'm down to a little more than 5 hrs on the road cruising alone in the :"zone", and at worst, I will have spent $30 more in fuel and gained a few more hours of quality life. I consider that a fair exchange. NOTE: I'm not saying I do that, but I'd certainly like to be allowed to.
Guest Deskpilot1 Posted October 28, 2016 Posted October 28, 2016 So 90 km/h should also work. On the old A4, London to Bath road in the UK, the road passes through Slough and was unrestricted back in the 80's. the 6 or so sets of traffic lights were set for 30mph and it was great fun going through there at 90mph as a passenger on my friends BSA SuperRocket. As for speeding here in Aus, I posted this yesterday on my f/book page Bad day yesterday. Last week I had to buy a drivers side window mechanism for my car. $46 for a second-hand one. Yesterday I received a speeding fine for $266 near the yard where I got the part. Fitted the part and found my car wouldn't start. Suspecting a short circuit in the door, stripped it out again. Finally had to concede that my battery had died, another $160s. They say things happen in threes. No not for me. Jen decided she would like fish and chips for tea so I drive to the local shopping center only to find that I can't open my door. The cable had become disconnected when refitting the door trim. Nearly crippled myself climbing over the center console to exit via the passenger door. Why didn't I simply lower the now working window and open the door from the outside? Brain fade in spades. Was was doing 58 on a wide, deserted road through an industrial estate on a Saturday afternoon.
M61A1 Posted October 28, 2016 Posted October 28, 2016 Was was doing 58 on a wide, deserted road through an industrial estate on a Saturday afternoon. It's bloody sad we have to put up such crap. Despite years of fanatical speed enforcement, it hasn't achieved much at all except raise a few dollars. The things they can fine you for under "strict liability" is bloody ridiculous, and erodes any real safety concerns. Given that the only reason for laws and standards is safety, if a law fails to do that under all circumstances, then it is nothing more than an impingement on your liberty. Less focus on speed, and more focus on right of way rules and lane discipline. Face it, it you can stop the daft pricks running into stationary objects or each other, you have less deaths than is you just make them run into stuff slower, but more often.
cscotthendry Posted October 28, 2016 Posted October 28, 2016 Speaking of Volvo drivers ... When Volvo decided to enter cars in the Supercar series, there were a lot of jokes along the lines of the Volvo cars doing the whole race with the left hand turn signals flashing. Another one was that the Volvo drivers would be wearing hats instead of helmets.
kasper Posted October 28, 2016 Posted October 28, 2016 Speaking of Volvo drivers ...When Volvo decided to enter cars in the Supercar series, there were a lot of jokes along the lines of the Volvo cars doing the whole race with the left hand turn signals flashing. Another one was that the Volvo drivers would be wearing hats instead of helmets. The equivalent of the terry toweling hat for glider pilots??? ... ducking for cover and grabbing the bone dome now ...
M61A1 Posted October 28, 2016 Posted October 28, 2016 Here's a silly sign.... [ATTACH]48629._xfImport[/ATTACH]
Old Koreelah Posted October 28, 2016 Posted October 28, 2016 Not a sign, but...[ATTACH]48630._xfImport[/ATTACH]
M61A1 Posted October 28, 2016 Posted October 28, 2016 The equivalent of the terry toweling hat for glider pilots??? ... ducking for cover and grabbing the bone dome now ... You know you need to be wary when there's a lawn bowls hat on the rear parcel shelf:duck for cover:
eightyknots Posted October 28, 2016 Posted October 28, 2016 I seen an awful lot of roads that if you drive 5 ks over, you'd catch a green light every time.Aussie, NZ ,Ireland and the UK. My older brother never had a speeding fine in his life, & he was an awful driver! 130k on the wrong side of the road coming to a right hand bend, left side queued to the corner, and he smugly says, "they'll let me in", my wife & I both had our eyes closed. spacesailor
eightyknots Posted October 28, 2016 Posted October 28, 2016 Long time since we've seen a silly sign on this thread. Okay, I think this is a silly sign: [ATTACH]48631._xfImport[/ATTACH]
Marty_d Posted October 28, 2016 Posted October 28, 2016 No, I think you will find that Subaru Forrester drivers are the new Volvo drivers (also Hyundai Excels) Oi!!!
SDQDI Posted October 28, 2016 Posted October 28, 2016 It's better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
M61A1 Posted October 28, 2016 Posted October 28, 2016 Oi!!! Hey it's not just me... Jumping on the Wagon: Is Subaru the New Volvo? - Los Angeles Magazine Subaru - The International Symbol for Slow Driving - 2-Speed Subaru the new Volvo - Windsurfing - Seabreeze Forums! And I read it in a local paper a while back...Subaru Forester is the new Volvo according some semi driver (but my sentiments as well)
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