In the interest of increasing my mileage, my driving behavior has been modified, mostly for the better. However, there are some things that I do, or consider doing, that may improve my MPG, but are probably a bad thing. For example:

- I come closer to 'running' lights that are turning red. I used to always safely stop if there was any question -- now I'm more likely to continue through on the yellow.

- I routinely do not make complete (or near-complete) stops at stop signs. This is especially true in parking lots with little or not traffic, but also I tend to do the very-slow-rolling thing at 4-way stops.

- I take corners faster than I would probably want my kids to be doing. Admittedly this can be kind of fun, but e.g. in residential areas, with pedestrians, it's not a good idea.

All of these are basically about "conservation of momentum," which is of course one of the primary components of increased mileage.

So, those are just my observations. I'm not sure if anybody else might feel that same bit of uneasiness about these behaviors as I do...

LOL! I can sympathize. I don't know if I'm more aggressive or wreckless though - I'm more annoyed when I have to loose momentum because of stops and turns. I laugh at myself sometimes at how annoyed I get. :-) I hear you though - it's an interesting side-effect of trying to be efficient...

*** Retired after 65,000 outstanding miles ***

Shhhhhh. Don't mention these kinds of things. It will surely be used against us by insurers! Maybe that new Hybrid insurance Travellers was talking about will actually be more expensive.

Eric Powers

MHG Organizer - www.MadisonHybridGroup.com
Hybridfest 2008 - A Hybrid Electric Car Show and More! www.hybridfest.com
Madison, WI July 19 & 20, 2008

Add to that I don't slow down on turns as much as I used to....

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

Also...
Not paying as close attention to other cars because of increased attention to battery charge, assist level, etc.

Yeah, but I think any decrease in safety (as a result of these things; I do all of them except the rolling stop at stop signs, it's always been a pet peeve of mine) is more than made up for by my increased willingness to drive cautiously in the snow and ice - I no longer try to push the limits of the conditions, being much more content to take it easy and stay a few miles below the limit when conditions are nasty.

I get upset when I have to change speed for ANY reason not of my choosing (other than DWL on hills). Any slowing gets me cranky, as it means using more fuel to get back up to speed- usually at an inopportune time. I mean, I'm already at/below the speed limit!

Since I'm in the right lane anyway I get hit with a lot of the merging traffic that may/may not care about where the merge lane specifically starts. This leads me to hang on as long as I can, hoping THEY adjust THEIR speed in time, in a twist on playing chicken in parallel instead of at each other.

I hate this, yet I persist. Feeble human that I am.

I think it's funny how all things seem to come full circle.

What you describe above in terms of driving habits, and in particular the conservation of momentum, was exactly the driving style that was required to get anywhere in a FIAT 500. That was the car I took my first DL test in (in Italy), and now I'm drifitng back towards that style. How cool!

i wish traffic lights walking signs had more of the number indicator on them. It lets you know when the green turns yellow so you can speed up a little or maximize regen!

As for turning yes you have to conserve that momentum! I always corner using the best possible "racing line", as well trying never ever to disrupt my passengers. Although that last tidbit is impossible since I drive stick and with stick there's bound to be some bad shifts

as for the rest of the thread maker points, yes I agree to all of them lol. That's why I'm here ~~

i got around 20 km a liter when i drove a civic 5 spd using advanced hypermiler techniques
and now I drive a salvage nwh20 prius that gets almost to 25 km/l with 192,000 km to date.