OK.. so I was on my way home from work... Took my FEH off the highway and pulled up next to a Prius stopped at the stoplight at the bottom of a big hill.

He looks over at me and nods. I nod back.

He inches forward. I inch forward as well.

The light turns green.. and.. well let's just say we were having a HyperMile contest... looked like two turtles climbing a hill!!!

I was laughing my BUTT OFF! And the cars behind us.. well they weren't too pleased. I had one Suburban honking and tailgating.. and swerving back and forth trying to figure out how to pass.

Oh.. it was GREAT! Kind of like a dyslexic drag race competition! Sadly, that was the most fun I've had in traffic in a long time!

One gallon of gas - $3.49

One used four wheel drive SUV that gets 30+ Miles Per Gallon - $15,999

Purchasing it used for $5000 UNDER bluebook because the dealership did not realize it was a hybrid - PRICELESS

Good for laughs but don't put yourself in danger.

2005 AWD Escape Hybrid
Best Interstate tank trip MPG 39.02 (scangauge II) for 402 miles on I-70, 10.3 gallons used over mostly flat terrain.

Best Interstate tank trip E30 MPG 34.6 for 271 miles along I-80 in Indiana and Ohio.

Best multiple road tank trip E30 MPG 36.2 for 202 miles in Southwestern Pa.

I love it when someone passes me speeding on a 4 lane road, only to stop at the next red light. Then, I time the green light and pass them doing 30 or 40 miles per hour while they are at a deap stop at the line, me waving the whole time.

I REALLY like it, when because of this, I make the second green light, and they get stopped at the second red light in a row.

One of my routes in Huntsville has perfectly timed lights for 25 miles per hour. So when the first turns green, I modestly accelerate to 25 miles per hour and don't touch my brakes for a mile of traffic lights. Most of it is four lane or two lines one way and I just grin and grin as I pass the 'jack rabbits'.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

If you did that here in LA you would have had lead in your head by now.

That's funny and i hope both of you will have enjoyed that speed of light.

Hybrid Center

Kinda wished I could have seen that, scahpe!

OK, this is a game we play:

You get 10 points for passing someone who passed you when you pass THEM because they had to stop for the red light.

You get 20 points if you pass them and your ICE is off! (either gliding or coasting)

You can rack up some pinball-type scores if you know the timing of the lights on your routes.

You'd think with gas prices so high, people would slow down, but either they think they are (they aren't!) or they have no idea what slow accelleration is. I have seen "news reports" on getting better mpg, but I really haven't seen many people putting it into practice.

Timing traffic lights is for the begining players. Advanced players start timing school bus stops, garbage trucks, heavy trucks climbing hills and, on two lane roads, left turning vehicles.

Lately, I have been doing an activity that I call route profiling. I have approximated route timings for all of the above (excapt the left turn ones), and also scheduled approximate power settings and/or speeds for all grades, curves and crossings. The route profile also includes a table for expected traffic densities based on the day of the week and transit time. Of course, traffic light cycles are also included where applicable, as well as the traffic monitor rules for traffic aware signals.

No imperical data to report on the effectiveness of this activity yet because the 3-4 MPG FE improvement also contains a component directly attributable to warmer temperatures. It will need more time to see the impact of the developed route profile. But I can say that it does have a positive impact.

It is the ignorant among us that will eventually destroy us all.

So lucky! You should be more careful.