Posted on 05/15/2007 12:01:24 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
LEFT LANE DRIVERS of AMERICA
“If you’re not a Left Lane Driver then get out of the Left Lane!”
Traffic has become increasingly congested and tempers flare as slower drivers occupy what has been historically referred to as the “fast lane”. It’s time to get that Left Lane back! It is our considered opinion that not only will traffic move more smoothly and more quickly once the Left Lane is used in the way it has been designed but also headaches, frustration, bad tempers and road rage will all be greatly reduced when this pressure valve is released. It’s time to reduce this unnecessary stress. It’s time that… LEFT LANE DRIVERS UNITE!
We invite you to join Left Lane Drivers of America, a growing, grassroots effort to reclaim the Left Lanes on our freeways and multiple lane highways. To do this, those of us who are genuine “Left Lane drivers” are politely but firmly reminding others what the Left Lane is for.
(Excerpt) Read more at leftlanedrivers.org ...
Numerous studies in the 1980s showed that the NMSL (National Maximum Speed Limit, or 55mph) only conserved 1% of the gasoline consumed at the time. The amount of fuel consumed, said NHTSA, could also be saved by slightly overinflating your tires to reduce rolling resistance instead.
It drives up the cost of goods, especially under the new trucking laws, because it further shortens the distance one can drive in a day.
Let us look at Texas, for example. It is approximately 250 miles from Dallas to Houston, a common enough drive. At 55mph, it takes approximately 4.5 hours to go between the two cities. At 70mph, it takes about *3.5* hours. At 85, it takes under *3* hours to go that distance. Do that distance twice at 85, and you’ve saved *three* hours out of the day.
Or let’s say that you must run something from Dallas to El Paso, a common freight route. That’s about 880 miles. Let’s see...
At 55mph, it will take you 16 hours to drive that far, assuming you drive straight through. Most people won’t spend more than 10-12 hours or so in the saddle, so if you add in 10 hours for sleep, food, and relaxation before picking up driving again, you’re looking at about *26* hours, or a little more than a day to get to El Paso.
At 75mph, you will cover that distance in 11.75 hours.
At 85mph, the new maximum legal speed limit in Texas, you will cover the distance in about ten and a half hours.
That’s a difference of *15.5* hours at most and *6* hours at the least!
What’s 15 hours of lifespan worth to you?
Left lane drivers, a.k.a. future organ donor drivers.
Um, no. I don’t know where you are, but here in Texas, trucks can go 65mph. They’ll be able to go 75mph on the TTC if it ever gets built.
That's when I start fantasizing about retractable machineguns in the front fenders. There's a set of machinist's plans for a miniature Gatling Gun available online, you know. ;-)
If you're not passing then stay out of the left lane!!!!!!!!! (Miss ya, FA!!)
Yeah, but Jethro really got good gas mileage after he developed that pill that turns water into gasoline.
Why is time spend getting from here to there considered wasted?
Truck drivers,yes they can’t drive as many miles in a day.
What do you do with that decal if you are behind a police car in the fast lane?
That simply cannot be true. Air drag increases with the cube of the velocity. Older cars were rarely designed to reduce drag.
Sorry, but I do. It has a lot to do with powerband and gearing, as well as the vehicle’s fuel map. At 2200rpm, the fuel map just sucks because the air metering device isn’t really all that accurate. At 3000rpm, it’s much better and more efficient.
You do realize that the *most* efficient mode of use for a piston engine, in terms of power per fuel unit consumed, is wide-open-throttle, right?
Slow pokes in the left lane are the cause of the conditions you state.
You were to pledge not to exceed the speed limit and to do it in the left hand lane.
I am not making this up.
Next time you are in Dallas, feel free to come visit. The fact remains that at 75mph, the XJ6 is getting 24mpg, and at 55 it gets 19-20.
I’ve made it a habit of thanking any driver that moves out of the way if I am faster (friendly hand wave), and in turn, to get out of the way of drivers that are faster than I am.
I’m honored to share the road with you.
I can set the Cruise on my 94 Roadmaster on 75 and get 26 MPG all day long. Not bad for a big car with a big V-8, I doubt many new Impala’s with 6 cylinders do better.
Physically impossible. Air drag increases with the cube of velocity.
A nice dose of windshield washer fluid, especially on a freshly detailed car or convertible, is a great way to say “thanks for making me pass you on the right”.
90MPH doesn’t make one a fast driver, it makes one an a$$hole to everyone else.
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