Originally Posted By: saaber1
Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible
1. Pushes his car before starting
--That looked pretty much like something for the camera. Even if it wasn't, it was a parking lot, for goodness sake...
About two years ago I saw a lady pushing her car and she fell down in middle ofthe right lane on a highway. I was going the other way, pulled over, ran over there and helped her to the side of the road. She darn near got creamed on this busy highway while her car coasted down the hill on it's own. THIS IS UNSAFE PERIOD! Where she was pushing the car she was on the downside of a hill and totally blind for those coming toward her from behind. She was heavy set and the car got away from her. This really was a very close call.
Also last week I saw an old man sitting in the back seat of a lexus sedan which was parked on the right next to a cement wall. He was trying to close the door on the car which had just been hit by a semi (the door, not the car)! He looked dazed. The bottom line is it is STUPID to get out of your car and DANGEROUS for you and others trying to avoid you.
Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible
2. Drives too slow so that people honk when passing and even panel trucks have to pass
--So what? I get that when I go the speed limit! Who cares what the speeding idiots think?
Those were not speeding idiots, sorry. Did you happen to notice the big white slow truck? When idiots like this fool go too slow guess what happens? People pile up behind him, lose there patience and then take stupid chances just to get around him. I have seen it numerous times. Road rage is real and it is made worse by people who drive to slow. Like the other poster was saying going at a steady state with the flow of traffic saves gas and is safe. Going too slow uses more gas for the people jockying for position to pass the idiot and is very unsafe. Also does it make you feel good when everyone passing you hates you intensely and yells at you? Do you have no concern for others? Is everyone else an idiot and have no right to be mad while you are "right"?
Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible
3. Corners too fast to avoid hitting the brakes
--Again, so what? It isn't your car, and it didn't look all that unsafe to me.
That was unsafe, did you happen to miss the camera going flying? This is in a residential area. What if there were a bicycle, a little kid running out to get his ball, someone's pet etc., or what if someone driving does something stupid such as baking out of their driveway into traffic?. If you are braking and going normally in the corner you can stop for these things. If you are are not touching the brake and going too fast your chances of stopping in time are nil. Ever hear of defensive driving?
Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible
4. Drives in neutral and turns off the engine
--Void where prohibited by law. I do it, but I make sure I only do it where/when it's safe. Nobody is making you do it. If your car can't do it w/out burning up, then don't do it.
It is illegal and unsafe. People like you who do it often should have a big flashing lighting "Unsafe" sign on top of your car so the rest of us can know who is dangerous. you can't speed up to avoid an unsafe situation and you have no engine braking but your right, your transmission "breaking" is your own loss.
Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible
5. Drafts behind semis
--That didn't look as close as a lot of people I see doing it. Besides, somebody's gotta be the guy behind the semi. Just stay back a ways.
I agree he didn't look dangerous in that camera shot but I personally don't believe that someone who is so cheap as to go to these lengths and be this dangerous to other drivers will not follow close when the camera is not there. Just a suspicion.
[/quote]
Saaber, please be kind enough to reveal your own bias here. You're making a "straw man" attack against so-called hypermilers, most of whom do not engage in the most extreme and unsafe behaviors you mention.
Pushing your car is silly -- and very few actually try this. No point in it, as far as I'm concerned. My time has value too. Those who do this are extremists, and not representative of "hypermilers" in general.
I drive over the limit myself. But sorry, those who do have nothing to complain about -- period. As much as you might want, you simply don't have any "right" to violate the law. If someone, hypermiler or not, simply wants to use the roads he or she pays for just like you, and happens to want to drive the limit, exactly what do you have to complain about -- nothing... People who "jockey" to pass someone who's obeying the law are the unsafe law breakers, not the other way around. I drive 80 all the time -- but only when it's clearly safe to do so, and I respect the right of others to use the roads the way they want to. If I have to wait for an opportunity to pass, so be it.
Coasting in N is not per se unsafe. I never do it in the Prius because in that car, there's no advantage, but for others, as long as it's done intelligently, it's no more inherently unsafe than driving 85-90 mph where the limit is 65 or 70. I love how some folks condemn coasting in neutral as some evil, while never giving a second thought to the dangers inherent in driving 20-30 mph over the speed limit. Unless you NEVER violate the speed limit, perhaps you should not be so quick to condemn those who coast in N to save a little gas. Hey, it ain't that hard to get your car into gear, and drive when you need to. I'd venture to guess that I could get a stick into gear more quickly than a typical brain-dead 90mph cruiser could get himself down to the limit.
Cornering? Case-by-case analysis is required. I don't bother taking corners fast in the Prius, since I can slow down and save the energy involved in the traction battery.
Just a suspicion on my part, but I think that folks who insist on driving super-fast, irrespective of conditions, are just as dangerous as the folks who try hard to save some gas.
