Why kill time when you can kill yourself ? Appeal of 55mph is quandry.
Published Tuesday, May 24, 2005, in the San Jose Mercury News

Driving 55: Admirable, or insane?

Roadshow
By Gary Richards

Mr. Roadshow's effort to save gas by driving 55 mph one day last
week <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/24624> drew quite
a response from readers: more than 250 e-mails and phone calls.

A majority of readers think his 239-mile experiment was, well, nuts.
Saving a few bucks, they said, was nowhere near worth the hour lost
on the road or the potential for enraging other motorists who got
stuck behind him. Some, though, hailed him as a hero of the highway
-- applauding him for conserving gas and encouraging safer driving.

Others had mixed feelings about the trip during which Mr. Roadshow
managed to get 37 mpg in the company car -- a Ford Focus -- or about
7.5 miles per gallon better than the government estimates had he
driven 75 mph.

Here's a sampling of the comments, and responses from Mr. Roadshow:

No way, Mr. Roadshow

Q: Hell no, I would not drive that damn slow. I make about $23 an
hour, so the $4 to $10 I save on gas isn't worth losing a whole
hour. Besides, why would you want to be on the road an extra hour?
If Arnold would listen to me, he would open up an autobahn-style
road, have people pay to go as fast as they want.

Esteban Frias
San Jose

A: The governor likes toll roads, so you might get your wish.


Q: Would I slow to a crawl to save a few dollars of gas money? Not a
chance. If you want to drive slow, move to Iowa or stay the hell off
the California freeways.

Steve Mann
San Jose

A: A lot of cursing today, but studies indicate that a return to
the 55 mph limit would save nearly 3 billion gallons of gas and
diesel fuel a year -- or about 3 percent of the nation's total use.


Q: If we take your 55 mph gas savings as $4.25 and the extra time
spent as just over one hour, we have your time valued at around $4
per hour. Judging by the sense shown in pulling such a stunt, that's
probably a fair assessment of your worth. ... Is it worth it for me
to drive in the slow lane to save an hour at a cost of an extra $4
to $10 for gas? My employer thinks I am worth more than $10 an hour,
and so do I. ... I couldn't stand driving 55 and going through
everything you went through. It sounded awful.

Geoffrey Thornber, J. Hobbs, R. Reynolds, Tim Snouse and more

A: And ...

Q: I find myself compelled to interrupt my breakfast to respond to
your Page 1 article. Had you actually driven in the slow lane, as
the headlines implied, I would have considered your article a simple
but harmless publicity stunt. Instead you arrogantly, deliberately
and self-righteously endangered commuters by driving in the No. 3
lane. ... You showed extremely poor judgment and put lives at risk
by driving 10 to 15 miles per hour slower than the speed limit
without staying in the far right lane with the big rigs.

Keith Wollenberg, Ted Schroeder, Dane Conklin, Steve Dollar and more
still

A: In retrospect, I actually do think that on Interstate 280 I
should have drifted into the slow lane where traffic was light. But
on every other road with four or more lanes in one direction -- 101,
880 and 580 -- cars in the slow lane were going around 55, as were
cars in my lane -- the No. 3 lane -- so I was basically keeping with
the flow of traffic. What is one to do if he wants to slow down but
tailgaters are fuming in your rear-view mirror? Here's Sgt.-Wayne-
the-CHP-Man:

"My reply is always the same -- stay to the far right lanes. If
someone starts tailgating then speed up gradually toward 65 mph
until the aggressive driver exits the freeway or goes around you to
the left. Then move back down to 55-60 mph. Now, enjoy the beautiful
sights of this great state that you've sped past for so long. In
addition to putting a couple more bucks in your pocket, you'll
lower your blood pressure a notch or two."

Way to go, Mr. Roadshow


Q: Let me say one thing about the drive 55 campaign you've got
going: Neener, neener -- I told you so! Back in 1995, when you were
advocating raising the speed limit to 65 mph, I told you what a bad
idea I thought this was. You wrote back, saying "everyone goes 65
anyway, so they might as well raise the limit." Now you're finding
out I might have been right all along. I applaud you for even trying
it. No wonder Mrs. Roadshow was worried about you coming home alive.

Lois Grace
San Jose

A: She did seem relieved when I got home that night.


Q: I loved your <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/24624>
front-page article on driving 55 mph. I've been driving 55 ever
since I traded in my BMW 540i guzzler for a gas-sipping Honda Civic
Hybrid. I must admit that I feel a little silly being a 37-year-old
male driving 55 in the slow lane, but the great mileage makes it
worth it. Plus, I feel a little calmer just putting along. I've
been thinking of making a bumper sticker that says "55 Saves Gas"
in hopes that people will at least understand why I'm so slow.

Bryce Jasmer

A: Send me one of those bumper stickers.


Q: I was so delighted to see you drive 55. I go to Los Altos every
Tuesday and have driven 65. Now, I'm going to go 55. If people don't
like it, tough.

Bobbi Hoover
Los Gatos

A: Just stay in the right lanes.


Q: This past weekend I completed a 55 mph test on a trip to the
mountains east of Fresno. It is definitely worth the effort,
especially with my 2003 Ford F-250 4x4 pickup. On a prior freeway
trip to Angels Camp, with cruise control on 70, I got 12 mpg. On
this trip to Fresno, I got 17, including mountain driving. With the
cost averaging $2.35 a gallon on this 400-mile trip, I saved about
$23 by going 55. That is significant.

Stan Bogosian
Saratoga

A: And ...

Q: It is nice to know that I am not the only one thinking that 55
mph is not such a bad thing. We just have to get over trying to be
in such a hurry because we think we need to get anywhere sooner. ...
Remember, drive 55 and you may save lives.

Darrell Sales, John Keith, Jim Baldanci, Christopher Flynn, Norma
Star and so many more happy to go 55

A: The top killers on our roads: speed and drunk drivers.

In the middle of the road

Q: You've convinced me that driving 65 is worth it. Why? Because
your chart shows that driving at 65 saves one hour of time at the
cost of $1.75. Personally, I'd rather pay the $1.75 to the pump and
reclaim that hour of precious time! The hour of time is vastly more
valuable than the cash saved.

Steve Levine

A: The extra time spent driving at a slower speed hit home with many
drivers, who say they are willing to drive faster and spend more on
gas than spending an extra few minutes on the freeway.


Q: On the freeway, I drive the speed limit-plus-1 mph in the right
lane, but I still get honked at or tailgated or high-beamed. That's
right: I'm driving illegally fast in the slowest lane, and rather
than ease over a lane, some other drivers urge me on to even greater
speed. Maybe I should drive on the shoulder. ... When I drive 55 in
the far right lane, big rigs and passenger cars ride my bumper. When
I move to the left, they pass me on the right, with dirty looks,
etc. It's kind of scary. My only recourse was to turn on my hazard
lights for a few seconds, until they got the message, and back off.
Luckily I didn't have to do it very often. Now I try to keep my
speed between 60 and 65 mph, and they still push.

Gary Halsted, Jeri Beggs and many, many more

A: The Environmental Protection Agency says aggressive driving
lowers fuel economy by 33 percent on the highway and by 5 percent
around town.


Q: You are a brave man! My wife and I just came back from a trip to
Oregon on Interstate 5. I was really surprised by your report about
trucks on I-5 going 55. Either that stretch of highway is patrolled
by CHP a lot or a lot of those trucks were having engine trouble.
After many hours on I-5 I say that almost all trucks were going
about 68 mph. Sport-utility vehicles with trailers and buses were
going about 75 to 80 mph. I was going 70, so it was pretty easy to
gauge.

Michael Singer
San Jose

A: I, too, was surprised. The biggest speeding and tailgating
offenders on my trek were drivers of small cars -- the VW Passat
and Jetta, in particular. SUV drivers didn't tailgate me. There
were already in the far left lane zooming along at 75-plus.

Q: How did you avoid slipping into a coma from sheer boredom on
your 239-mile, five-hour trip? Well, I guess you answered that
one as you were in a constant state of fear.

Ken Ballentine
Santa Clara

A: Fear is a better jolt than a cup of coffee.


Q: You are not anywhere near done. Now you must drive the same
route, in the same weather, at the same time of day, but at 65 mph.
Then do it all over again at 75 mph. Only then will your report,
especially your gas mileage, be of any value.

Bill Auman
San Jose

A: Ah, I think one five-hour road test is enough.