Two "Clash of the Titans" events are happening now. (1) It's May, which means it's "Sweeps" in the TV world and (2) Gasoline prices are higher than ever. All of which means: Stand By For Stupid Ideas Disguised as Good Advice. To wit:
Here's a real sign of desperation over gas prices: When you're going downhill, moving slowly in traffic, or pulling into a parking space, the Money Kings recommend turning your engine completely off. That way, you can take advantage of the car's momentum and avoid wasting gas on unnecessary acceleration.
Not only that, but you can avoid wasting time trying to turn the steering wheel, since your power steering won't work when your engine is off, and your brakes probably won't work either. They may be the Money Kings, but they're clearly not the Driving Kings. Stick to money and leave the driving to those of us who know how to do it. I wonder ... if you turn off your engine on the advice of the Money Kings and you find yourself careening into a guardrail because you can't steer, can you sue them? Try it and let me know.
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WASHINGTON - More than two-thirds of young drivers and passengers killed in nighttime car crashes aren't wearing seat belts — deadly proof of what can happen when young people don't heed parents' pleas and authorities' threats to "click it." Safety officials say they are emphasizing seat belt use by young people between 16 and 20 during this year's "Click It or Ticket" publicity campaign through June 1. Police say they will be issuing tickets to motorists who fail to wear their seat belts, a message that will be supported by a $7.5 million advertising campaign.
As far as I'm concerned, that's $7.5 million that is completely wasted. I think scientists call it "Natural Selection", where the dumbasses in society are weeded-out because they fail to recognize what is good for them.
Natural selection acts on the phenotype, or the observable characteristics of an organism, such that individuals with favorable phenotypes are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less favorable phenotypes.
I say, "Buckle down, dumbass!" whenever I see one on the road. One more parking space for me and one less stupid ass to insure. These are also the people who are teaching their children to drive, so you can see where the nonsense is coming from, first hand.
You'll notice the phrase "publicity campaign" in the news story. That's because it is a publicity campaign, and as such, tends to make lawbreakers out of regular people who are just following their tenant for natural selection.
If they don't wear a seat belt, is my life affected? No. Theirs is the only life that is affected, so why not let them do as they please? It's not as though they're drinking and driving, endangering others; they've made a choice and I say, "Good for you!"
Somebody passed a law and the local law enforcement has taken $7.5 million of your money and made a campaign out of it. If I were you, I'd be pissed at the way they're wasting your money.
That's why I always say that we live in a semi-free country.
8 comments:
"so you call this your free country... tell me why it cost so much to live."
~~three doors down
Jack Tripper: I'm hoping to open up a little restaurant for people who can really appreciate high prices.
~~ "Three's Company"
:)
Well, you obviously didn't read our article since you totally misquoted what we wrote.
Heres exactly what we posted:
"One of the more advanced techniques in hypermiling theory is coasting with your engine completely off. Some people can do this while they’re driving in the city—starting and stopping their engines multiple times. We recommend doing this when you’re entering a parking lot or your driveway ONLY. Practice the technique and see how you do. The idea is, again, to quit accelerating into breaking. So, if you know you’re going to park soon, then put your engine in neutral and kill it about 10 seconds before you roll to where you need to go. That’s 10 seconds of not burning fuel you could use for another day!"
Again, since you already missed it once, I'll restate the key sentence again:
"We recommend doing this when you’re entering a parking lot or your driveway ONLY."
We were stating what the hypermiling theory says, and recommending to NOT do that when driving in traffic.
Read the post next time before making assumptions....
http://themoneykings.com/blog/try_hypermiling_and_save_on_gas
I read the article, smart ass.
You DO mention people doing it in traffic, so what is that a "don't try this at home" disclaimer?
The whole idea seems pointless, since I don't think it would save enough gasoline to be worth the effort.
I don't see any calculations (because you didn't do any) so I'm going to assume it's a waste of time, which is why it's called a "theory".
10 seconds? How much gasoline could one possibly save in 10 seconds? The engine is already idling, so I'd think that the savings isn't worth the effort.
I think the major assumption here is made by you and your theory.
If you were really interested in making people "Money Kings" you would have advised them to get rid of their over-sized vehicle (that generally only carries one or two people) and buy something more sensible. The extra space they think they need is mostly wasted.
And by the way, it's spelled "braking".
Here is the actual math:
From http://www.thehcf.org/antiidlingprimer.html
A 4-cylinder car burns 0.0313 gallons of gas idling for 5 minutes (a half cup). An 8-cylinder car burns 0.0625 gallons (one cup).
You'd have to do that 10-second thing 30 times to save 5 minutes worth of gasoline, and that's assuming that you can actually do it for 10 seconds.
Count out 10 seconds - it's a pretty long time.
Chances are, you'd only do it for MAYBE 3 to 5, which would double the number of times you'd have to do it to make it to 5 minutes.
So, even your gas-guzzling 8-cylinder car, after 5 minutes, saves a whopping 0.0625 gallons of gasoline.
At $4.00 a gallon, it comes out to a savings of 25 cents.
Don't spend it all in one place.
Some theory.
Thanks for the math, you've just proven that it does save money and have vindicated our point! We'll give you an A in math class, D in literature and reading! You're missing the major principles in the post about reducing the weight of your car, coasting to red lights, quitting the hyperacceleration, etc. You're focusing on the one element that is part of the whole hypermiling theory that we DON'T recommend doing in traffic.
As for counting to 10 seconds, I've seen many people who pull in, park, and sit there for at least ten seconds with the engine running while they shut off lights, wipers, finish listening to the radio, etc. So, I'd say 10 seconds is easy to be sitting there for.
Good point about the over sized vehicles too...We've touched on that topic, but perhaps we'll dedicate a whole post to it.
Gee, and here I thought I was pointing out how ridiculous it was. It's 25 cents after (maybe) 30 times. 60 times if you use my 5-second example. You can't spend 10 seconds (or even 5 seconds) coasting into a parking space at the mall or shop - or probably even at home, which is exactly what makes it so ridiculous.
You're welcome for having me do your job for you.
You get an "F" for research for not doing something it took me ten minutes to find and calculate. I'd think that someone who purports to be able to tell people how to save money would actually use a ... NUMBER. Try it sometime.
The point wasn't sitting for ten seconds, the point was doing your little shut-off deal for ten seconds while coasting into a parking spot. It's far too long a measure of time for such a thing, but you're clearly not good with numbers.
And I still maintain that you can't properly steer the car or use the brakes with the engine off.
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