Van Driving Style

[907KHAM687]

In my old van, almost 20 years ago, I drove from Anchorage to Seward in a snow storm. 40 MPH tops, road conditions weren't that bad, the visibility was though. Got to Seward and it looked like I had only used half as much gas as I normally did. That is when I started driving slow all the time. Not just slow, but with my foot off the gas. Might be going 35 when I crested a big hill, but if I'd coast all the way down and be doing 90 at the bottom if I could. I stopped getting mad at tailgaters, I would give them a big thumbs up when they finally gathered their stones and passed me.

I thought I still drove slow, but after a week back in a chevy van, I realized I hadn't been going slow at all. I've just been going the speed limit. 50 in a 55 seems fast enough now, and it takes me a mile or two to get up to 50. I feel like I'm driving fast enough.

I guess I don't understand why people want to drive the way they do. I understand wanting to go fast, I've got a 2000 Lincoln ls that goes 125 on a straight without a lot of fuss, and its fun as hell. But driving 85 vs 65? Both are the same experience, one is just a few minutes shorter than the other. I like driving and the only place I want to be is the place I'm at so I'm going to make it last as long as possible by driving 50 in a 65.

Hank

 

[Patrick46]

I'm with ya in the whole "why are these people in such a stinking hurry"???

and I too now drive SIGNIFICANTLY slower and easier than I used to. It's way less stressful, and yes, it's easier on the gas consumption too.

...but please be careful with going 50 in a 65 zone, as it's just as dangerous to be a rolling slow hazard as it is to be driving like a madman on fire!
I drive 55 in a 55...so no one can complain about me being the slowpoke...I'm just following the posted laws.

 

[SoulRaven]

Driving too much under the speed limit can be hazardous too. In some areas it can even get you a ticket.

Each of my vans have their own sweet spots, the Dodge I'm driving now has a sweet spot between 70-75mph. Lower or higher and the MPG starts decreasing.

My Chevy's sweet spot is about 50, and my Ford doesn't seem to matter.

The Dodge gets the best overall gas mileage by far.

I'm rarely in a hurry and usually drive in the slow lane, somewhere close to the speed limit if conditions allow. I tend to do the majority of my driving at night when there is lesss traffic and no rush hours to contend with. Since I don't have A/C while driving, night driving can also be cooler.

 

[907KHAM687]

I was going to argue that driving under the speed limit isn't more hazardous, but then I thought about it for a second.  

Driving 10 under means someone that is approaching from behind at 10 over will have to be aware enough to not hit something directly in front of them at a closing speed of 20 miles per hour.  

A person driving 20 miles per hours would have to be extremely unaware to run into a parked car in the street.   A normal person driving at 75 MPH should be much more aware than a person driving at 20 MPH.  

However, the amount of cars that will overtake a 10 under vehicle is all of the cars.  Driving 10 over and the only cars that will overtake at speed will be the serious speeders, the 25 over, and they are much more likely to be paying attention than the 10 over crowd.  A car driving 10 under will expose itself to the one halfwit out of thousands that is driving 10 over that is not paying attention.  

Solution: Drive in front of another 10 under car.  

 

[Almost There]

I too find the sweet spot for gas consumption in any vehicle I drive. The Montana likes 55 mph and anything over 60 it starts sucking up the gas.

So what if it takes me a few minutes extra to get somewhere, I just leave extra time in the schedule.

On the US interstates it's sometimes a PITA trying to do MY speed, even the transports are racing down the highway at 75 MPH, regardless of a truck speed limit. I just keep an eye out in my rear mirrors for the insanity and have had to speed up to allow for others to make safe lane changes.

The ones' that drive me insane are the cars that deliberately tailgate instead of going around me. It's like they think they can make me speed up if they stick to my bumper tight enough...

 

[oldogre]

I drive slow too, I also pratice hypermiling, didn't know there was a term for it til I stumbled across it on web one day, sometimes I can get as high as 29 mpg on the instant mpg thingie on console when on highway,  2003 gmc safari van, same as astro basically.

 

[sisterearth]

The Groovy van is making me once again learn to slow down! I tend to have a heavy foot in my little vw rabbit, and have been trying to change my driving habits (that little car is so fast). When I had my old VW Bus top comfort speed was 50. Anyway, funny this topic is here because I was just telling myself to slow down, my van has some high miles and is older, and doesn't appreciate me driving it too hard or fast. So I am getting used to slowing down and enjoying the ride! Have a beautiful day everybelly! Peace!

 

[David]

When I started vandwelling, I realized my driving habits changed. I didn't have to be in a hurry to be anywhere so I didn't race to the next red light like it seems most people do. I still drive the speed limit, but I don't floor it off the green light or stop sign. Driving a Vanagon for a year or so helped a lot with that mentality lol.

My van now has a modern motor which gets better mpg than the old VW engine as well as it goes faster but I really don't hammer it that much. It's odd riding with other people whom still do the daily grind.. It's like everything has to be a hurry.. Hurry to work, hurry home, hurry to work again..

I guess it's not just people whom work, my dad is retired, but he still races to the next red light just to slam on the brakes and gets impatient with other drivers. I used to be like this, hell I used to race cars and liked to go fast.. However I feel like a retired guy out on a sunday drive these days .. lol

I still do the speed limit, but I just don't do the impatient floor it till max speed then slam on the breaks at the next red light, which is what most people seem to do..

 

[corky52]

I try to keep the MH out of towns and drive it by a vacuum gauge.  On the road 55 mph seems to be both a sweet spot and a legal limit with a towed in many states.  I have the time so none of the speed is needed and I sure get to seem more of the country I'm driving through.


Corky

 

[LeeRevell]

I am an old hot rodder, and the Grand Caravan is very spry. I tend to drive it sportier than I should and likely ger worse MPG than I could. My E150 is heavier and more lumbering. I drive it more carefully and slowly. Haven't found it's "sweet spot" yet.

 

[mconlonx]

While I was doing long distance motorcycling, I learned about speed vs. time. There's an upper limit where if you drive over it, long term you drive a slower total average than if you were driving slower. Driving faster sucks down more gas = more gas stops = lower average speed. Driving fast costs more and doesn't get you there any quicker, and if you do long trips, could actually be slowing you down.

Me and some buddies trucked down from NY in an Astro van, towing a trailer with two bikes on it. Best speed was 63mph. And actually, this also happens to be a gas-saving speed in my E350 as well.

 

[vanguy]

when i had my '04 cavalier, i definitely kept up with traffic. now in my '94 chevy full size conversion, i do not, lol.  i have rules about that though. if it's a two lane road and no one is allowed to pass me, i either speed up or find a left turn lane to pull into to let them pass. but where i am (central FL,) usually there are at least two lanes so they can pass. i will get up to speed, it just takes me longer to get there. i noticed that going fast really doesn't get you anywhere faster anyway. people blow past me and i meet up with them at the next stoplight. 
this is an effort to save wear and tear on my transmission. i was a mechanic for a good while and i want to take it easy on this van.  plus it's just slow anyway. 
   i go to work almost every day and one of the jobs we had was 10 miles away. i drove slow as usual, the other guy i was working with drove like a madman in his car. to cover 10 miles, he only got there 5 minutes before me. worth it?
    oh the sweet spot for my van is overdrive, usually around 40 miles an hour. but driving around this city, it's hard to get it up to that.   

 

[Simran]

I drive diesel cars without turbo's and have a 40 year old van. The cars will get out and rip up some blacktop but accelerate slowly. Their fuel mileage is affected drastically by speed so I drive them pretty slowly. The newer one about 70 on the interstate; the older one Nev r see's the interstate. At 80 HP it just doesn't make any sense to try and stay out of everybody's way. It will, however, do over 90; which is impressive for 80 ponies. The 1 ton 1975 Chevy van gets about 12.5 mpg driving 55mph; so that is how I drive it; it Nev r see's the interstate either. Beside the I-State is for folks trying to make time. I'm just not in that big a hurry anymore.

 

[TucsonAZ]

I got pulled over for speeding in the stepvan on my last trip and I was in a 65 but I don't know how I ended up doing 80 in that thing honestly. Being in AZ the limit is 75 and I find 80 is way, way more than enough for me in a car, in a van I would stick around 70 and call it a day. I do drive fast but I struggle with ever being in the moment and I'm always trying to get someplace, I am working to change that.

I have gotten far more mellow with age and do pull over for people to pass me often, this next trip I hope to be a little more relaxed, on the last one I was fighting the weather and heat a lot so I had to pull of bigger stretches at a time. Reality is that two 10 hour days of driving at 80 versus 60 will still put you 400 miles further down the road and that's a significant distance.

 

[SoulRaven]

I tend to take the time to smell the roses, and could care less what Mother Nature is planning short of a major hurricane or tornado.

Normally I hunker down rather than run.

 

[Simran]

I tend to take the time to smell the roses, and could care less what Mother Nature is planning short of a major hurricane or tornado.

Normally I hunker down rather than run.

This the distinct advantage of living in your home. Gets too rough out just stop, hunker down, read a book, surf the net or take a nap. Who cares.

 

[Canine]

My brakes last much longer when I don't gun it up to the stop light then come to a quick stop.

I often have people become upset at me for driving 30mph in a 30 mph zone. People often pass me at 35 mph while in a 25mph school zone. Same with construction zones.

When I'm on the highway, if I have a good place to turnout, I will pull over to let people pass. It's also the law here; one can't have a complete disregard for drivers behind you. Having 10 speeders behind you is creating a dangerous situation even if they are all wanting to break the speed limit. I'll go 5 to 15 miles before pulling over. I've had truckers hold me back for 90+ miles. I've had people pull into the oncoming lane to prevent me from passing. I've even had a guy try to run me off the road for attempting to pass. We all share the road even with those who aren't quite so adept at driving.

Some people think I drive fine. Some think I drive slow. Some think I drive fast. Some prefer that I do the driving. I've had a couple people adamantly refuse to ride with me or let me drive. (One guy was flummoxed as to why I stopped at stop signs when I could see just fine to safely proceed.) I used to ride with a lady that used center turn out lanes as passing lanes. When I politely confronted her, she became mad. She also would complain about her brother and his aggressive driving. He was a much worse driver and his driving record reflects that, but in my perception she was frequently engaging in high risk driving maneuvers. We all have different interpretations of State Law and what it means to drive safe.

George Carlin said, "Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?"

 

[skyl4rk]

I did hypermiling as a "sport" for a few years, where you go on rides where you try to get the most mpg possible, using a Scangauge or similar mpg display. That type of hypermiling is obnoxious to other drivers behind you while you are driving 42 mph turning 1400 rpms for miles and miles.

However you can get very good mileage without being obnoxious by using a few techniques:

Don't exceed the speed limit (saves on tickets too)

Start at a moderate acceleration (not too fast, not too slow)

Take your foot off the gas if you suspect a car in front of you is slowing down, and wait till you know he is not stopping before accelerating again

As soon as you see a "Stop Ahead" sign, or see a yellow light way in the distance, take your foot off the gas and coast. Ideally you should be going less than 20 mph when you put your foot on the brakes.

This is pretty much moderate driving and looking ahead for potential stops, coasting to a stop as much as possible.

 

[akrvbob]

Like most of you I drive slower and more conservatively than average, I don't often pass anyone else but I'm often passed.

But the biggest difference is in the mountains going downhill. My big van eats brakes in mt. passes so I almost always gear down to 2nd. To keep from over-revving it I hold it down to 25-35 and when it speeds up a I hit the brakes hard till I'm too slow and then get off them.

That really bothers the little cars behind me!! But they are just going to have to get used to it, I've burned up too many brakes, no more!!
Bob

 

[MikeRuth]

Right- wrong or indifferent. I prefer to drive 75, 80 on the highway for one simple reason, It keeps me on my toes.
At 55 even 65 I feel like everything is in slow motion and I want to take a nap. Seriously I do not pay nearly as much attention to whats going on around me.

I'm not bucking the fuel millage etc. I get that, I get slowing down to take in the scenery, but on the highway, interstate, Lets boogie!

I think I just passed BOB