REW Forums Taught Me a New Way to Drive

There is an older post on REW Forums that keeps getting added to in the Laid Back Chat section titled "What kind of car do you drive?"  One poster mentioned a word I had never heard of before, hypermiling.  It was mentioned in a post written by Larry Jensen who is known as NY RE Broker on the forums.  He actually used the term hype-miling so I had to look it up on the Internet.

What a new world I was introduced to!  This is a new sub-culture that I can only imagine is going to continue growing.  I wrote an entire piece about my experiences with it (and my studies) so you can read all about hypermiling on my main blog.

I am really trying to make this my "way of driving" now

As I mentioned on my other blog post, you need to keep practicing.  I'm getting better and better turning corners without using my brakes and allowing my car to roll whenever I can.  I no longer make quick starts and will never take off from a dead stop anymore. 

I still have trouble with stop lights and only feel lucky to get a green light.  In fact, yesterday I "rolled" into the left turn signal lane only to miss the arrow because I didn't get there quickly enough (because I was rolling).  Had I not taken my foot off the gas I would have gotten the green turn arrow but, oh well, I'm still learning.

I feel so free driving now

It was such a freeing moment yesterday when I saw one of those radar speed limit things up ahead that tell you how fast you're driving.  Normally, I brake for the few seconds I pass the sign and go back to my speeding.  I was going the speed limit without having to brake.  I felt so proud of myself.

I no longer have to look behind me for police cars.  I don't have to worry about speeding, don't have to worry about getting stopped.  What a great feeling!

But I am looking in my rear view mirror now more than ever

I'm no longer looking for cop cars since I don't have to worry about them, although I was rolling past one today and was ready for him to leave the parking lot he was in and ask me if something was wrong.  Now I'm looking to see if there's any angry drivers behind me tailgating or giving me the finger!  How many times have I shouted out loud about the slow drivers in front of me, especially if there's no way to get around them?  Lots of times.  Now I'm one of those slow drivers! 

I'll only drive slow in the right lane and figure the gas guzzling speedsters will just have to pass me by.  From my studies it sounds like the real pro hypermilers drive below the speed limit and try to drive the minimum allowable limit.  I won't go that far and most everyone is passing me up just staying with the posted speed limits.

What I really look behind me for is when I start rolling.  That's when I see traffic stopped ahead either for someone turning or a stop light.  I immediately take my foot off the gas and try to roll as far as possible.  My car rolls a little at the speed limit and then all of a sudden it really slows down to a true crawl. 

If no one is behind me I continue crawling and have avoided braking in many cases, even getting the green light when I saw it turn red in advance.  However, if a car is behind me I won't do this.  I'll keep an eye on my rear-view mirror and as soon as someone seems to be catching up, depending on how close I am to the cars ahead or the light, I might have to give a little gas so I don't anger anyone.  True hypermilers don't seem to care about stuff like that.  Getting the best fuel economy is all that matters.

I'm trying to teach my husband

My husband is a great driver.  However, he also tends to slam on the gas pedal and the brakes.  I remember one time we were going to the north side of Chicago for dinner and I was so car sick from his driving I didn't think I'd be able to eat.

When he does it too much I cry out "whiplash!"  I can't imagine being in labor with him when he's driving like this, although I'm too old to have to worry about that one.

So, it's kind of a standing joke between us (his sister confirmed his start & stop driving method and said his brother drives the same way).  But the truth is, not only is it uncomfortable, it is wasting a lot of gas.  It also means he follows too closely which I've never done - I hate tailgaters.

He's never had an accident and is otherwise a good driver although he does have a lead foot and has had a few tickets in the 9 years I've known him.  I don't remember the last time I got a ticket.

It's more than just personal gas consumption

Many people are into hypermiling because of ever increasing gas prices and want to save their own cash.  Some have turned it into a sport of sorts.  Some want to put it to the oil companies and car manufacturers.  I would like to think that hypermiling might help with emissions and pollution, although I realize that the few of us trying this (and I'm not into what some hypermilers do) will not change the world.

I also think something needs to be done and read an article that Japan has their own word for it - Japanese hypermilers  call it nenpimania.

It isn't just for hybrids

Although the Japanese tend to rely mainly on hypbrids and many other hypermilers feel the same way, the man who coined the term (from my state of Illinois), Wayne Gerdes, drives a Honda Accord.  He did drive a Honda Insight and still drives borrowed Insights for hypermiling contests.  He won one contest by getting 180.91 mpg in one!  In fact, he gets better mileage out of his wife's SUV than many regular hybrid owners get.

I have to start doing the math

My only problem is the same I have with my real estate websites.  I do the work, I reap the benefits but I never have time for the statistics.  I rarely check my website stats (where are visitors coming from, how many unique visits do I get, etc.).  Now I have to figure out my mpg?  Maybe I'll just practice and not keep track.  That takes the fun out of it for me.

I'm constantly improving

I'm getting better at lifting my foot off the gas at the right moments.  I'm learning to turn tighter and won't have to worry about cars in the other lane when turning.

I also learned that you don't need to use your gas pedal at all in drive-throughs.  Place your order and take your foot off the brake and you'll make it to the pay window.  Once you've paid you take your foot off the brake and roll to the next window.  Take your foot off the brake and glide to the exit.  You can also think of it as driving safe in fast food parking lots when people might be walking nearby.

I'm working with more buyers lately

As primarily a listing agent, I have more listing "sides' than selling "sides" every year.  But with my web presence I'm getting more buyers to work with than ever before.  We all know how many miles we can put on our cars working with buyers.  So hypermiling might be something real estate agents should learn to do.

On the other hand, if you attempt true hypermiling techniques with buyers in your car or following you, you might never see those buyers again.  So use it at your own risk!

I'm not recommending the more dangerous things such as shutting the engine down and drafting or surfing big rigs, but a combination of the other tricks and techniques can really help.

I was looking into lettering to put on my car showing my website but instead I'm thinking I should choose hypermiler on my trunk so drivers behind me know why I'm rolling at a snail's pace.  I'll have to wait until the word is more common.

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