Argh, this is going to drive me crazy all day. If I were a cop, I'd just follow this guy around giving him tickets for driving under the speed limit. Or maybe I'd just do that every other day and reserve the off days for ticketing idiots driving lifted trucks at highway speeds.

I have to admit, he'd certainly drive me to madness as well. I'd be cussing and turning purple if I were behind him, or any of his ilk. But . . .

So he's worried about wasting energy throwing water in the air when driving in the slight grooves in the road caused by lorries, but he'll happily burn his tyres round a 25 mph bend to keep his speed at 50 mph?

GO PHYSICS!

I read this article when it was linked here a few days ago. It's actually very interesting for me. If you read the website linked in the article, Wayne and the other "hypermilers" aren't really interested in economy or saving the environment - it's all about getting the highest number to display on the mpg meter, or alternately to get the highest number of miles on one tank of gasoline. The cost of burned tires (from 50 mph "suicide turns") and engine wear (from starting the car in neutral) compared to the price of gas isn't really a calculation their performing.

What muddgirl said. Wear and tear on the car is much costlier than what Wayne is saving in gass. I'll stick with my Prius.

Note that there are also people who are much less extreme, who limit their speed on the freeway to 50-55 mph, keep safe driving distances so they don't have to break so often, and limit short trips. These drivers generally see fuel efficiencies around 50-60 mpg. I don't think these driving behaviors are any worse for a car than driving 80 mph in the carpool lane.

These drivers generally see fuel efficiencies around 50-60 mpg.

Maybe momentarily on the meter, but that cannot be sustainable for a whole tank of gas. They max out the meter while coasting, but it goes down severely when accelerating (even if done gently).

There are times when I break the rule, but as a rule I try to drive as if I had a raw egg taped to my foot and I'm trying not to break it. The most I've gotten (with a 138 hp Hyundai Elantra) is 35 mpg on a whole tank of gas while on a trip.

During my daily commute, I usually set my cruise control speed to 63-65 (speed limit is 60). In addtion to not killing the gas mileage, it also lets me watch traffic and not worry about whether a cop might see me.

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