Manage Your Energy!
Okay, so everyone gets on the freeway and sees those “Speed Limit 60 MPH” signs, but, since it’s rush hour, there’s no way they are going to go 60 miles per hour.
I should say, there’s no way they’re going to _average_ 60 mph, but in fact, some may actually hit those speeds BECAUSE THEY’RE KNUCKLEHEADS!!!
Here’s the thing: People get on the freeway and think that the only way they are going to get home on time (whatever that means) is by sticking to the bumper of the person in front of them. What this means is that they play the “hurry up and wait” game. Rather than going a near-constant speed, they zoom ahead to the next stopped traffic, come to a stop, then speed up again to the next stop. (This behavior is often accompanied by a lot of lane-changing, which I’ll bet is the leading cause of rush-hour accidents.)
Now, as anyone who’s ridden a bike extensively can tell you, the hardest work is starting up from a dead stop. This is true for autos, as well, and so the lion’s share of fuel consumption is spent the same way. The enine is at its lest efficient under those loads, so the pollution output is worst at this point, as well.
I’m willing to let people waste their money on gasoline, I guess (though that’s probably at the root of the war in Iraq and other Mideast headaches). But I also have to breathe the air they pollute this way. I don’t have figures, but I’ll bet that >40% of auto pollution in rush hour is caused by cars starting up from a dead stop — repeatedly.
The point is, you’ve built up some kinetic energy by burning gas. You can either maintain that, or squander it as heat by stopping. (Your brakes convert kinetic energy into thermal, and a little acoustic, energy to stop your car)
In my town — Milwaukee — we have “variable message signs” over the freeways that give travel times to some arbitrary destinations. This strikes me as less than helpful, to put it kindly. What we need are signs that tell people their _average_speed_ to those destinations — a variable they have some measure of control over.
So, if you know you’re only going to be travelling, say, 18 mph between here and Mourners Corners, you can go 0-60 multiple times — and still average 18 mph. Or, you can save gas and minimize pollution by travelling as close to 18 mph as you can, varying between perhaps 10 and 25 mph, and keeping braking to a minimum. In other words, by prudently managing your energy.
One way to make your commute more interesting is to see whether you can get to your exit without using the brakes, or at least without coming to a stop. This involves leaving empty space in front of your car when people zoom head to the next stopping point (usually at curves in the road); you’ll catch up to them at the next stop, but ideally only once they’ve started moving - so you don’t have to stop.
Sure, some people will switch lanes in the misguided belief that they’re shortening their trip substantiantially. (Actually, I think they’re probably behaving more like ants than truly acting out of some considered belief.) However, you may also notice a phenomenon I’ve observed:
Very often, when you leave space in front of you, the person behind you leaves a space, too. I don’t quite understand what’s going on here, but it’s my fond hope that they are noticing that my brake lights aren’t going on. Curiously, when I change lanes to head for my exit, the same person who’s been following at a distance for several miles will speed up to the bumper of the car I was behind. (Back to the ant theory, I’m afraid.)
Generally, you’ll find that driving this way make the commute more interesting, and more relaxing. It’s also more economical (both in gas and general wear on the car).
One final note: If you use your engine to brake, you’re cheating, and perhaps running the engine inefficiently (the root of excessive polluting. One way around this is to get a Toyota Prius, or some other gas-electric hybrid, which will turn excess kinetic energy into reusable electric energy.