Drives me crazy 4056

On Tue, 05 Apr 2005 18:59:38 -0700, Scott en Aztl‡n

I'm not sure what he means by "creeping". If he uses the word the same way I would, it wouldn't mean stopping, but it would mean going slowly enough that they are begging to be pbutted.

I ease off the gas if it's obvious I'm going to have to stop. If I think I can hit the intersection while I'm still rolling, I try to do it although I wouldn't characterize my approach as "creeping".

I'm not sure if you'd clbuttify me as a "sloth coaster" or not, but if I am, I am definitely the exception as far as accelerating goes. I often look in my rear view mirror after an intersection and think WTF? Why is everyone else still back at the intersection?

This is especially true if I manage to hit the intersection at 20-30 mph while everyone else is starting from a dead stop or stuck behind other cars starting from a dead stop.

(We don't all drive 'vette's ya' know - I tried to outrun one today - I couldn't).

When choosing a lane to stop in, I try to avoid the sloths too. I get it right most of the time.

It's pretty easy to figure out which is which if you drive thru those intersections with any regularity.

That's only true IF the light is controlled by a sensor and there is not already traffic waiting at the light.

If there is traffic at the light, or you know the lights are timed, then "sloth coasting" decreases the chances that you will need to brake and then re-accelerate from a dead stop.

If you've ever watched the instantaneous fuel economy in such situations or even calculated your gas mileage in city vs. highway driving, you'd realize just how badly stopping at every single light on a road will eat up your fuel.

Maybe you don't care about fuel economy, and that is your right not to care, but I care about mine - just not enough to be a sloth accelerator.

Since I know which lights around me are timed and which are sensor-driven, I'll keep on timing the lights so I will avoid having to stop more often than is absolutely necessary.

I disagree with whoever said sitting at a light is less tiring than rolling up to one, but I understand that's a subjective thing.

It also occasionally happens IRL, although generally when there's not much traffic around.

I do remember driving around downtown years ago when it was fairly common knowledge that if you drove 22 mph, you wouldn't hit any red lights. While I disagree with the sloth speed that was set (which was below the speed limit), it actually worked and by and large downtown was either a place you went enough to know that or it was a place you never went.

Judging from the generally constant flow of traffic there, I'd say it works if everyone is smart enough to let it. The streets were generally 4-5 lanes, so if 1-2 people didn't get it, they were easy enough to go around.