Entered the M1 this morning here in Yorkshire, giving it as little throttle as possible in order to save enough money to buy the er.. Telegraph at White Rose.
Joined a few cars in line doing exactly 50mph, clear road in front so no obvious reason other than fuel saving. Trucks were really wafting past in lane two and there was a significant speed difference so no tailgating... ( not suggesting that actually happens of course)
Found I was sustaining 80mpg give or take a bit over 5 miles.
Is this the new future with significantly sub truck speed in lane one ( for fuel money savers) and trucks happy to make progress in lane two without the frustrations of cars trying to drive at exactly their governed maximum speed in the er.. `slow lane`
First time I have seen a line of cars `braving it out` like that. Pioneers of the new fuel prices perhaps?
Regards
Edited by oilrag on 01/05/2008 at 16:37
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If you have fairly quick reactions and your car has good brakes woodbines, you could try tailgating one of those wafting trucks closely and being sucked along by it. You might find you were still registering 80mpg but going significantly quicker.
A friend, now a late friend alas - no bad taste comments please, he was ill - used to tailgate inter-city buses on motorways in his 2CV, cruising sometimes at 10mph over its unassisted maximum.
Only for the brave though.... :o}
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oilrag I do apologise for mistakenly addressing you as woodbines. An Alzheimer's moment apparently.
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I was the same this morning Lud. Due to getting to the polls before the masses.
(actually, no one else there at 7AM....)
regards
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I spent my childhood in Edinburgh. We lived on the outskirts near the airport but I went to school in the city centre about 5 miles away. Anyone who knows the city will know that the central area is very hilly. Astonishing as it might seem now it was common practice to catch hold of the tailboard of a truck or similar if you were on your bike on the way to school to get a tow up the steeper hills. No-one seemed to mind all that much either. Strangely enough we survived despite a lack of helmets etc.
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If you have fairly quick reactions and your car has good brakes woodbines you could try tailgating one of those wafting trucks closely and being sucked along by it. You might find you were still registering 80mpg but going significantly quicker.
>>Early 60's (long before the M62 was built) commuting home to Huddersfield from Leeds was usually quicker if I could 'pick up a tow' from one of the Smith & Robinson artic tankers which had a depot near work.
These were reputedly on a bonus scheme which paid almost £1000 annually if they got in 2 return trips Leeds to Liverpool in a day.
Considering the congestion on the M62 I should think this would be a challenge during daytime now.
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A couple of years ago I had a flat tyre in Leicester on a Sunday and the only tyre fitters who were open would not repair it, nor did they have a 185/65 14T M+S to replace it. So, I spent a leisurely few hours driving up to Sunderland on the space saver at 50mph and, you know, I really enjoyed the experience.
Rather similar to driving from Sunderland to Cornwall on the motorway in a Volvo 740GLE estate but with a trailer and adhering to the 60mph limit, which I did in the early 1990's.
I think I was born in the wrong era.
In fact, I was looking at restored model T Fords just the other day, amazed at how cheap they are. I might just splash out on one of them.
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restored model T Fords just the other day amazed at how cheap they are. I might just splash out on one of them.
A bit of a dream of mine too that (although a chain-drive Frazer Nash would be preferable).
I do hope you go for it. I saw two in Surrey the weekend before last, driving along together.
Tuned and modified model Ts are fairly plentiful too, as they were from early in the thing's existence. One of those might be best.
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The interest and challenge to me would be the unorthodox pedal arrangement.
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Its a great thing if and this is where most fall down, you have the patience to stick to 50 and not be in such a hurry.
In the Forester its much easier than in some cars on account of the the cruise control which takes away the stress of maintaining speed.
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"If you have fairly quick reactions"
I`m just getting by on experience Lud. ;)
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Interestingly I've notice a similar pattern of driving on dual carriageways. A line of cars following each other at safe distances at around 50mph with the odd lorry inbetween overtaking something, and not a brake light to be seen anywhere. About the only thing going faster than 60mpg was the odd nutter flying past in some kind of over powered fuel guzzler.
The thing I have noticed most is that when I arrived at my destination I was completely relaxed and fresh and the trip computer showed an extra 14 mpg for exactly the same journey I've made hundreds of times.
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Tucking in with the lorries is an acquired art and requires even more concentration than driving fast. Holding a steady 60 mph increases mpg dramatically in the old Mondeo and I too am finding that more drivers are adopting this approach.
Of course, it can be mistaken for mimsing - but the usual giveaway is the absence of a flat cap ;-)
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I was surprised that a driver I knew was unaware of national speed limits, they thought they were 50MPH single carriageway, 60MPH dual carriageway, 70MPH motorway.
A straw poll produced similar results.
Perhaps these 'convoys' consist of those in ignorance.
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Maybe that's why so many drivers get caught for speeding cus they don't know what the legal limits are for any given road !
At least the flat cap economy drivers won't be getting nicked for speeding thus saving themselves even more cash.
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