Speed Racer - Who Me?

Speed Racer poster via The Things I Don't Care About

Probably one of the hardest things we can do to reduce the amount of gasoline we use is to slow down.

When you have to be somewhere – like work or to meet someone – and time isn’t on your side, leaning a little more heavily on the accelerator pedal is a real temptation. Even more so, if someone else (your company, your parents) are buying the fuel. And we’re all guilty of it. We know we should plan a little better and leave a little earlier, but the time occasionally gets away from us and we try to make it up by going a little faster.

Two problems with that, though; one is that speeding can get to be a habit and the other is that it doesn’t really save you the time you think it does.

It’s Not Just About Speeding Tickets

It’s easy to guess why speeding is a bad habit. If you do it habitually, you’re more likely to get a ticket. But did you know you’re also more likely to be in an accident? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that speeding was known to be a factor in 1/3 of fatal accidents in 2006 (by the way, another good reason to give up your SUV is that 10% of people injured in an accident are in SUVs compared to 3% of passenger cars).

If you’re not a habitual speeder, don’t become one. Although it’s not as important as saving your life, speeding uses up fuel faster as does speeding up and then slowing down. Staying at a consistent speed saves you fuel and keeps you saner, while reducing the chances you’ll be part of next year’s accident statistics. And if you’re the optimistic kind who thinks accidents like that won’t happen to you, just remember that speeding tickets can be expensive to collect – in fines and in increased insurance costs.

But I’m Going to Be Late!

As for saving time – a long time ago, one of the government agencies put out a little film that pitted an aggressive driver against a nonaggressive driver leaving from the same place and arriving at the same destination. The aggressive driver drove faster than the limit, rolled through stop signs and took every advantage possible. The nonaggressive driver followed traffic laws and kept a consistent and legal speed. The aggressive driver arrived at the final destination about two minutes ahead of the other driver. Two minutes. Not much time saved considering what could have happened and how stressed out the driver was when he got where he was going. Like to check out how much time you save by speeding? Here’s a calculator.

There’s another thing about speeding: when you combine it with inattention or alcohol, the chances of a serious accident get bigger much faster.

By the way, if you don’t have far to go, consider walking or cycling. If you must take the car, consider ridesharing. You won't get there faster but you may make a new friend and you'll certainly decrease the cost of getting there.