driving to WDW - 65mph

[spiceycat]

Okay tomorrow I am leaving to drive to WDW.

I am seriously considering driving slower than I have in a long time - 60 or 65 mph on the interstate.

I know this is slow in Florida - but I hate to buy gasoline at these prices. and in my car (I have a Honda) it really makes a BIG different - I get a good 15% to 20% better gas mileage the slower I drive.

would you do this?

or should I just drive 70 to 80 mph like everyone else is doing?

 

[CarolA]

I have a theory about Florida. There are two groups of drivers... Group 1 is my Dad... SLOW, If he gets the RV over 55 I be amazed. If you want to go slow just hang out with them.

Group 2 is people like me... escapees from Atlanta. Here in Atlanta we have two speeds. FULL THROTLE or STOPPED LOL!

I tried to make myself drive slower for fuel conservation this weekend. Didn't work.... I just spent more money on my drive to Knoxville...

 

[spiceycat]

hey I love Atlanta - my brother lives over there.

that is my problem - I know I should drive slower but on any interstate it is so hard.

I don't want to be a road hazard. Which some people are when they drive slow...

 

[OKW Lover]

If you do decide to drive "slow" (ie 65) please be sure to stay in the right hand lane. Also please be aware of other traffic, such as trucks that may not be able to go around you easily.

You, and the rest of us, are really the safest when everybody is traveling at approximately the same speed. If you find people constantly wizzing by you, and you aren't passing an approximately equal number of others then you may be driving too slow for the road - despite what the speed limit signs say. Of course, the converse is also true.

 

[CarolA]

I live in Atlanta... (My profile is wrong!) I know we drive like idiots here (NOTICE I said WE! LOL!)

 

[spiceycat]

you know I am reconsidering.

I hate to drive slow.

we will just not eat out as often!

I just I will have to just see the way the traffic is flowing.

oh when I pass someone - I pass them - I was raised that it is okay to speed when passing someone.

 

[Poohs Pal]

I only drive slow on the way home . Susan

 

[Uncleromulus]

I love it. 65 MPH considered slow. And based on the cars I see every day hitting 80+ (with many eating and or talking on the cell phone), it IS slow.
Amazing folks would sit in a gas line for hours, then hit the road at 80+ and waste most of the gas they thought so dear a few hours ago!!
How did Pogo put it--?
"We have met the enemy and they IS US"

AS a "sidebar", we're now doing the very thing that the original poster suggested--doing 65 (not 55, but 65 which, by the way, IS the speed limt on I-83 where we live). THis AM, Mrs. U has a bit over 1/4 tank of gas left --enough for yet one more trip to work and back before filling up. Normally on Friday morning she'd have to head to the gas station for gas before going to work. In essence, just doing the speed limit for one week has added one extra "day" to her fuel tank.

 

[puffkin]

I saw on the news that the most efficient speed to drive for gas mileage is 65 mph. It is amazing how much gas is wasted for each mile over that. I would just go with your plan unless the highway was posted higher than 65. Don't worry about the other drivers. Just stay in the right lane and adjust your speed accordingly at merge points and exit ramps.

I know that driving too slow can be dangerous (and I can be quite a speed demon myself) but come on people.....If someone is doing 65 on the highway, you can't fault them for going too slow, even if you want to go much faster.

 

[spiceycat]

that is the problem.

the speed limit on I10 and I75 (in florida) is 70 mph.

but I really don't want to spend more money on gasoline than I have too.

I think they determined before that 55 mph is the best (remember Carter) for saving gasoline.

the big problem if you think Atlanta drivers are fast. Well I have seem people drive 120 mph easy on I 10. most Atlanta drivers kept in under 100 (not much but still under a 100)

the Florida State Troopers got so mad at people driving this fast for a while they patroled this area. (they were also sick of the deads because of the speed driving on I10). and boy everytime you saw a FST they had pulled someone off the road. You would think they would do that again.

if they did - I would definitely go 65mph.

that was the only time on I10 that the majority of the drivers were during the speed limit.

 

[brentalex]

Since in theory the right lane should be the slowest, I would just get in that lane and keep up with the traffic. It is not safe to go too much slower than the flow of traffic and it is certainly not safe to go slow in anything but the right lane. remember to keep your windows shut, the cars are more efficient, check your tire pressure and try to keep as constant a speed as possible. these all help a bit.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Not sure about this, but believe some Interstates have a minimum speed also--have seen signs once in awhile saying 'Minimum Speed-40MPH".
Now unless you are a truck struggling uphill, 40 is way too slow. But 65?? At worst it's only 5 MPH below the posted UPPER limit!!
We just stay in the slow(er) lanes and let the 80+ crowd breeze past.
And that's what just we're going to do when we drive to WDW this Oct 1!!!

 

[cranbiz]

I have done the Mass to Florida drive at 60mph on I95. A lot of the time I was not the slowest vehicle on the road. I had no choice in the speed as I was towing a trailer that would sway badly any faster.

The upside of that speed, my gas mileage was tremendous, I drive a 4X4 pickup which will usually get about 19mpg on the highway. That trip I got 22mpg.

The downside, It took about 6-8 hours more to get there.

HTH

 

[grimley1968]

If you think your lead foot can handle being a little lighter on the pedal, then go for 65! I know I'd probably have a problem doing that, even with the knowledge that I'm wasting expensive fuel. One thing that kills me about some drivers is their refusal to use cruise control for its optimum benefit, and these are usually the same people that speed up as you try to pass them. If you can set your cruise control at 65 MPH, you might eventually get used to it on the drive and not notice all the speed demons passing you. I tend to speed a bit (maybe 5 MPH over the 65 MPH limit in KY), but I use cruise control as much as possible to keep my lead foot from taking over and making me go even faster.

Also, keep in mind that the extra 5-10 MPH at which you may want to travel will really not get you there appreciably sooner than going 65 MPH all the way, especially if it means stopping at a gas station one extra time because of inefficient fuel usage!

I never really thought much about this as a fuel saver, but I may actually try to stay within 5 MPH of the speed limit in my upcoming trip, instead of the usual target of within 10 MPH of the speed limit. Good thread.