farmdoc's blog post number 118

Don't waterboard me. I'll confess. I'll confess. I’m a hypermiler. I am. I keep my tyres inflated to optimum pressure, remove unnecessary items from my car, don’t use the aircon much and keep the windows up, accelerate smoothly, stay on or under the speed limit, use cruise control (but not up hills), brake gently, and pulse and glide as much as possible. I monitor my hypermiling using my Peugeot’s trip computer: I aim for fuel consumption of 4.4 litres/100km (which Microsoft Calculator Plus converts to 64 miles/gallon). I don’t know for sure why I’m a hypermiler. I think it’s multifactorial: part obsessive personality, part parsimony, and part desire to limit my carbon footprint. I don’t like driving much, so hypermiling (aka ecodriving) keeps me interested and focused. As a byproduct it draws my attention to the driving behaviour of others. So far I haven’t come across another hypermiler here in northern Tasmania; I speculate with myself if I ever will. Around here old habits die hard, few people seem concerned about the environment locally let alone globally, and the old hip pocket nerve’s anaesthetised. An ECO Pedal may help them. But really, I think once you’re a hypermiler there’s no going back. It’s irreversible and unstoppable. I can’t wait until my present tyres wear out so I can get some Michelin Energy XM1s.