michigan driving rant.

Growing up close to the Michigan border in Ohio, it was understood that when you see a Michigan license plate, you get out of the way. Michigan drivers are known in Ohio for being fast, rude, fast, careless, and did I mention fast? Now that I have lived in Michigan for almost 4 years (whoa time flies!), I am accustomed to being surrounded by Michigan drivers on my 30-minute commute to and from work every day on a 4-lane freeway. Funny how I don’t really consider myself a “Michigan driver”. It's probably because I like to consider myself a safe and courteous driver… not something Michigan drivers are known for.

Anyway, a little over a year ago when gas prices pushed past $4 a gallon, I made a vow to change my driving habits not only to save money at the pump, but also to help the environment. Using less gas = using less precious recourses. I researched all kinds of ways we can change our driving patterns to use less gas. Why are we all in such a hurry anyway? Shouldn’t we all stop and smell the roses… er, exhaust? Turns out that besides driving a fuel efficient vehicle (yes, I love my 36 mpg Civic), making the following changes in our driving can make a big difference:

• Avoid speeding, rapid acceleration and quick breaking, which can all lower gas mileage by 33%. I see a red light or break lights up ahead, and I take my foot off the gas. When the light turns green, I slowly accelerate… why rush just to sit at another red light?
• Observe the speed limit. Each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an extra $0.24 per gallon for gas. Yowza!
• Use cruise control to help maintain your speed and save gas. I am a huge fan of cruise control on the freeway, but I swear it feels like no one else in the state has ever HEARD of cruise control.

Of course there are other tips as well, such as removing excess cargo from your car that weighs it down, avoid excessive idling, avoid rush hour traffic, get regular car maintenance checks, etc.

Well, the reason this is coming to fruition, is because I have been noticing a significant increase in traffic during my commute. I’m not sure if it’s because school is back in session, or because less people are on vacation now that summer is officially over, but traffic has noticeably increased. Normally traffic doesn’t irk me. I face it almost every day, and usually I’m so engrossed in my morning coffee and radio talk show, that I let any stress from traffic slide off my shoulders. But for the past week either I have become more sensitive to being cut off, or more drivers are acting like they own the road. Either way, I’ve decided I have a choice. I can either change my driving habits to match those of my fellow drivers so I have a lesser chance of ticking them off, or I can let it go and not worry about those around me. I’ve decided to go with the latter. As long as I am not causing an unsafe situation, they can yell, give me the finger, honk, flash their brights, cuss, and give me dirty looks all they want. At lease I know that not only am I saving my own hard-earned money, but I’m helping the environment at the same time. I just wish everyone around me would do the same… but I know that’s like asking everyone to never go through a McDonald’s drive thru window ever again. Sigh… one can dream, right?