Take Your Foot Off The Gas

Is it Worth the Trouble?

Sally has been driving down the freeway going about 10 mph over the speed limit.  Suddenly, she approaches some heavy traffic and is forced to slow down.  Though it won’t speed things up, she continuously rides the tail of an orange tow truck.  Sally speeds up and brakes repeatedly while she thinks about how annoying the man in the tow truck is and how he should move his rear over into another lane.  Finally, Sally finds a little break in the road and weaves her way through, dashing in front of other cars without bothering to signal.  Then she continues down the freeway with her foot to the floor.  Sally beat the tow truck and feels a sense of accomplishment.

A few minutes later, Sally approaches some slower moving traffic and is yet again compelled to slow down.  Changing lanes several times, she tries to weave her way through the traffic.  This time Sally gets stuck following a cement truck as the lane slows to a crawling pace.  The lane to her right is going faster, and along comes the orange tow truck passing her on the right side.  Sally may not realize that all the extra acceleration, braking, and changing lanes gained her nothing.  Within minutes the tow truck arrives at Sally’s exit, several cars ahead of her.

Sally may not have taken into account that zigzagging between lanes racks up additional mileage and wears tires out faster.  Unlike driving in a straight line, every curve adds up and the odometer will reflect the difference in the long run.  The gains that are made while passing up cars are not worth the risks that are involved when changing lanes, let alone the cost of fuel.  It’s blowing money out the exhaust pipe and can make you feel wound up with anxiety after getting out of the car.  Why waste your hard earned money and stress yourself out?