It's your duty to drive FAST !!

On more than one occasion I’ve heard references to EV’s suggesting they are the snails of the road. Indeed when enjoying my Sirrus XM a few days ago I heard one stand-up comedian let rip with one dig after another (think being passed by a truck with a house on the back, while going uphill).

So, as advocates of EV’s I feel it’s our duty to dispel this myth.

Especially as I have my “100% Electric” chrome letters on the back, I take every opportunity to win the traffic-light drag race. I haven't been beaten yet. Furthermore, , whenever I have the capacity, I make a point of at least keeping up with the fast lane on the freeway.
Most important you CA drivers with carpool stickers, do NOT hold up other vehicles in the single carpool lane. If you don't have the range to drive as fast as others, pull into the regular lanes.

Fortunately I can now do all of this without burning excessive fossil fuel, or putting undue load on an engine or gearbox. In fact the only real cost of this is likely to show up in tire wear.
But I’ll accept that as I do my part to promote this great vehicle, and EV’s in general !

But of course, be safe my friends!
Shaun

gbshaun said:

Especially as I have my “100% Electric” chrome letters on the back, I take every opportunity to win the traffic-light drag race. I haven't been beaten yet. Furthermore, , whenever I have the capacity, I make a point of at least keeping up with the fast lane on the freeway.
Most important you CA drivers with carpool stickers, do NOT hold up other vehicles in the single carpool lane. If you don't have the range to drive as fast as others, pull into the regular lanes.

Fortunately I can now do all of this without burning excessive fossil fuel, or putting undue load on an engine or gearbox. In fact the only real cost of this is likely to show up in tire wear.
But I’ll accept that as I do my part to promote this great vehicle, and EV’s in general !

But of course, be safe my friends!
Shaun

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Amen Brother!

It is hilarious to see the reactions on people's faces when they meet up with me at the next light. I see it every day - They are discovering a new respect for EVs. And not just Teslas...

gbshaun said:

Especially as I have my “100% Electric” chrome letters on the back, I take every opportunity to win the traffic-light drag race. I haven't been beaten yet.

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I haven't been beat yet, either. From years of riding motorcycles, I never bolt out from a green light without a serious check both ways for red light runners.

+1, I do feel a responsibility to demonstrate that EVs are not golf carts, and I do it on a daily basis.

But how do I reconcile this with my support of Paul Scott's Peak Oil post? Oh yeah, my LEAF runs (mostly) on solar PV power.

Anyway, hence my schizophrenic automotive life... :lol:

+1 on demonstrating that EVs are not toys. Besides, it's fun

I saw a LEAF yesterday driving 50mph on the freeway (in the right lane). He probably needed to drive slowly because he was at the edge of his range. Remember, when you might need to recharge to make a trip, the slower you drive the faster you arrive. But with a few other LEAFs zipping along, people could know that he was driving slowly by choice, not because the car wasn't capable of higher speeds.

TonyWilliams said:

I haven't been beat yet, either.

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I have, just once. Let's face it, a BMW whose driver doesn't care that everyone sees he's doing something as immature as stoplight racing, and who is willing to floor it with a deafening roar, is going to beat a LEAF every time. And so it was time for me to back off and pretend that I wasn't doing something as immature as stoplight racing; and thanks to the lack of a deafening roar I might just have gotten away with the pretense.

From years of riding motorcycles, I never bolt out from a green light without a serious check both ways for red light runners.

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Good safety reminder!

On one street whose speed limit is set unreasonably low I frequently annoy other drivers by driving too slowly - at the speed limit - just as I used to annoy them in my Prius, and before that in my big V6 sedan. I've seen the frequent speed traps set up there, and I've seen the baby deer struck and killed, and I've seen the kids playing, and I'm just not willing to speed there.

I admit I was driving too slow first few weeks in the right lane. As I got comfortable with the car and overcame my range anxiety I started to enjoy left lane flying as I did with ICE car. Although not everyone happy about this...

I am 100% in agreement w/ this post. I have yet to take possession of my Leaf but I feel that it is my personal responsibility to dispel the old "...as slow as an electric car." adage. Unless you are limited by range or safety conditions, it makes absolutely no sense to be moving slower than traffic. It absolutely kills me every time I see a Leaf driving slower than traffic on the freeway. The thought of "Ackk!!! This guy is reinforcing a bad stereotype!". Also, when you drive slower everyone makes note of it and immediately associates that behavior to the type of car, not necessarily the person behind the wheel.

I'm already receiving a lot of flak from friends and people that know me for buying an electric car. The one thing that most of them understand is speed, so in a sense I have something to prove or at the very least not to fall into their expectations which would make them feel right.

+1!

gbshaun said:

On more than one occasion I’ve heard references to EV’s suggesting they are the snails of the road. Indeed when enjoying my Sirrus XM a few days ago I heard one stand-up comedian let rip with one dig after another (think being passed by a truck with a house on the back, while going uphill).

So, as advocates of EV’s I feel it’s our duty to dispel this myth.

Especially as I have my “100% Electric” chrome letters on the back, I take every opportunity to win the traffic-light drag race. I haven't been beaten yet. Furthermore, , whenever I have the capacity, I make a point of at least keeping up with the fast lane on the freeway.
Most important you CA drivers with carpool stickers, do NOT hold up other vehicles in the single carpool lane. If you don't have the range to drive as fast as others, pull into the regular lanes.

Fortunately I can now do all of this without burning excessive fossil fuel, or putting undue load on an engine or gearbox. In fact the only real cost of this is likely to show up in tire wear.
But I’ll accept that as I do my part to promote this great vehicle, and EV’s in general !

But of course, be safe my friends!
Shaun

Click to expand...

I stop-light raced a roaring pick-up from the righthand--ending lane and left him behind. very mature.
I do however insist on the speed limit most of the time and there are a few speed traps known to me where i always use cruise set right. I love to see the motorcycle cop there when I crest the hill or down the road with the pulled-over driver.
I do admit to driving the HOV lane at 65.

I will be the odd man out here. I drive 52 MPH in the right hand lane of the freeway (405 and 101) when traffic allows me to go that fast, which it often doesn't. I ease out from stop lights, let others race pass me, then often pass them stopped at the next light because I have looked ahead and not wasted energy racing up to a stop. The example I am setting: energy of various kinds will probably be more limited as the years go by, so use it wisely. Surprisingly, I often find other cars content to go the same speed and not eager to pass. This is a very relaxing way to drive and only increases my commute time from 32 minutes to 37 minutes (average).

However, I do talk to anyone who asks about my Leaf, enthusiastically but realistic about the limitations of the current EV. A lot of people are fascinated and I can see their minds doing the computation, "Would this work for me?" I think this sort of "evangelism"--plus giving rides to family and friends--is a lot more important. People experience the Leaf as a real car, especially when they ride in it. I do briefly show them what the car can do if you want to zip away from a stop. They are uniformly impressed by the rapid acceleration from a stop. After taking a test ride, my sister-in-law told my brother, "We should get an EV for our next car."

Do you find that many pickups and SUVs will try to show you up once they realize they were just passed by an EV as in the video shown in this post?

There can be all kinds of room behind me coming to an exit and they will push in front where there isn't much room. They must think I'm going to run out of juice in front of them and they too will be stranded. Oh well, they just sucked up the $4 gasoline and to me it is just pennies. Don't have this problem with sedans etc.

Not driving in ECO mode on the freeway helps get rid of the golf cart syndrome. I did that for a bit and found that on long drives there is no difference in energy usage when driving in D.

your brother married well.

TaylorSFGuy said:

Do you find that many pickups and SUVs will try to show you up once they realize they were just passed by an EV as in the video shown in this post?

There can be all kinds of room behind me coming to an exit and they will push in front where there isn't much room. They must think I'm going to run out of juice in front of them and they too will be stranded. Oh well, they just sucked up the $4 gasoline ......................................

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+1

There are so many idiots like the SUV guy on the road these days. (Late model BMW, Porsche, or hopped-up street rods also come to mind)

Careful of "road rage" from these guys. Do not engage with these ignorant people. In the Bay Area, unfortunately, this is a daily event in my commute :roll:

TaylorSFGuy said:

Do you find that many pickups and SUVs will try to show you up once they realize they were just passed by an EV as in the video shown in this post?

There can be all kinds of room behind me coming to an exit and they will push in front where there isn't much room. They must think I'm going to run out of juice in front of them and they too will be stranded. Oh well, they just sucked up the $4 gasoline and to me it is just pennies. Don't have this problem with sedans etc.

Not driving in ECO mode on the freeway helps get rid of the golf cart syndrome. I did that for a bit and found that on long drives there is no difference in energy usage when driving in D.

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I believe that the thought process of some drivers that see the Leaf coming up behind them in their mirrors on a 2 lane on-ramp is:
- Here comes as Leaf
- I don't want it to get in front of me because the driver will be slow.
- I better get in front of it while I have the chance.
- Man, those EVs are slow.

I don't think that they are particularly trying to race the Leaf or impose a sense of dominance over it, it pretty much comes down to the stereotype. The majority of the Leafs I've seen on the freeway have been in front of me as I pass them by. On the other hand the majority of E92 BMW M3's that I've seen on the freeway have come up behind me and passed me by.

Wouldn't it be great if the thought process of some drivers seeing a Leaf in their mirrors on a 2 lane on-ramp is this:
- Here comes a Leaf
- Those things have good low end torque, low CG for decent steady-state cornering and he's moving at a good pace.
- I better ease up and let him pass
- Man, I'd like to have one of those.

LOL... yeah, I know, it's probably not gonna happen, but the best thing to do is to at least work towards changing the existing mindset.

thankyouOB said:

I stop-light raced a roaring pick-up from the righthand--ending lane and left him behind. very mature

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I take it you never been on the race. This was normal driving for me where no laws have been broken and I guess the guy didn't want to let his ego get bruised by a "compact".

i am in the "slow poke" category which appears to number 2 so far.

i limit myself to 62 mph on the freeway (65 if speed limit is 70 which happens going south or east. its 60 everywhere else)

in town, i flow with traffic keeping an ample following distance especially if its multi lane i may have a tendency to be under the limit most of the time if traffic is heavy. in single lane situations, i will drive the speed limit all the time unless traffic does not allow it.

i tend to taylor my in town routes to be during times of minimal traffic congestion. i work 4 days a week which includes weekends so i am potentially on the road on any day of the week in mid afternoons when traffic tends to be light.


but then again, this driving pattern started 7+ years ago when i started driving my Prius. my driving style has not changed at all

To a certain extent, some reinforce that stereotype by driving slowly in the right lane to get maximum range or efficiency... Me? I try to get home with as little battery left as possible! :lol:

Drivesolo said:

Man, those EVs are slow.

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mogur said:

To a certain extent, some reinforce that stereotype by driving slowly in the right lane to get maximum range or efficiency...

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Yep, that's me. Most of the time that we drive the freeways, we need all the range we can get, hence it's 55 mph in the right lane. Coming up our mountain, we also let plenty of folks pass us. We would really like more range, but aren't prepared to pay for a Tesla Model S or wait until 2015... So we happily do what we can to stretch the range of the 2011 LEAF.

On the other hand, driving between the various mountain communities up here, range is never an issue and we sometimes choose to zip around and pass other vehicles. At the very least, we keep up with traffic.

Drivesolo said:

I believe that the thought process of some drivers that see the Leaf coming up behind them in their mirrors on a 2 lane on-ramp is:
- Here comes as Leaf
- I don't want it to get in front of me because the driver will be slow.
- I better get in front of it while I have the chance.
- Man, those EVs are slow.

I don't think that they are particularly trying to race the Leaf or impose a sense of dominance over it, it pretty much comes down to the stereotype. The majority of the Leafs I've seen on the freeway have been in front of me as I pass them by. On the other hand the majority of E92 BMW M3's that I've seen on the freeway have come up behind me and passed me by.

Wouldn't it be great if the thought process of some drivers seeing a Leaf in their mirrors on a 2 lane on-ramp is this:
- Here comes a Leaf
- Those things have good low end torque, low CG for decent steady-state cornering and he's moving at a good pace.
- I better ease up and let him pass
- Man, I'd like to have one of those.

LOL... yeah, I know, it's probably not gonna happen, but the best thing to do is to at least work towards changing the existing mindset.

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At this point in time, I don't think many people not already interested in Leafs would even recognize one in their mirrors. I do, however, agree with Drivesolo's analysis of their possible thinking process and believe it is also their default for all smaller cars. In many people's view, any small car not known by personal experience or marque to be a "speed machine" is just another low-performance econobox better seen behind them. Witnessing a driver (legally and considerately) using the Leaf's full capabilities will eventually dispel these golf cart preconceptions.

mogur said:

To a certain extent, some reinforce that stereotype by driving slowly in the right lane to get maximum range or efficiency... Me? I try to get home with as little battery left as possible! :lol:

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You rock! You are a model of what Leaf owners should strive to be.