Creeping
Creeping (SB: Synchronized Starts)
| Attach:trafficlight.jpg | Creeping. It's not about being weird. It's about fuel savings, and I've been putting a lot of thought into it lately. Creeping is when you let your car roll forward while waiting at a stop light. Stop creeping, and you'll make better use of your fuel. Read on...
Bear with me as I touch on a few seemingly unrelated things. |
| We've almost all seen the wave at sporting events. The wave is proof that you can teach something to the masses. It helps that it's fun to do. Other things (basically what follows) aren't as fun, but are important to most of us for different reasons (read: money). | Attach:thewave.jpg |
Next, when an army brigade begins marching, the first row and the 20th row all start in unison.
| Attach:accordion.gif | Compare this to how most of us start off at a traffic light. First person goes, then the second person goes, and on and on. By the time the last car starts moving, the first car is a quarter mile away. It's called the accordion. It's a waste, and it makes all of us waste fuel. |
I have a different way
| When the light goes green, take your foot off the brake, watch the car in front of you, and if they also take their foot off the brake and begin to accelerate, do the same. Synchronize your car's acceleration with the car in front of you. No, of course, don't hit them, and keep a safe stopping distance at all time. | Attach:marching.jpg |
Everyone watches the light change from red to green and does the same. When the light changes, watch the brake light of the car in front of you. A red brake light means stop. Duh. If the brake light goes off, wait for them to accelerate and do the same. If they keep their foot on the brake, either they didn't get the memo, or someone in front of them didn't get the memo.
Synchronized starts really require you to keep at least a car's length between you and the car in front of you. If you're too close, you have to wait until they've moved ahead a bit. Then you start moving. That defeats the purpose of attempting synchronized starts. Being too close to the car in front of you increases the likelihood, and I would say it guarantees you're going to perform the fuel-wasting behavior of the accordion.
| Attach:parkclose.jpg | How does this relate to creeping? If you creep, that creeping behavior of getting closer to the car in front of you is what makes it harder for your to make a synchronized start and to start moving at nearly the same time the car in front of you starts. |
If you perform your part of making the accordion you'll have less likelihood of making it through that stop light safely and timely. Do a synchronized start, and you have a greater chance of making it through that stop light.
Here Come My Yes buts...
Yes, everyone has to participate before it really begins to pay off.
Yes, some will say that adding space between cars defeats the purpose of synchronized starts. Mathematically, however, the numbers disprove it again.
Yes, there are some that believe that accordion starts put as many cars through the light as a synchronized start. Mathematically, though, the numbers disprove it.
Yes, some will say that you're trying to get everyone to do something and that's never going to happen. Then I stop think about the wave.
Yes, there are those who will continue being negative. I do my best not to interact with them.
(/|\) Peace, and be careful out there.
Doug
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