Consuming Gas

I am like many other Canadians I'm sure.  I take the stories of Global Warming seriously and even if they aren't true I think that anything we can do to improve our air and water quality is a good thing.  So I've committed to trying to find ways to reduce my carbon footprint.  Now when it comes to using gas I don't drive a lot and the price of gas, while annoying, hasn't really impacted me that much.  I drive a big vehicle that uses a lot of it but since I don't drive very far it still hasn't been an issue.  However on the weekend we were planning a bit of a hike for Mothers Day and it would add up to about three hours of driving.  Now I will admit that I am normally a 120 kilometers an hour guy on the highways.  I like the fast lane and I'm not afraid to use it.  For all intents and purposes the flow of traffic on most of our highways seems to be somewhere between 110 and 120 anyway, despite the 100 kilometer an hour maximum speed limit.  Now I've heard all the stories about how reducing your speed on the highways can reduce your gas consumption and I always figured they were talking about saving me a couple of bucks on a long car ride.  I like to go fast and I like to get where I'm going quickly so I guess I was always willing to throw in the couple of extra bucks so I could stay out there in the fast lane.  However with the price of gas the way it is we decided that on this past weekend's journey we would stick to the speed limit.  Take our time and just toddle along to our destination.  It was hard to stick to the speed limit.  Luckily I have cruise control so I got it up to 101 kilometers an hour and locked it in.  I stayed in the slow lane most of the time and eventually got used to the sound of cars whizzing by me. One after another after another they passed me like I was standing still.  Small cars, big cars, trucks, buses.  Evidently I was the only one going 101 kilometers an hour on the weekend.  However I stuck to my guns and in the end it maybe added to an extra 10 or 15 minutes on the road over the three hour trip.  Really not that much when you consider the big picture and especially when you consider how much gas I had left in the tank.  I have made this trip countless times and over the three hour drive I consistently use three quarters of a tank of gas.  I had filled up just before we left on our drive this past weekend and when we got home the needle was still above half a tank.  Some quick calculations.  Okay, they weren't quick, but that has more to do with my math issues than anything else.  In the end, I saved about $30 dollars in gas.  I have a big tank and I could not believe the savings were that great.  Just 20 kilometers an hour faster than the speed limit was using that much extra gas.  I couldn't believe the savings!!!!  As well, I must say, riding along in the slow lane is actually much less stressful.  You're not speeding up and slowing down and getting behind some idiot who shouldn't be in the fast lane and then aggressively trying to get by him at the first chance.  I was calm and relaxed and that was before I even found out how much I was saving.  Yes, we've all heard that driving slower saves gas.  We all understand that but how many of us put it into practice.  I would challenge you to make one trip in the slow lane and try it for yourself.  I am a new convert.  Speed is for the big spenders, I'm going to save my money and by not burning that extra quarter tank of gas, I'm helping the environment.  So the next time you see me on the highway give me a wave, I'm the guy in the slow lane, saving the Earth and some cash all at the same time. Until We Type Again, Take It Ease !