An internet classic…

1. A right lane construction closure is just a game to see how many people can cut in line by passing you on the right as you sit in the left lane waiting for the jerks to squeeze their way back in before hitting the orange construction barrels.
2. Turn signals are clues as to your next move. A real Texas driver never uses them.
3. Under no circumstances should you leave a safe distance between you and the car in front of you or the space will be filled in by somebody else putting you in an even more dangerous situation.
4. Crossing two or more lanes in a single lane change is considered “going with the flow”.
5. The faster you drive through a red light, the smaller the chance you have of getting hit.
6. Never get in the way of an older car that needs extensive body work.
7. Braking is to be done as hard and late as possible to insure that your ABS kick in giving a nice relaxing foot massage as the brake pedal pulsates. For those of you without ABS, it’s a chance to stretch your legs.
8. Construction signs tell you about road closures immediately after you pass the last exit before the traffic begins to back up.
9. The new electronic traffic warning system signs are not there to provide useful information. They are only there to make Texas look high-tech and to distract you from seeing the police car parked in the median.
10. Never pass on the left when you can pass on the right. It’s a good way to scare people entering the highway.
11. Speed limits are arbitrary figures, given only as suggestions and apparently not enforceable in the metro area during rush hour.
12. Just because you’re in the left lane and have no room to speed up or move over doesn’t mean that a Texas driver flashing his high beams behind you doesn’t think he can go faster in your spot.
13. Please remember that there is no such thing as a shortcut during rush hour traffic in any major Texas city.
14. Always slow down and rubberneck when you see an accident or even someone changing a tire.
15. Throwing litter on the roads adds variety to the landscape, keeps the existing litter from getting lonely and gives Adopt-a-Highway crews something to clean up.
16. Everybody thinks their vehicle is better than yours, especially pickup truck drivers with stickers of Calvin peeing on a Ford, Dodge or Chevy logo.
17. Learn to swerve abruptly. Texas is the home of high-speed slalom driving thanks to the DOT, which puts potholes in key locations to test drivers reflexes and keeps them on their toes.
18. It is traditional in Texas to honk your horn at cars that don’t move the instant the light changes.
19. Seeking eye contact with another driver revokes your right of way.
20. Never take a green light at face value. Always look right and left before proceeding.
21. Heavy snow, ice, fog, and rain are no reasons to change any of the previously listed rules. These weather conditions are Gods way of ensuring a natural selection process for body shops, junk yards and new vehicle sales.
22. Remember that the goal of every Texas driver is to get there first, by whatever means necessary.
23. Real Texas women drivers can put on pantyhose and apply eye makeup and talk on the cell phone at seventy-five miles per hour in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Real Texas men drivers can remove pantyhose and a bra at seventy five miles per hour in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

In DWT’s inaugural post, Graham talks about his introduction to Texan culture, especially on the roadways, and how it spawned DWT. Coming from California, he was amazed at the disparity with California’s “oppressive traffic enforcement”. Well, I’m a born and raised Texan, so it comes as no surprise to me that people were defiant towards a decrease in the speed limit. Heck, people ignore the speed limit when its 65/70 (in one week all the men in my family got speeding tickets; coincidentally, none of them were our fault). All too often I’ve been driving down the highway going the “speed limit” only to be passed like I’m standing still. And not by a Ferrari but by a soccer mom in an Escalade.

But what happens when you pit a Texan’s love for driving whatever speed we want, against our pocketbook?

Recently, Senator John Warner suggested studying the feasibility of a return to a federally mandated speed limit to allow for a decrease in nationwide fuel consumption. I thought of the repercussions here in Texas. Let’s assume that we returned to the a federally mandated speed limit of 55 mph, as it was in 1974, would Texans respond given the high gas prices?

The Houston Chronicle conducted a recent survey (not entirely robust, but it works) by driving 60 mph on the major freeways in Houston to determine the average rate of travel of fellow drivers. The ratio on one day of being passed to passing others was 478:0.

Texans won’t slow down, even in the current climate of exorbitant gas prices. So it would seem, Lyle Lovett could easily have written “Don’t Touch My Speed Limit” instead of “Don’t Touch My Hat.”

Now let’s get to some sciencing. Most fuel efficiency sites I read online cite this number, and there is even a graph on a Department of Energy website () which shows that indeed fuel efficiency is maximum at 55 mph. I found this exact same graph in their annual Fuel Economy report since 2003. Is it me, or should this graph deviate slightly from year-to-year?

The scientist in me wants to know: when the study was commissioned, how many vehicles were studied, and the types of vehicles. None of which were given. As you would imagine, fuel efficiency, and the relationship with efficiency in speed is highly dependent upon the car. You have drag, weight and engine issues to consider.

I can’t help but think that automobile engineers have the specs dialed in for each car to achieve the highest efficiency at common highway speeds (i.e. ~70 mph). This is indicated by any ECU changes that can easily be made to most cars to increase horsepower and torque, but only at the detriment of gas mileage. My Volvo s60R has a slightly higher tuned engine than the average car and I achieve the same MPGs at 85 that I do at 70, 65, and 60. This makes me think that instituting a (lower) federal speed limit would only serve to increase the amount of money local governments get due to speeding tickets.

I think an emerging trend I would like to see would be to have MPG vs. Speed curve for every car, much like most performance automobiles have horsepower and torque curves. That way you let the individual decide which is the optimum speed to drive for their car. Everybody wants better gas mileage, so put that decision in their hands.