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I changed my driving patterns after first reading this remarkable essay some years ago. Now I follow what I affectionately call the "zen of driving", to wit: le

I changed my driving patterns after first reading this remarkable essay some years ago. Now I follow what I affectionately call the "zen of driving", to wit: leave a huge gap in front of me, drive at a constant speed where possible [1], avoid using the brakes except in case of emergency, and so on. On long driving trips through mixed traffic, I have made several observations, some obvious and some surprising: * Driving in congestion is no longer stressful. It just isn't. (Hence the "zen".) * Dramatically improved fuel economy. * It's possible to drive through even wildly erratic traffic (swinging from 100 km/h to 20 km/h) without ever touching the brakes. It becomes a kind of game. Manual transmission helps. * Some other drivers seem to figure out what I'm doing, and they fall into place behind me at a reasonable distance. I've had people follow me for hundreds of kilometres this way. * Even though you'd assume leaving a huge gap in front is an invitation for other motorists to cut ahead, they rarely do - especially in congestion. If they do, I just let them race up to the front of the gap and then fall back by a single car length to restore the same gap. I absolutely swear by this driving method. It's easier on the car, easier on the heart, and even serves to create a bubble of calm around you in an otherwise turbulent flow of traffic. ------ [1] Edit to qualify "drive at a constant speed". As I noted later, my speed ranges dramatically based on the congestion level - what remains more or less constant is the safe opening in front of me. Sorry for any confusion with my original choice of words.

apotheon 17y ago
That's not "zen" -- it's artificial regularity. Zen would be driving at what feels like a natural speed, only adjusting that when circumstances dictate, and "letting go" of your attachment to forward progress when something stands in your way. Instead, you're driving at an artificially limited speed to try to regularize your driving experience. You're tricking yourself into feeling less frustrated by consciously eliminating frustration triggers from the driving experience; a zen approach would involve simply choosing to feel less frustrated by "realizing" that the frustration triggers really don't matter. > Even though you'd assume leaving a huge gap in front is an invitation for other motorists to cut ahead, they rarely do - especially in congestion. That's heavily dependent on time and place. I've lived in many different regions, and done a lot of driving in those areas. I've noticed that the tendency to fill in gaps is heavily dependent on local driving culture and the specific demographics on the road at a particular time of day. > I absolutely swear by this driving method. It's easier on the car, easier on the heart, and even serves to create a bubble of calm around you in an otherwise turbulent flow of traffic. That may, to some extent, be an illusion. Some people are infuriated by other drivers they perceive as holding them up -- which often includes people who are "wasting" lane space by letting a gap of thirty car lengths lie unused in front of them. Personally, I only get annoyed with such people when they try to keep other people from filling that gap, because as far as I'm concerned a steady gap (given a steady general traffic speed) creates irregularities in grouping through which ambient traffic can accelerate itself, but people who maintain a huge gap then rush to block out people who want to move into it are increasing the danger of driving and doing nothing to help improve the flow of traffic.
- RyanMcGreal 17y ago
  >That's not "zen" -- it's artificial regularity. Please see my edit in my original post to clarify what I meant to write. In fact my speed ranges up and down based on the level of congestion, whereas the safe buffer I maintain in front of me remains constant - and by safe I mean long enough that I don't have to use my brakes when traffic slows. As for my use of "zen", don't read too much into it. It was just a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that I stopped trying to fight the flow of traffic and instead simply pass through it as peacefully as possible. >That's heavily dependent on time and place. My observations are limited to highways in Ontario, Quebec, New York State, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. >I only get annoyed with such people when they try to keep other people from filling that gap Hey, man, you're welcome to it. Blocking another driver from filling the gap would mean accelerating to close it, which kind of defeats the purpose of maintaining it.
  - itistoday 17y ago
    I'm a Zen Master, I have the degree to prove it. Your use of the term has been approved by the ZCUZ (Zen Committee On The Use Of "Zen").
    - itistoday 17y ago
      Children these days have no respect for Zen Masters.
      - apotheon 17y ago
        Is that self-referential?
        itistoday 17y ago
        No, at least I certainly did not mean it to be. ;-) The original comment, for those that don't get it yet, was a stab at apotheon's comment. It was an attempt to avoid the argument of "what is Zen" before it gets out of hand, as it's been known to do on other sites. If you're curious, an example: http://zenhabits.net/2007/01/why-zen-habits/#comments http://zenhabits.net/2007/01/why-zen-habits/#comments
albemuth 17y ago
There are a lot of driver douches which will always overtake whatever is overtakeable, driving like this makes you an easy 'target' and that gets me all worked up. edit: spelling
- RyanMcGreal 17y ago
  Except it doesn't. Like I said, I rarely experience drivers cutting in front of me.
  - teej 17y ago
    In what part of the US do you live? Having just completed a cross-country move, I can assure you that driving behaviors wildly vary from coast to coast.
    - nonrecursive 17y ago
      Yeah, come to Massachusetts and I'm sure you'll have an entirely different experience.
      - nostrademons 17y ago
        This varies dramatically depending on what highway you're on. I've driven like the article suggests on Rt. 128 and it totally works. My lane ended up moving smoothly (albeit at a reduced speed; I still can't go any faster than the average speed of the cars in front of me), and nobody cut in front of me. However, drivers on Rt. 2 are routinely crazy. There've been times I've been going about 70 in a 45 zone, with a guy on my tail, then he'll pop out from behind me, pass me at about 90 mph, cut right in front, and then tailgate the person in front of me until he does the same stunt. Luckily traffic on Rt. 2 is light enough that this doesn't cause many jams, but it does cause its fair share of accidents. Then there's the Rt. 2/3/16 intersection by Alewife, where it is customary for about 5-10 cars to run the red light before somebody finally stops.
      - masomenos 17y ago
        I generally follow the stated driving pattern on 95, and it works just fine.
bouncingsoul 17y ago
I did exactly what you described on a recent 12 hour car trip. I'm never tailgating again. The main benefit for me, and one you don't mention, is safety. Knowing I have actual time to react in an emergency instead of being stuck with brake hard and pray I think really calms my subconscious.
- itistoday 17y ago
  I'm constantly surprised by how few people have heard of the "3 second rule". The rule is simple and works for any traveling speed: pick any arbitrary mark on the road, watch as the car in front of you passes it, and count 3 seconds. You want at the very minimum, 3 seconds to pass before you pass that same mark. This not only has the advantages described by the OP (he's definitely following it, if not calling it by name), but one thing he didn't mention is that it can save your life. Why do car "pile ups" exist? It's because someone was driving along just fine, when suddenly they come to a crashing hault (at 70+MPH), and all of the tailgators behind them are not physically capable of reacting to the situation in time. SMASH! You're fucked.
  - pbhj 17y ago
    "only a fool breaks the 3 second rule" (takes roughly 3s to say)
    - RyanMcGreal 17y ago
      Mr. T's Guide to Safe Driving
      - pbhj 17y ago
        Wouldn't that be "I pity the fool who breaks the two second rule"?
  - redcap 17y ago
    Of course, if it's wet weather, you'll want to increase that - say to a 4 second rule.
radu_floricica 17y ago
I accidentally get a similar effect when I try to drive a patch of road with the car in neutral. It's a very non-intuitive experience: from the engine sound I'd think I'm slowing down considerably, but from looking at the numbers I stay at pretty much the same speed for a looong time. When I do this before stoplights I sometimes catch a green light with road to spare, and I'm able to avoid stopping at all. This helps me somewhat, but as a side effect it helps the traffic behind me a lot more. I'll try to do this more often. Keeping in neutral is easier then trying to compute an optimum speed, and it'll help a lot with the consumption too.
- RyanMcGreal 17y ago
  IANAM (I am not a mechanic) but I've heard that it's bad for an automatic transmission to coast in neutral. Apparently the transmission isn't being lubricated in neutral, there's a risk of overheating, and it can be damaging to shift back into drive at high speeds. In any case, you're not really saving any gas over coasting in drive or, alternately, setting the cruise control.
  - radu_floricica 17y ago
    I don't know about automatic transmission. As for the fuel economy, I find it's easier to slow this way without really trying. Just put in in neutral when you see a red light. Of course it's only for before intersections/blockages, not on the highway.
aaronblohowiak 17y ago
Dad called it "cruising."
- username 17y ago
  The government calls it "speed limit."
charliepark 17y ago
This is almost exactly my approach. For a while, I was working on a web page to share the heuristic I'd worked out for it, but I ultimately figured it wasn't worth the time. Since it's relevant to this thread, here's my heuristic: 1. Are you driving faster than the speed limit? Coast. If not … 2. Can you see more brake lights (that is, cars with brake lights on) ahead of you than the number of lanes traveling in your direction? Coast. If there are more lanes than cars with brake lights … 3. Is the buffer between your car and the car in front of you getting smaller / staying the same? Coast. If the distance is getting larger, you can accelerate. So, essentially, the only time you get to accelerate is when you're below the speed limit, there aren't many cars braking in front of you (in any lane), and the gap in front of you is getting larger. And here (below this) was the copy I'd worked up for the page. I was calling the approach "coasty," and was applying some game design theory to it, so if there are any "game" references in the copy below, that's what they're referencing. ======== The goal of Coasty is to consume less gas, to drive more safely, to get to your destination in about the same amount of time as you would otherwise, and to have more fun while driving. Consume Less Gas: Almost every time you brake, you’re wasting gas. You had to use gas to accelerate your vehicle, and you’re now intentionally slowing the car down. You’ll then need to accelerate again, to get back up to speed. You're doing twice the work, for the same amount of output. By braking less often, you end up accelerating less often, getting more miles-per-gallon and saving money (both in gasoline and engine wear). (Obviously, if you’re braking because of a stoplight / stop sign, this doesn’t apply.) Drive More Safely: When you're driving aggressively, driving closely to the car in front of you, and focusing on getting where you’re going as quickly as possible, the more likely you are to get in an accident. The amount of space and time you have to make a decision (and execute it) is determined by the amount of space your car has in front of you, and the speed at which you’re traveling. It’s counter-intuitive, but by focusing on braking-and-accelerating as little as possible (and by coasting as much as possible), you end up with a larger buffer in front of you, and you generally enter that buffer at a slower speed. Get To Your Destination In About The Same Amount of Time: It’s not fun to be late. And — let’s be honest — you probably aren’t going to stick with a new approach to driving if it compromises your ability to get somewhere on time. But with this approach, you’re reaching each “micro destination” (that spot further down the highway, that exit ramp, that streetlight) only a few seconds behind where you’d be otherwise. In some cases, you'll get there even faster, as you might end up approaching a stoplight while coasting, as it turns green, rather than approaching it, stopping, waiting, and then accelerating again from a stop, while the guy in the lane next to you cruises through at 10 miles an hour. Have More Fun While Driving: This approach actually makes driving fun, as the goal shifts away from “getting where I’m going as fast as I can and who do these jerks think they are, getting in my way?!?!” to one of a game mindset, where you’re trying to follow the rules, seeing how far you can go without braking, and seeing how much your fellow drivers have to speed up and slow down while you’re coasting along. As a side benefit, creating a larger buffer and then eating it up enables the cars behind you to have a smoother trip at a more constant speed, where they aren’t having to brake as much, either, and dissolves the slow-down-then-speed-up-then-slow-down-again rubber-band traffic cycle.
qeorge 17y ago
Absolutely. I've tried to impart this to others, but the inescapable response is "someone will jump into the gap." If they would just try it.. I picked it up from truckers, who uniformly take this strategy.
- camtarn 17y ago
  There seems to be a difference in trucker culture between the US and UK - truckers in the UK don't seem to practise this technique. While there are some courteous and sensible UK truckers, most of them seem to be driving right up against their speed limiters, and will tailgate then overtake anyone in front who dares travel 1mph slower than them - even if this involves attempting to overtake while going uphill, causing a wall of congestion on an otherwise free-flowing motorway.
murrayb 17y ago
I've been doing the same thing for some time now as well. As well as what you have observed I have observed that you really can actually hack the traffic to reduce congestion. I've seen a gap that I brought to a merge point allow 8-9 cars to move and several hundred meters of stationary traffic was able to pick up speed enough to merge, I could see both lanes continue to flow in my review mirror. Instead of competing to get ahead the game has changed to strategising to keep the traffic moving. It's beautiful and fun and transforms the whole driving experience, very zen.
- losvedir 17y ago
  "I could see both lanes continue to flow in my review mirror." Heh, you didn't happen to learn to drive in, say, Massachusetts did you? It's called the "rear view mirror", but I've found that due to the accent, many people here in Boston have always thought it was the "review mirror".
mattmcknight 17y ago
I started rolling like that when I got the Prius. You get some nice positive visual feedback when your instantaneous mileage maxes out.
netsp 17y ago
Not only does a manual transmission help, but it kind of pushes everyone into that kind of driving. Maybe it's just because you don't need brakes as much. When I drive an auto (usually rental), I find I'm a lot more aggressive. I also fond that places with a higher percentage of auto drivers are heavier on the heavy traffic scooch-and-brake.
- eru 17y ago
  In Germany manual transmissions are the norm. I heard people drive more aggressively than in the US. Might be a cultural thing, though.
  - netsp 17y ago
    It's not a straight conversion to aggression. Germans, I believe, drive fast. Maybe aggressively too. But, if you put them in an auto, they also pick up the behaviour of building speed fast for 1-2 seconds then braking hard. It happens a lot in dense, halting traffic. It's not the only way of being aggressive, but it's another way People don't do that in a manual because it's not fun. *In Italy people drive mostly manuals. They also drive like suicidal grandmas in fast forward.
devin 17y ago
All good points, but one that is even more important while careening down a concrete road at 60mph: safety. By traveling at a slower speed and not changing lanes you are drastically reducing the odds of getting into an accident.

apotheon 17y ago

That's not "zen" -- it's artificial regularity. Zen would be driving at what feels like a natural speed, only adjusting that when circumstances dictate, and "letting go" of your attachment to forward progress when something stands in your way. Instead, you're driving at an artificially limited speed to try to regularize your driving experience. You're tricking yourself into feeling less frustrated by consciously eliminating frustration triggers from the driving experience; a zen approach would involve simply choosing to feel less frustrated by "realizing" that the frustration triggers really don't matter. > Even though you'd assume leaving a huge gap in front is an invitation for other motorists to cut ahead, they rarely do - especially in congestion. That's heavily dependent on time and place. I've lived in many different regions, and done a lot of driving in those areas. I've noticed that the tendency to fill in gaps is heavily dependent on local driving culture and the specific demographics on the road at a particular time of day. > I absolutely swear by this driving method. It's easier on the car, easier on the heart, and even serves to create a bubble of calm around you in an otherwise turbulent flow of traffic. That may, to some extent, be an illusion. Some people are infuriated by other drivers they perceive as holding them up -- which often includes people who are "wasting" lane space by letting a gap of thirty car lengths lie unused in front of them. Personally, I only get annoyed with such people when they try to keep other people from filling that gap, because as far as I'm concerned a steady gap (given a steady general traffic speed) creates irregularities in grouping through which ambient traffic can accelerate itself, but people who maintain a huge gap then rush to block out people who want to move into it are increasing the danger of driving and doing nothing to help improve the flow of traffic.

RyanMcGreal 17y ago
>That's not "zen" -- it's artificial regularity. Please see my edit in my original post to clarify what I meant to write. In fact my speed ranges up and down based on the level of congestion, whereas the safe buffer I maintain in front of me remains constant - and by safe I mean long enough that I don't have to use my brakes when traffic slows. As for my use of "zen", don't read too much into it. It was just a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that I stopped trying to fight the flow of traffic and instead simply pass through it as peacefully as possible. >That's heavily dependent on time and place. My observations are limited to highways in Ontario, Quebec, New York State, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. >I only get annoyed with such people when they try to keep other people from filling that gap Hey, man, you're welcome to it. Blocking another driver from filling the gap would mean accelerating to close it, which kind of defeats the purpose of maintaining it.
- itistoday 17y ago
  I'm a Zen Master, I have the degree to prove it. Your use of the term has been approved by the ZCUZ (Zen Committee On The Use Of "Zen").
  - itistoday 17y ago
    Children these days have no respect for Zen Masters.
    - apotheon 17y ago
      Is that self-referential?
      - itistoday 17y ago
        No, at least I certainly did not mean it to be. ;-) The original comment, for those that don't get it yet, was a stab at apotheon's comment. It was an attempt to avoid the argument of "what is Zen" before it gets out of hand, as it's been known to do on other sites. If you're curious, an example: http://zenhabits.net/2007/01/why-zen-habits/#comments http://zenhabits.net/2007/01/why-zen-habits/#comments

albemuth 17y ago

There are a lot of driver douches which will always overtake whatever is overtakeable, driving like this makes you an easy 'target' and that gets me all worked up. edit: spelling

RyanMcGreal 17y ago
Except it doesn't. Like I said, I rarely experience drivers cutting in front of me.
- teej 17y ago
  In what part of the US do you live? Having just completed a cross-country move, I can assure you that driving behaviors wildly vary from coast to coast.
  - nonrecursive 17y ago
    Yeah, come to Massachusetts and I'm sure you'll have an entirely different experience.
    - nostrademons 17y ago
      This varies dramatically depending on what highway you're on. I've driven like the article suggests on Rt. 128 and it totally works. My lane ended up moving smoothly (albeit at a reduced speed; I still can't go any faster than the average speed of the cars in front of me), and nobody cut in front of me. However, drivers on Rt. 2 are routinely crazy. There've been times I've been going about 70 in a 45 zone, with a guy on my tail, then he'll pop out from behind me, pass me at about 90 mph, cut right in front, and then tailgate the person in front of me until he does the same stunt. Luckily traffic on Rt. 2 is light enough that this doesn't cause many jams, but it does cause its fair share of accidents. Then there's the Rt. 2/3/16 intersection by Alewife, where it is customary for about 5-10 cars to run the red light before somebody finally stops.
    - masomenos 17y ago
      I generally follow the stated driving pattern on 95, and it works just fine.

bouncingsoul 17y ago

I did exactly what you described on a recent 12 hour car trip. I'm never tailgating again. The main benefit for me, and one you don't mention, is safety. Knowing I have actual time to react in an emergency instead of being stuck with brake hard and pray I think really calms my subconscious.

itistoday 17y ago
I'm constantly surprised by how few people have heard of the "3 second rule". The rule is simple and works for any traveling speed: pick any arbitrary mark on the road, watch as the car in front of you passes it, and count 3 seconds. You want at the very minimum, 3 seconds to pass before you pass that same mark. This not only has the advantages described by the OP (he's definitely following it, if not calling it by name), but one thing he didn't mention is that it can save your life. Why do car "pile ups" exist? It's because someone was driving along just fine, when suddenly they come to a crashing hault (at 70+MPH), and all of the tailgators behind them are not physically capable of reacting to the situation in time. SMASH! You're fucked.
- pbhj 17y ago
  "only a fool breaks the 3 second rule" (takes roughly 3s to say)
  - RyanMcGreal 17y ago
    Mr. T's Guide to Safe Driving
    - pbhj 17y ago
      Wouldn't that be "I pity the fool who breaks the two second rule"?
- redcap 17y ago
  Of course, if it's wet weather, you'll want to increase that - say to a 4 second rule.

radu_floricica 17y ago

I accidentally get a similar effect when I try to drive a patch of road with the car in neutral. It's a very non-intuitive experience: from the engine sound I'd think I'm slowing down considerably, but from looking at the numbers I stay at pretty much the same speed for a looong time. When I do this before stoplights I sometimes catch a green light with road to spare, and I'm able to avoid stopping at all. This helps me somewhat, but as a side effect it helps the traffic behind me a lot more. I'll try to do this more often. Keeping in neutral is easier then trying to compute an optimum speed, and it'll help a lot with the consumption too.

RyanMcGreal 17y ago
IANAM (I am not a mechanic) but I've heard that it's bad for an automatic transmission to coast in neutral. Apparently the transmission isn't being lubricated in neutral, there's a risk of overheating, and it can be damaging to shift back into drive at high speeds. In any case, you're not really saving any gas over coasting in drive or, alternately, setting the cruise control.
- radu_floricica 17y ago
  I don't know about automatic transmission. As for the fuel economy, I find it's easier to slow this way without really trying. Just put in in neutral when you see a red light. Of course it's only for before intersections/blockages, not on the highway.

aaronblohowiak 17y ago

Dad called it "cruising."

username 17y ago
The government calls it "speed limit."

charliepark 17y ago

This is almost exactly my approach. For a while, I was working on a web page to share the heuristic I'd worked out for it, but I ultimately figured it wasn't worth the time. Since it's relevant to this thread, here's my heuristic: 1. Are you driving faster than the speed limit? Coast. If not … 2. Can you see more brake lights (that is, cars with brake lights on) ahead of you than the number of lanes traveling in your direction? Coast. If there are more lanes than cars with brake lights … 3. Is the buffer between your car and the car in front of you getting smaller / staying the same? Coast. If the distance is getting larger, you can accelerate. So, essentially, the only time you get to accelerate is when you're below the speed limit, there aren't many cars braking in front of you (in any lane), and the gap in front of you is getting larger. And here (below this) was the copy I'd worked up for the page. I was calling the approach "coasty," and was applying some game design theory to it, so if there are any "game" references in the copy below, that's what they're referencing. ======== The goal of Coasty is to consume less gas, to drive more safely, to get to your destination in about the same amount of time as you would otherwise, and to have more fun while driving. Consume Less Gas: Almost every time you brake, you’re wasting gas. You had to use gas to accelerate your vehicle, and you’re now intentionally slowing the car down. You’ll then need to accelerate again, to get back up to speed. You're doing twice the work, for the same amount of output. By braking less often, you end up accelerating less often, getting more miles-per-gallon and saving money (both in gasoline and engine wear). (Obviously, if you’re braking because of a stoplight / stop sign, this doesn’t apply.) Drive More Safely: When you're driving aggressively, driving closely to the car in front of you, and focusing on getting where you’re going as quickly as possible, the more likely you are to get in an accident. The amount of space and time you have to make a decision (and execute it) is determined by the amount of space your car has in front of you, and the speed at which you’re traveling. It’s counter-intuitive, but by focusing on braking-and-accelerating as little as possible (and by coasting as much as possible), you end up with a larger buffer in front of you, and you generally enter that buffer at a slower speed. Get To Your Destination In About The Same Amount of Time: It’s not fun to be late. And — let’s be honest — you probably aren’t going to stick with a new approach to driving if it compromises your ability to get somewhere on time. But with this approach, you’re reaching each “micro destination” (that spot further down the highway, that exit ramp, that streetlight) only a few seconds behind where you’d be otherwise. In some cases, you'll get there even faster, as you might end up approaching a stoplight while coasting, as it turns green, rather than approaching it, stopping, waiting, and then accelerating again from a stop, while the guy in the lane next to you cruises through at 10 miles an hour. Have More Fun While Driving: This approach actually makes driving fun, as the goal shifts away from “getting where I’m going as fast as I can and who do these jerks think they are, getting in my way?!?!” to one of a game mindset, where you’re trying to follow the rules, seeing how far you can go without braking, and seeing how much your fellow drivers have to speed up and slow down while you’re coasting along. As a side benefit, creating a larger buffer and then eating it up enables the cars behind you to have a smoother trip at a more constant speed, where they aren’t having to brake as much, either, and dissolves the slow-down-then-speed-up-then-slow-down-again rubber-band traffic cycle.

qeorge 17y ago

Absolutely. I've tried to impart this to others, but the inescapable response is "someone will jump into the gap." If they would just try it.. I picked it up from truckers, who uniformly take this strategy.

camtarn 17y ago
There seems to be a difference in trucker culture between the US and UK - truckers in the UK don't seem to practise this technique. While there are some courteous and sensible UK truckers, most of them seem to be driving right up against their speed limiters, and will tailgate then overtake anyone in front who dares travel 1mph slower than them - even if this involves attempting to overtake while going uphill, causing a wall of congestion on an otherwise free-flowing motorway.

murrayb 17y ago

I've been doing the same thing for some time now as well. As well as what you have observed I have observed that you really can actually hack the traffic to reduce congestion. I've seen a gap that I brought to a merge point allow 8-9 cars to move and several hundred meters of stationary traffic was able to pick up speed enough to merge, I could see both lanes continue to flow in my review mirror. Instead of competing to get ahead the game has changed to strategising to keep the traffic moving. It's beautiful and fun and transforms the whole driving experience, very zen.

losvedir 17y ago
"I could see both lanes continue to flow in my review mirror." Heh, you didn't happen to learn to drive in, say, Massachusetts did you? It's called the "rear view mirror", but I've found that due to the accent, many people here in Boston have always thought it was the "review mirror".

mattmcknight 17y ago

I started rolling like that when I got the Prius. You get some nice positive visual feedback when your instantaneous mileage maxes out.

netsp 17y ago

Not only does a manual transmission help, but it kind of pushes everyone into that kind of driving. Maybe it's just because you don't need brakes as much. When I drive an auto (usually rental), I find I'm a lot more aggressive. I also fond that places with a higher percentage of auto drivers are heavier on the heavy traffic scooch-and-brake.

eru 17y ago
In Germany manual transmissions are the norm. I heard people drive more aggressively than in the US. Might be a cultural thing, though.
- netsp 17y ago
  It's not a straight conversion to aggression. Germans, I believe, drive fast. Maybe aggressively too. But, if you put them in an auto, they also pick up the behaviour of building speed fast for 1-2 seconds then braking hard. It happens a lot in dense, halting traffic. It's not the only way of being aggressive, but it's another way People don't do that in a manual because it's not fun. *In Italy people drive mostly manuals. They also drive like suicidal grandmas in fast forward.

devin 17y ago

All good points, but one that is even more important while careening down a concrete road at 60mph: safety. By traveling at a slower speed and not changing lanes you are drastically reducing the odds of getting into an accident.