lumpulus

Just curious...how much do you all use your Cruise Control?

I use mine rarely, if ever. Living in the Metro Boston area doesn't really lend itself to using it, but even when the roads are clear I tend to stick with my right foot.

My G/F, on the other hand uses it as much as possible, almost to the point of controlling the speed exclusivly from the steering wheel buttons.

Personally, I think it's a safety hazard more than a convenience, and nothing gets my bllod boiling more than a "Cruise Control Creeper" doing 1 mph faster than slower traffic on the highway.

Rob L

I use my cruise control all the time on the highway (unless it is stop & go) and sometimes in the city. Oh and like your woman, I usually control my speed with the buttons unless of course I HAVE to quickly brake but I usually try and anticipate what's going on and slow the car down with the button before hand.

I am not a "cruise control creeper" and try and maintain the same distance throughout my drive. It annoys me when I set a speed and have to keep fiddling with the controls. Damn drivers. More people should use cruise to cut this speed up and slow down shit...IMO.

jftjr

I use cruise on limited-access highways with minimal traffic. So, pretty much, that means whenever I'm not driving on the NJTP or the Sure-Kill Expressway.... actually, it pretty much means I only use it on I-295 and the Atlantic City Expressway....

Cruise is great, it makes a major gas mileage difference. When I went to North Carolina last month, it rocked -- set the cruise on 85-90 (speed limit 80 roads are <3!) and just eat up distance.

My first car, a 77 Alfa Spider Veloce, had Italian cruise control -- it had a LOCKING THROTTLE KNOB. You could pull a cable on the dash out to pull the gas pedal in, then twist it and lock it. It didn't release unless you manually released it! And if you pushed in the clutch while it was locked, your engine would rev like mad....

db22

Me too and
Me too. One thing worse than the speed up and slow down drivers is that they like the fast lane. (If your POS cannot hold speed up the hill then get out of the way.)

johnhayd

I use the adaptive cruise control (tech pack) quite a bit on the freeway. I use it a lot more than I expected I would. Works pretty well even with medium heavy traffic. definitely reduces the stress from those people in front of you who speed up/slow down.

Mike_TX

I am a MAJOR user of cruise control. MAJOR.

When I pull out of my subdivision, I have to go a mile or so down a 30mph "feeder" road, and that road is mega-patrolled by radar cops. They make a fortune on it, since people figure it should be 40mph or more. So the first thing I do is set my cruise to 33mph so I don't inadvertently coast over the limit by too much.

But in all my other driving, I routinely accelerate up to speed (usually 4-5mph over the limit), then set the cruise. The police aren't gonna worry about someone doing 4mph over, so I know I'm making max time without risking a ticket. I therefore use cruise about a zillion times a day.

It's so easy to be distracted and drift up over the speed limit, and the cops around here will nail your rear in a minute. It's really ridiculous. The only way to protect yourself (other than the trusty Escort) is to use cruise so your speed is being controlled all the time.

On the highway, cruise is the most relaxing way possible to travel. No having to constantly watch the speedo and regulate your speed, no cramps in the accelerator leg, and no nasty encounters with the law. And on top of that, you make much better time and get better mileage than the people who speed up, sow down, speed up, slow down.

Cruise is something I really don't know what I'd do without. I'd have to practically learn how to drive all over again.
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lumpulus

Interesting replies...thanks to all who did.

Personally I feel cruise control compromises safety, and makes the driver become inattentive. You mention distraction, of which I feel the cruise is a contributing factor.

As to speeding ticket avoidance, I regularly drive 10 to 20mph above the posted limit on limited access roads, and can't recall the last time I got a ticket. I can do this because I pay attention to my surroundings, have a radar detector, and look for situations where there will be LE waiting behind a rock with a Radar/Lidar gun.

That feeder road Mike_TX mentioned probably has an illegally posted speed limit that is solely there for revenue generation, and a quick check of records at the local town hall can tell you when the last time they did an engineering traffic survey, something that must be done periodically, and you can actually get any speeding tickets thrown out based on those studies, or lack thereof.

Mike_TX, as far as who makes better time...I call bull on that. If I'm driving at 80 average, and you are driving at 70 average, I will make it to a destination long before you will, if the trip is 2 hours or more.

If I was worried about gas mileage, I would have bought a Civic Hybrid.

That said, I'm averaging 19.4 mpg...not bad for Metro Boston.

lumpulus

I reduce my stress by passing them.

Rob L

I fail to see how you think that. I could maybe see this if people are using laser cruise systems but a regular system? No way they become inattentive and I don't see how it is a distraction. If anything it is less because you dont have to peep your speedo to see if you're going too fast or whatever.

BTW I love laser cruise and wish my 05 RL had it. The best thing about laser cruise is it keeps you at a good distance. I wish every car had a laser type system to keep a distance between cars. I can't stand tailgaters.

db22

BTW I love laser cruise and wish my 05 RL had it. The best thing about laser cruise is it keeps you at a good distance. I wish every car had a laser type system to keep a distance between cars. I can't stand tailgaters.[/QUOTE]

There is not enough concrete in LA to keep a safe distance. If you are further back than 16.5 feet then a Civic will jump in the gap!

db22

[QUOTE=lumpulus]Interesting replies...thanks to all who did.

Personally I feel cruise control compromises safety, and makes the driver become inattentive. You mention distraction, of which I feel the cruise is a contributing factor.

You need a cruise control so that you can concentrate on setting the colors on the night time map!

Mike_TX

I do a lot of cross-country travel, and I can't begin to count the number of times people have shot past me on the open road, only to have me catch up with them in a little while and have to go around them, then they gas it again, and the cycle repeats itself over and over.

They probably think they are really making time, but they're going no faster than me with my cruise set at 5 over (okay, I'll admit in some open-road areas I'll fudge that to 8 or 9 over). And there's virtually no chance I'll get a ticket, whereas a ticket for them at 90 in a 70 can easily cost them $300 or more. In fact, I haven't ever gotten a ticket on the highway in my 45 years of driving, in spite of having driven through thousands of radar, laser and VASCAR traps.

Now, if I had my druthers, I'd immediately increase all highway and freeway speed limits by at least 10-15mph, since people prove every day that 80-85 is a safe speed on existing roads. And we need some autobahns, too. Now, THAT'S motoring!
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db22

Now, if I had my druthers, I'd immediately increase all highway and freeway speed limits by at least 10-15mph, since people prove every day that 80-85 is a safe speed on existing roads. And we need some autobahns, too. Now, THAT'S motoring!
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That's what I thought many years ago too but since driving is that nuisance of an intervention between point A and point B and is no longer a skill then I think that most of the idiots out there need to be restricted.

Don't ever forget that speed limits are for the generation of revenue and have nothing to do with safety. That said, speed limits are to allow for the reaction time of brains to think and as the standard of brains in the USA is on a rapid decline, I cannot imagine speed limits being raised.

Mike_TX

Hard to disagree with logic like that!

The truth is that the authorities know a large majority of people are ALREADY routinely going 20 over (and not just lumpulus), so your revenue generation point is valid.

So how about we pass a law that police departments can't ticket you for anything less than 20mph over the limit? Or we have a proficiency test that if you pass, you will be issued a big sticker that you attach to your car ... if you have the sticker, the cops won't stop you for speeding.
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db22

So how about we pass a law that police departments can't ticket you for anything less than 20mph over the limit? Or we have a proficiency test that if you pass, you will be issued a big sticker that you attach to your car ... if you have the sticker, the cops won't stop you for speeding.
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Our only hope is adaptive cruise control that is controlled by the environments computer. Big open road then everybody is made to go 100MPH, busy freeway - everybody is doing 50. The driver has no control except to unlink and move the the exit lane. If you are in the exit lane and do not exit then big brother sends you a ticket.
The M25 around London has "variable speed limits" which is controllled by computers monitoring traffic flow and enforced by cameras taking pictures and mailing the tickets. I'm not saying that it works but it may help. My experience on the M25 is that I'm sitting still in traffic and the speed limit is 40. I would love to be going 40! When condition prevail then the max is shown.

lumpulus

Really?

Just off the top of my head....reaction time is increased because your foot is not as close to the pedals because you have your leg pulled up in the "relaxed" position.

People have to constantly fiddle with buttons if there is any more than moderate traffic to adjust their speed, an action that is not instinctive(IMO) when driving a motor vehicle.

As to Reactive Cruise control....I will NOT have my driving speed dictated by others.

Limited access highways have multiple lanes for a reason....for slower traffic keep right.

lumpulus

Actually, the way limits are determined might surprise you. When a traffic engineering survey is done on a section of roadway, speed measuring devices are installed (Not radar, that would skew results) for a period of time. The limit is determined by the 85th percentile speed of vehicles on said section.

For example if 85% of vehicles are going 42 mph the limit would be 40.

Unfortunatly this is NOT how most limits are determined these days, and in fact valid speed limit signs are taken down more and more and replaced with artificially low limits for revenue generation.

jftjr

AHAhAHAHAhAHHAAAHAHAHAAAHAAHAHAHAHAH!!!HAHAHAHAHA! !!!111one!!!@@!

Yeah. <wipes tear>

That's a good one. Got any more?

db22

Unfortunatly this is NOT how most limits are determined these days, and in fact valid speed limit signs are taken down more and more and replaced with artificially low limits for revenue generation.[/QUOTE]

But we are talking about freeways and the speed limit on freeways is calculated differently - 55, 65 or 70 according to how much the state wants to get its money back from the feds. Remember many states do dot even require you to drive on the freeway to get a drivers license. (not that a DL is a good indication of ability - If you can find your way to the DMV they will give you one just for trying).

lumpulus

Not true...there are all calculated the same way, or at least they are supposed to be. When the fuel crisis back in the 70's hit,the National Interstate was lowered from 65 to 55 to save gas....when the crunch ended they tried to keep it low saying it also saved lives...total bu!!$hit. When the 55 limit was repealed, highway deaths continued to drop and have been dropping ever since, due to better designed roads AND cars.

Here's a site you should all check out... http://www.motorists.org/

Rob144

Cruise control is nice to have for those long freeway drives (one of which I'm about to go on). On my first Legend, the accelerator pedal actually moved as the cruise control system increased or decreased power. I know this because I kept me foot in contact with the pedal even when in cruise mode.

On my next Legend, and the RL, the pedal stays put, but if you gently press it you can feel where the throttle is positioned. In any event, I keep my feet at the ready when using cruise control.

Traffic safety would be greatly enhanced if people kept to the right unless they were passing someone. I used to resist this idea, but tried it on the advice of a friend. I've found you end up changing lanes a little more than usual, which actually keeps you engaged in the activity of driving and monitoring traffic. Plus, if you're in the right lane, no speedster will drive up your tail like they would if you were plugging away in a left lane.

It is amazing how we Americans drive -- we simply pick a lane and stay in it without regard to traffic flow. I still fall back to those old habits sometimes. We really haven't been taught there's a better way.
Rob144

lumpulus

Here's a little tip to keep you out of the left lane....you are less apt to get a ticket if you "keep right except to pass". When I'm on any road I stay as far to the right as possible...when the cops see you coming in the right or middle lane, sometimes they just go back to their coffee and doughnuts and don't even flip the radar switch.

jftjr

Pretty much anywhere in the Northeast, Midwest, or in Florida, the left lane is the slow lane. It's where people set up camp... PA and MD drivers are the absolute worst in this regard, they just frigging SIT there, although anyone with a NJ license plate in a minivan with soccer stickers on it is going to camp too, and be oblivious. In NJ and NY, if you zoom up and flash, you will probably get road raged.

People from North or South Carolina usually camp, but will move when flashed. Georgia, I find, they just mostly get out of the way.

But Florida? Forget it.... the geezers down there can't see your high beams because they've got tinted windows and giant wrap-around sunglasses... that, and by the time they're 90 they're blind anyway.... if I were that old, I think I'd be driving as fast as I could, because I wouldn't have much time left and I wouldn't want to waste it on the road....

db22

It is amazing how we Americans drive -- we simply pick a lane and stay in it without regard to traffic flow. I still fall back to those old habits sometimes. We really haven't been taught there's a better way.
Rob144[/QUOTE]

Take a European driver and make them drive in a U.S. city and they will get the hang of it. Take a U.S. driver and make them drive in a European city and ........

plastikman

A) I never use the cruise control, well hardly ever.

B) I lived in Germany, so 22 is right about the whole vice versa thing !

lumpulus

I went to Germany on business a few years ago, and I was in Heaven! It was a driving Utopia! Lane Courtesy, people using signals, realistic speed limits(or NONE at all)

db22

I beleive that it is the attitude of the society. EU thinks about driving and people strive to get better in skill levels and abilities. The BBC has a very popular program called Top Gear which is an entertaining program about cars and driving that broadcasts in primetime. The USA has a lot of people who cannot even operate a car yet alone drive, who think that a driving program on TV involves turning left.
Power to weight ratio in the EU is increased to get better performance. Power to weight ratio in the USA is to get better gas mileage and it's the EU's that have the high price for gas.
Have you ever heard of somebody not buying a car in the USA because its stopping distance from 60 -0 is too great or that it can only pull 0.76 g's on a corner? Percentage wise, more people in the EU would consider such factors because of what the figures represent to their ability to function optimally.

lumpulus

I think the vast majority of Americans want their living room on wheels.

plastikman

I grew up in Germany, lived there for 18 years and I have to say I did enjoy their driving style alot better then ours, but our society will never be like theirs.

db22

That's why Lexus is big in the USA and not in EU.

lumpulus

Do they even have Lexus elsewhere besides the USA? Acura is only in the US...everywhere else it's Honda.

db22

Lexus is not rebranding existing Toyotas - they are a separate car company owned by Toyota. The Lexus brand is all over EU.