Ross: Try slowing down to mitigate the pain at the gas station

Here it is – I knew the day would come, and it was yesterday. I pulled into my favorite gas station, I punched in my phone number, and BEEP!

Out of points.

Now that I’m driving to work again, the points run out sooner. And I was faced with having to pay full price: $4.36 a gallon.

It almost makes you want to work from home.

And given the state of the world, we know it’s not going to stop there.

I’m not going to complain – if that’s what it takes to punish Putin, so be it. It’s the least we can do.

But there is a way to mitigate the pain. Most of you won’t like it, but it works. I’m not talking about buying an electric car, or taking the bus, or riding the bike. I’m talking about SLOWING DOWN.

Now, as a commuter, you may have no have no choice but to drive slower. But when you do have a choice, and if you’re stuck with one of those long commutes – patience pays.

I checked the research. Back in 2005, a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle by the name of Michael Cabanatuan conducted a real-world experiment. He took a 200-mile trip from Emeryville to Kettleman City, California. On the outbound leg of the trip, he drove at an average speed of 55.6 miles per hour. He burned up 5.7 gallons of gas and it took him 3 hours and 36 minutes.

On the return trip, he pushed his average speed to 70.8 miles per hour. Took only 2 hours and 47 minutes, but it used 7.8 gallons – over two gallons more for the same distance. That’s the toll we don’t think about – the aerodynamic drag toll.

Which means that if you’re in the habit of driving 70, dropping it to 55 cuts your fuel cost by about 25%. And 25% is the difference between $4 a gallon and $3 a gallon.

But I will admit, it takes patience, and courage.

Patience because the slower trip took 49 minutes longer. And courage because everybody hates you.

Michael reported that at 70 miles-an-hour, over the course of 200 miles, he was passed by 94 drivers.

When he was driving 55 – he was passed 830 times.

So, I just put this out there as an option. If you don’t choose to do it, at least be understanding of drivers who do, and if you do choose to try this – keep your mask on and don’t make eye contact.

Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5 – 9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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