Speed Demons

Been wondering... how do you drive?

Let me clarify.

When I'm behind the wheel I completely tune into the vehicle - which is why you'll hardly find me driving with the radio on (it's a rare thing indeed to hear me coming - but it has been known to happen). My ears are attuned to the smallest engine noise changes, my hands on the steering feel every vibration or turn of the wheels, feet constantly fine-tuned to inaudable rumblings at floor level. I watch the revvs and the speedo, adjusting pressure on accelorator according to what I hear, feel and see.

And I do tend to drive by revvs.

Olivia's speedo is out for repairs, so engine pitch dictates gear changes and indicates speed. With Favourite Man's Discovery 2 it's a similar thing - I don't let the revvs go over a certain level, and on the open road (such as the N2 between here and Cape Town I drove twice today) the revvs are kept around 2 no matter what the speed - which was by default well below the limit but still fast enough to put foot and make good time on what I had to accomplish.

I know there are the speed demons among us - those who push their vehicles as fast as they'll go, stick the revvs needle against max and "blow out the pipes" leaving a vapour trail as their lights disappear over the horizon. Then there's the granny-drivers among us, who treat their cars with kid gloves and keep the engine ticking quietly and efficiently along.

Me, I think I'm between these two. Give me a car with power and I'll put foot and show off now and then. But I've always found each vehicle's sweet spot - the perfect balance between fuel efficiency and speed - and there's where I tend to drive that vehicle more often than not.

Having come acropper once very badly I now drive carefully with complete awareness of what's going on all around me, knowing full well that I can drive as nicely as I want to, but there are other idiots on the road who don't - and being prepared for them as much as possible.

Unfortunately being tuned in so fully makes me a nervous passenger sometimes - instead of relaxing and letting the driver do their thing, I'm one step ahead of what's going on around us and when they don't do what I would I spend the journey tensed up and "braking" into the footwells.. :-)

Anyhoo - have a survey. What's your driving style?

Do you drive by revvs or speed?
  
Free polls from Pollhost.com



Simply Neotel

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