[dhuli]

slow is good! a nice philosophy. Other things I can think of doing when driving a deliberate slow, a steady slow, a slow with lots of space in front and behind, a slow with lots of time to roll your eyes and head to scan all around. Keeping windows down to get in fresh air, 1) you could take nice pictures 2) observe moments in a persons life on the road side, make eye contact with a villager going about his or her life 3) slow enough to notice the smiles on children as you pass by 4) slow is a punctuation to pause the thought and reflect - to live the moment as opposed to racing, head forward trying to steal seconds from time itself as some sort of vague reward. 5) slow is about driving more with the mind and heart than with limbs manipulated by tense muscles, shifting gears and pumping the pedals, leaving the eyes to look beyond the dashboard and immerse oneself.

@ Vasoo, thanks for starting this nice thread. I have tried slow driving at times, when I am truly in control of my life, immersed in it, setting my pace irrespective of what speed. Its like going on a stroll, except you are in your car.

[dhuli]

I forgot to add, slow is a slumber with eyes open that you break out of when you notice or hear that dreadful mofussil bus being driven impatiently! Slow driving in the urban context perhaps cannot be a habit forming thing. Its like you dont sight a rainbow every time it rains. There are those moments when we get to drive slow to relish. IMO, slow with an eye on FE is like there is a governor inside that is acting as a control system.

[kaushik_s]

Even I've gone quite slower these days. There were days when I used to drive at 150+ all the time while on GQ type roads. But nowadays I hardly cross 120 on those type of roads. In normal highways these days I don't even touch 100. And whenever driving through jungles/good scenic places I automatically slow down to 50-60 and aah that's an amazing feeling all in all.

[narendra_urs]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Even I've gone quite slower these days. There were days when I used to drive at 150+ all the time while on GQ type roads. But nowadays I hardly cross 120 on those type of roads. In normal highways these days I don't even touch 100. And whenever driving through jungles/good scenic places I automatically slow down to 50-60 and aah that's an amazing feeling all in all.

Same here, Kaushik. I'm discovering the pleasure of driving slow only 12 years after I began to drive. The transformation is largely due to the Cruise control feature in my new Cruze AT. Now a days, I'm almost always looking for an opportunity to activate the Cruise control between 50 - 80 kmph and enjoy the drive.

Over the last 4 years, I clocked around 72 K kms on Fiesta 1.6 SXI and usually tried to prove to the owners of peted Swift & Innova, Honda city VTEC / iVTEC, Verna, etc., how much better the Fiesta is (especially on the highways and around the corners). However, after upgrading to Cruze that desire to prove my Car is better has completely vanished. I even don't mind letting Indicas & other hatchbacks overtaking me on highways. This transformation has helped me realize how pleasurable sedate driving can be.

[sumeethaldankar]

Some of you people have mentioned that you enjoy driving 'slowly' at speeds around 100 kmph.Maybe by foreign standards this speed may be slow but by Indian standards don't you guys think that speed around 100 is a little on the faster side.

[vasoo]

Originally Posted by dhuli

slow is good! a nice philosophy. Other things I can think of doing when driving a deliberate slow, a steady slow, a slow with lots of space in front and behind, a slow with lots of time to roll your eyes and head to scan all around. Keeping windows down to get in fresh air, 1) you could take nice pictures 2) observe moments in a persons life on the road side, make eye contact with a villager going about his or her life 3) slow enough to notice the smiles on children as you pass by 4) slow is a punctuation to pause the thought and reflect - to live the moment as opposed to racing, head forward trying to steal seconds from time itself as some sort of vague reward. 5) slow is about driving more with the mind and heart than with limbs manipulated by tense muscles, shifting gears and pumping the pedals, leaving the eyes to look beyond the dashboard and immerse oneself.

@ Vasoo, thanks for starting this nice thread. I have tried slow driving at times, when I am truly in control of my life, immersed in it, setting my pace irrespective of what speed. Its like going on a stroll, except you are in your car.

Originally Posted by dhuli

I forgot to add, slow is a slumber with eyes open that you break out of when you notice or hear that dreadful mofussil bus being driven impatiently! Slow driving in the urban context perhaps cannot be a habit forming thing. Its like you dont sight a rainbow every time it rains. There are those moments when we get to drive slow to relish. IMO, slow with an eye on FE is like there is a governor inside that is acting as a control system.

Dhuli, you've put exactly what was in my mind when I started the thread about this. Thanks a lot. My writing skills are not good enough to put forth what I have in mind.

Somebody mentioned here about driving in comfortable RPM range of 2 to 3k. However for my iVTec, it seems to be more comfortable in 5k+ range! So that doesn't work. FE is the last thing in mind when I drive slow. It is just the feeling that I enjoy.

Some people express shock when somebody says that he has overtook a Beemer in a M800. It seems they naturally assume that all Beemers are driven above 200 kmph by default and set similar "self determined" speed ranges based on the car. Like Narendra mentioned here, I actually started driving slow since I acquired my Civic which is surely capable of speeds in the latter half of 100s.

[adisag]

Originally Posted by narendra_urs

Over the last 4 years, I clocked around 72 K kms on Fiesta 1.6 SXI and usually tried to prove to the owners of peted Swift & Innova, Honda city VTEC / iVTEC, Verna, etc., how much better the Fiesta is (especially on the highways and around the corners). However, after upgrading to Cruze that desire to prove my Car is better has completely vanished. I even don't mind letting Indicas & other hatchbacks overtaking me on highways. This transformation has helped me realize how pleasurable sedate driving can be.

Could this have to do with
(i) The New Car Syndrome - you're gentle on the car because its new, and you are enjoying the creature comforts and getting familiar with the car - this is something that could last for 12-18 months into the car ownership.
(ii) The improved creature comforts - like the cruise control you mentioned - keep you happy and comfortable while in the car, so you are in no hurry to reach your destination
(iii) Being content knowing that your car is way better than the guys zipping past - and not feeling the urge to prove it (because the others on the road acknowledge it automatically).

I say this because I used to rip my M800 like a typical boy racer, but having moved on to an i10, I find my driving style has become much more relaxed - not necessarily slower, but definitely more relaxed and forgiving of other road users.....
Now that I have been driving the i10 for some 18 odd months, I find that slight remanants of the "boy racer" surface now and then - by no means as strong as they used to be in my M800, but I do feel that now that the Kappa has grown on to me a slight desire to push it to new limits is showing its head.

Originally Posted by vasoo

Some people express shock when somebody says that he has overtook a Beemer in a M800. It seems they naturally assume that all Beemers are driven above 200 kmph by default and set similar "self determined" speed ranges based on the car. Like Narendra mentioned here, I actually started driving slow since I acquired my Civic which is surely capable of speeds in the latter half of 100s.

Similar to my observations above, the guy in the beemer is probably relaxing and enjoying the music as his car offers subliminal creature comforts - the M800 guy probably breaks into a sweat as theres not enough air movement if the car goes below 60-70 (No offence meant to anyone here - I'm a diehard fan of the M800's myself - having grown up in one)
Just some thoughts...

[vasoo]

Originally Posted by trrk

...My speeding days have long gone. Too old now. Moreover, since I strictly don't use horn, it is easier to be slow.

The above lines from trrk in this forum on another thread is haunting me now. I too don't use horn for quite some time ... May his soul Rest in Peace.

[Lightening-Fast]

My instinct is to drive fast than to drive slow. But again, as some of my fellow bhpians suggested, i dont really have a choice in bangalore. But given a destination, in city or otherwise, i would like to do it in the fastest possible time.

[narendra_urs]

Originally Posted by adisag

Could this have to do with
(i) The New Car Syndrome - you're gentle on the car because its new, and you are enjoying the creature comforts and getting familiar with the car - this is something that could last for 12-18 months into the car ownership.

I hope not. I know old habits die hard & will resist any temptation to get back to old ways. These days, I observe almost all the traffic sign boards such as speed limit, road hump warning, no horn, school zone, etc., and adhere to the instructions. Till a few months ago I hardly saw these sign boards and even if I saw showed scant respect for them.

Originally Posted by adisag

Could this have to do with
(ii) The improved creature comforts - like the cruise control you mentioned - keep you happy and comfortable while in the car, so you are in no hurry to reach your destination

Probably yes. Moreover, due to improvement in the quality of roads (especially highways) and presence of more options like intermediate, outer, peripheral ring roads and toll roads the travel time has considerably reduced. A few years ago it used to be a challenge to maintain an average speed of 60 kmph on Indian highways, but today that can be accomplished without any risk.

Originally Posted by adisag

Could this have to do with
(iii) Being content knowing that your car is way better than the guys zipping past - and not feeling the urge to prove it (because the others on the road acknowledge it automatically).

Absolutely true. Thanks to Team-BHP and its knowledge base, today we not only know the strengths and limitations of the car that we drive but we also know the potential of almost every other car. Hence there is no need to take a panga with someone on the road to prove your car is superior.

[vasoo]

One more thing which seems to add a little bit more road sense is the driving exposure we get when traveling abroad. Every time I travel, especially in US, I rent a car and use it, even if it is a new city to me. GPS is my savior there. This experience seems to enable more "responsible driving" including adherence to rules than what we typically encounter here.

[straightdrive]

When I take a road trip, usually to Chennai or Bangalore from Hyderabad, I do it as much for the pleasure of driving as for getting to those places. And you don't get that pleasure if you are concentrating on getting there by a pre-determined time just because others do it.

I remember feeling surprised when I told someone I once took 17 hours to Chennai because his immediate reaction was that I could have done it in 12. But no regrets - I took an uncommon route, great scenery, and enjoyed it thoroughly.

[Sandeep_K_Ram]

Left to myself I enjoy riding/driving slow. Unfortunately, you are always under pressure from traffic or passengers in the vehicle. So I usually am forced to drive at their pace.

But driving slow and enjoying it is only possible when you are out on the open highway or on days when there is hardly any traffic and you have loads of time on hand. Those days are like - you feel you are back in a different era....

[GTO]

A sensible driver knows when to drive fast, and when slow. If I'm on a familiar ghat section with fast corners, I'll usually drive spiritedly. But on a crowded highway, I'll stick to my place (no lane cutting, overtaking from the left, dangerous manouveurs) and drive safe. The highway drives that I enjoy most are Mumbai - Nasik and Mumbai - Goa. Leave before the world wakes up, empty highways and you can really give the car a workout.

Similarly, over the early morning drive to work (just under 0800 hours), I do use the revvs generously (totally empty roads). In fact, I look forward to the drive to work everyday. On the other hand, when driving back in the evening, I am in complete cruise mode (light on the revvs, rarely over 2,000 rpm, stick to the right lane nearly all of the time).

I always drive slow on roads that I'm unfamiliar with (say, visiting a new town or city).

[manim]

Just heard the news that one of my distant relative had died in a road accident yesterday, car was Wagon-R, on the 4-lane highway near Virudunagar (Tamilnadu). Seems that a water tanker had cut into his path.

All the more reason to drive slow as possible even though our new 4-lane roads appear tempting. Though the roads may appear empty, in our country, dogs, cyclists, trucks, pot-holes magically appear suddenly.

I vow that I will never speed again.