I Can't Drive 55

I now have an environmental rationale for my lead foot.

I conducted a semi-scientific experiment driving the 800-miles (including detours) to and from Great Basin National Park, most of it along deserted highways. (Great Basin itself is on what's billed as "The Loneliest Highway in the U.S." and I'd tend to agree. I went hours without seeing another living soul, and gas stations were up to 200 miles apart.)

In Vegas stop-start-swerve driving, my Ford Focus gets a paltry 20-22 mpg.

Driving at 55, mileage goes up to about 28 mpg.

At 70 mph (the legal limit on most Nevada highways, God bless 'em), I get 30 mpg.

Here's the whopper... at a speed consistently above 80 mph (ranging from 80 to, uhm, 100 mph, but it was all in the name of science, you understand), Kali (yes, I named my Focus after the Hindu goddess of destruction) checked in at an astounding 36 mpg.

It's clear. Sammy Hagar and I drive excessively fast to maximize the efficiency of our use of fossil fuels.

I'm going to try that the next time I'm pulled over... Honestly officer, I'm just doing my part to save the planet.