People always seem in a hurry when they're driving to go somewhere. They can be the most polite and courteous people when you meet them on the street or at the supermarket but once they get behind the wheel of a car they become raving lunatics. I usually travel about five mph over the limit in the center lane and there are always people passing me on either side because I'm holding them up. Even trucks come up to within a foot of my bumper blowing their horns - and that's when I'm already over the speed limit! Where are they all in a hurry to go? Gas is still fairly expensive. Diesel is even more so you would think the truckers would want to keep their speed down since they're always complaining about how much they have to pay for fuel.

This is the kind of behavior that makes people get into accidents. I've had people pass me with blazing speed only to have me catch up with them at a red light a few blocks away. Even when they see the light at the intersection ahead is red they will still beep their horns or pull out and go around me just so they can go and wait at the light. I wish someone would explain that bit of logic to me. Even on roads with a stop sign at the end of each block, people just like to accelerate to the next one only to have to come to a stop again. They sometimes even go around me to do this. Sometimes when they go around me to get to a red light at an intersection I just like to slowly roll up beside them and give them that look that says “what did you accomplish?” People may not realize this but it's not just gas they're wasting. Your brakes wear down faster because the more you speed the longer you have to press on the brakes. Do you know how much garages charge per hour? There's also that small matter of being pulled over or caught by photo radar and getting that nice ticket. You can avoid all of that grief by simply driving at a decent speed and being courteous to your fellow motorist.

You don't save a lot of time speeding to your destination. You might get to your destination a whole five minutes ahead of the other person but you've used nearly twice as much gas. What was the point? The place you're heading to isn't running away. When you get on the highway don't head to the left lane and ride the bumper of the guy in front of you. Go in the middle lane and stay there until it's time to get off. You'll notice that you are a lot more calm and relaxed because you're not under the pressure of having to keep up with the traffic flying by in the left lane. You will also find that the needle on your gas gauge will stay above the halfway line for a lot longer. That translates to money in your pocket.