Source
r/ottawa•
OttCap

Cruise control on highways

Seriously why do more people not use cruise control in Ottawa? How many times a day do I have to pass a car only to get passed by it again at the next exit? Or be held up behind someone who was going the same speed as me but has now encountered a hill or driven past a distraction or any other reason to let off the gas.

I spend a lot of time on our roadways and I've often wondered to myself if we'd have any traffic slowdowns at all if every one just used cruise control.

Posted Sep 5, 2016, 1:35 AM UTC

349
CanadaveGolden Triangle•

Well, I don't drive often, but I tend not to use cruise control very much because I find it makes me pay less attention to what I'm doing. Usually I'll just switch it on from time to time on a long drive so that I can stretch my leg\uncramp my foot.

13
untitleddocument37•

That's like the opposite of reality. Cruise control lets you put your foot over the brake meaning your reaction time is even quicker. Also I don't get how it makes you "pay less attention..." it's not like putting your foot on the gas requires a lot of attention

-6†
binlagin•

What kind of car do you have cruise control on?

On any modern car with cruise control, you cannot rest your foot on the brake.

The moment there is any pressure applied to your brake pedal, your brakes override and cancel cruise control.

So either you hover your foot over the brake pedal, which isn't sustainable or you rest your foot next to the brake.... on either the floor or on gas pedal next to it.

Cruise control or not.. it's the person in the driver seat who is telling the car to go faster, or slower that doesn't want people passing them.... even if it's on a subconscious level.

5
untitleddocument37•

Rest on, not push. Geez you guys need better motor control

3†
aselwyn1•

Depends on how you "rest" your foot but yes not press but hover the first 5% type rest

2
CanadaveGolden Triangle•

I'd rather just keep my foot on the gas than rest it on the brake. Trying to do that without putting any pressure on it is rather tough.

As for paying attention, that's just my experience. I just find that since I'm actively in charge of my speed, I'm more conscious of what the car is doing and thus more focused on driving.

3
untitleddocument37•

I've been driving for 10+ years this way. It's saved my bacon (from poor drivers) a few times.

1
CanadaveGolden Triangle•

Well, to each their own, but I find my reactions are much smoother with the cruise off. I never use it in heavy traffic.

3
PersistentCat•

Yes but that's how you drive, not how Canadave drives.

1
soundofmusakAylmer•

You will really like the train.

12
bishopolis•

... in 2019 ...

2†
chzplzWest End•

Can he like it in 2018 too?

7
TheMonkeyMafiaWestboro•

Probably because the traffic is too heavy to use it safely. At least that's been my experience on the roads around here. 416 excepted

11
OttCapOP•

But if everyone used cruise control, heavy traffic would be moving quicker and clear up quicker too. If everyone was driving at the speed limit at 100 kmh, with cruise control maintaining that speed, it would be impossible for traffic to back up

1
khendron•

Until someone has to merge or exit, and the other cars have to slow down or accelerate to make room. Or until somebody is pulling a trailer and can't go 100. Or if somebody breaks down and has to pull off onto the shoulder. It is not the heaviness of the traffic that slows things down. It is the randomness of the activity that is slowing people down.

In practice, cruise control works well only in long stretches between cities, where there is rarely any traffic to merge or exit.

4
KabaIGloucester•

I agree with the trailer, or breakdown, etc, but someone merging or exiting the highway should have plenty of room in the acceleration/deceleration lanes to do so safely and at speed. And yet, I routinely see people trying to merge into fast flowing traffic at 60.

2
scoobi_doo•

I would like to use cruise on long stretches of highway, but then I end up passing the same asshat 7x in the course of a half hour.

A good driver who is paying attention, hills, no hills should be able to maintain +/- 2km/h. A good driver. None to be found around here.

9
trixter192Bayshore•

Not every car has one, and some vehicles are harder than others to drive, with more things to focus on. Out of the 4 cars I own and my work van, ONE has cruise.

8
PersistentCat•

I don't use cruise control in the city (including the Queensway) as I prefer to be more engaged in what I'm doing. Outside the city on a less busy highway, I use it.

6
suks2bthatguy•

I use mine even on residential streets like Meadowlands where speed limit is 40 - prevents speeding tickets

5
redditottawauser•

I do it too. I actually use speed control a lot... except on the 417 where people thing it s a car race track...

2
Pass3Part0uT•

You should not be using cruise control on residential streets.

-3
Aprime1Gatineau•

How many cars have you owned?

How many brands?

I ask because you'd understand how cruise control systems vary in behaviour and performance depending on make and model.

Nevermind adaptive cruise control which is becoming increasingly mainstream.

3
OttCapOP•

In my life? I've owned probably 8 vehicles since I turned 16. I currently own 3, plus have a 4th work vehicle.

All of the vehicles I currently drive operate in the same manner, I turn cruise control on to 110, car drives 110. They are all different in how they respond to staying at 110 (the dodge ram downshifts ALOT on hills to go up them, my Kia sportage is brand new and doesn't change gears at all and holds speed, for example). The end result is the same though, they constantly drive 110 which is the goal with cruise control. Getting passed by other cars doesn't bother me, but constantly getting passed only to reads the same idiot who's now doing 10 km/h less is annoying on the best of days.

1
Aprime1Gatineau•

I personally avoid it on my car because it's inefficient in its operation. The only one I actively used was the one on my GMDAT (Daewoo in disguise) car because it wouldn't force itself to accelerate needlessly. Every other car I've owned has prioritized holding a given speed.

Although the V6 car I had later on made the experience fine since the available torque kept things efficient, except on like the hills on the southbound side of the 5.

But I don't have a lot of variance in speed and don't needlessly pass and stuff.

1
613mitch•

I personally avoid it on my car because it's inefficient in its operation. The only one I actively used was the one on my GMDAT (Daewoo in disguise) car because it wouldn't force itself to accelerate needlessly.

But cruise control is literally as efficient as you can get in terms of governing speed and minimizing fuel consumption?

Every other car I've owned has prioritized holding a given speed.

Sounds like the only one you liked was broken?

2
Aprime1Gatineau•

But cruise control is literally as efficient as you can get in terms of governing speed and minimizing fuel consumption?

No, that's a myth. Nobody who strives for efficiency drives with the CC on.

No, it wasn't broken. It was just taking several KPH to readjust. It was slow.

0
ArbainHestiaAvalon•

I always use cruise control in my car when I'm on the 417 or the 174. Even when I'm on the back roads that have long stretches without hitting a stop sign like Mitch Owens. I really wish more people used them if they have it in their car.

3
backcountry_bettyCentretown•

I love cruise but my current car doesn't have it! I do try pretty hard though to stay at a consistent speed on the highway.

2
negrodamus90•
  1. Not all vehicles have cruise
  2. Traffic is caused more by people driving in the left lane impeding people passing.
  3. If you pass a car and then it passes you then you have slowed down your speed to a point where you are causing traffic(see point 2)
  4. It isn't always practical to use cruise control.
1
InceptorOneWebDev Hire Me•

It would be nice if I actually had one, and its not super old. So even though its 2016, dont think every car has it, especially bare bones off the lot brand new.

Besides, its more or less useless from Kanata to Orleans during the day.

1
aselwyn1•

Sadly not all have cruse like the one i drive to work everyday. Being so use to it i do find that i randomly slow and like crap time to speed up again

0
Sigma-42•

Not always about CC but to have a consistent speed in general. I get you. I'll pass a car to have it pass me and I'm left wondering WTF is going on with them. Cruise control when it's not too busy.

0
MikeGeigerThe Glebe•

Always had it, used it heavily (even in the city) 'til I got DashCmd going; discovered how much gas my "tank" is burning on the uphills and decided that 2-5 minutes on my trips wasn't worth burning significantly more gas on. I get that it's a bit annoying, but better to keep you out of your reverie than to doze off.

-7
613mitch•

Instantaneous fuel economy calculation values from ecm are generally not correct. It also doesn't amount to that much you average it out over a full tank, unless you are a hypermiler and also shut your vehicle off at stoplights.

You will also save far more fuel going 90 km/hr as well, instead of 100. Which is why highway trucks are limited to 105 - it was never about safety, it was about fuel.

Cruise control also improved efficiency in that it maintains a much smoother (generally, except for hills) throttle control that most individuals cannot reproduce.

4
[deleted]•

[deleted]

-1
OttCapOP•

While you lose a small fraction on hills with cruise control, you gain far more having the computer apply steady throttle than a human can. It also adjusts itself on the opposite side of the hill and let's off the gas to save fuel.

3
[deleted]•

[deleted]

-11
wedderspoon•

You can switch cruise off, or use a light tap on the brake. There is no need to slam on your brakes.

17
redditottawauser•

There is even a cruise control command that helps you decrease you speed in sequential manner

0
613mitch•

that cruise cancel button would work just as well to do what you claim you like about letting off the gas.

12
OttCapOP•

Which is exactly what I do

1
redditottawauser•

Me too

0