Is slow now the new fast?

Are we all driving just a little more slowly now? Pump prices have eased back by 4-5p over the last week and the Govt’s threatened 2p per litre tax increase is off the agenda. But even if the pressure’s off, the jump in prices we’ve experienced has delivered a nasty, and lasting, shock.

It’s pushed fuel economy to the front of my mind, for sure. Now, whenever I jump into a car, my first job is to set the computer to show its average miles-per-gallon. And I watch my speed closely, not with an eye for speed cameras but to get that mpg figure as high as I can. From what I can see, plenty of others are doing much the same.

If you stick to 30mph in town, as I now do, you no longer get the feeling that you’re the slowest on the road, all clear ahead and a queue of fuming drivers behind.
And the roads seem quieter. Yes, the school-kids are on holiday and that makes a difference. But it’s bigger than that. Where a few months back we jumped into the car for even short journeys, we’re now thinking twice. That’s good, not from a holy-moly, greenie view point but because it keeps the traffic just a little thinner for those who need the roads. It also means that when we do drive, it’s an active choice: we enjoy rather than just do.

Funny isn’t it how dearer oil has succeeded in taming Britain’s drivers where police patrols, speed cameras, traffic calming measures, road humps and rumble strips have failed, despite the untold millions spent on them.

But what do you think? Are we driving more slowly? Is it for keeps, or will speeds creep up if pump prices continue to drop? Let me know by posting below.