Goin' down the highway at 75...

[Trekker4747]

So you're on the highway it's an interstate, a US Route, a state highway, whatever. It's a stretch where the speed limit is the maximum for your state/type of road it is and it'll likely remain this speed for a good long while. (I.E. if it's a state highway or a route it won't go through a town any time soon where the speed will drop down to 65 on the skirts and then a much lower speed through town.)

So, if your car is so-equipped and you're like many people you'll probably set the Cruise Control for the speed you want to go, right? It saves a little on gas (the car can keep the speed steadier and manage the fuel better than your foot can) and you can rest your foot some.

Or do you?

I was driving home tonight along a long stretch of state highway (speedlimit: 70, I was going 75) I had the cruise set but I don't rest my foot on the floorboard of the car the entire time. I, instead, just rest it on the break pedal. Just enough so that my shin and heel don't get tired too quick but not so much as to activate the brake (thus de-activating the Cruise Control.)

Now there are times when my foot does get a bit tired so I do rest it flat on the floor of the car for a moment but then it goes right back onto the brake. I do this to reduce the "reaction time" between me seeing an obstacle in the road (say someone suddenly entering my lane, a deer running across the road) or some other emergency (like a blow-out) where I'd need to brake.

My buddy was watching me do this and asked me why I didn't just completely rest my foot, I explained to him that I want to have a shorter reaction time. It'd take longer for my foot to get off the floor, to the brake and press it than it would for me to simply hit the brake. He sort-of waved this off and said, that that half-second it'd take me to move my foot wouldn't make much difference.

I disagree.

So, what do you do when using the cruise. Do you cover the brake, or do your rest your foot flat on the floor?

 

[MetalPants]

I keep my foot on the gas pedal, not applying force, but there nonetheless.

 

[Squiggy]

I take off my pants.

 

[Maestro]

I take off my pants.

Pants? What are those?

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I keep my foot on the gas as well. I'm more used to making the move from gas to brake from that position than from the floor.

Occasionally on a really long drive on a desolate highway (like from Orange County to Las Vegas) I'll relax and put my foot on the floor because it's wide open road with long sight lines and plenty of warning.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Cruise control? What's that?

 

[SVD]

^ right, I don't got that either!

 

[Gary Mitchell]

I put one foot up on the dash and the other out the open window...shoeless, of course.

 

[scotpens]

Cruise control? What's that?

Something to do with Tom Cruise's publicity people trying to keep him from going batshit and making a jackass of himself.

 

[M'Sharak]

So, what do you do when using the cruise. Do you cover the brake, or do your rest your foot flat on the floor?

Sometimes I'll rest my foot on the floor. More often it's at the accelerator pedal, applying no pressure. I never cover the brake, because I can get to it easily and quickly from either of the other two positions.

 

[MANT!]

depending upon how my foot feels.. I have the cruise buttons on the steering wheel hub, all I have to do is to hit the cancel button (where my finger always rests naturally while driving) to shut down the cruise. So my foot often rests on the floor, maybe on the seat sometimes as well..(when one is travelling on the Southwest's longer Interstates..your foot can fall asleep if you keep it in one position too long..) as far as reaction time goes..those extra few mili-seconds won't help you too much at 75 MPH...not as much as an attentive brain evaluating the situtation from second to second... Often when driving an Interstate long haul trip, I'll cut the cruise OFF when approaching a closed in group of cars and drive conventionally until the possibility of danger is reduced...and the cruise always is off in construction zones..

 

[Brent]

I take off my pants.

Elaborate

 

[Canadave]

I take off my pants.

Elaborate

Documentary footage:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNV0mc_cpQ0[/yt]

 

[JonathonWally]

Even though every car I've ever owned had cruise control on, I never use it. I really don't like it. It takes me out of that whole "zone".

 

[Roger Wilco]

So, what do you do when using the cruise. Do you cover the brake, or do your rest your foot flat on the floor?

I've never driven a car with cruise control, but I agree with your friend. As long as you keep proper distance to the car in front of you and stay aware of what's happening around you there's never a situation where the fraction of a second you save by keeping your foot on the brake matters in this scenario imo.

 

[RoJoHen]

Even though every car I've ever owned had cruise control on, I never use it. I really don't like it. It takes me out of that whole "zone".

Any time I've ever tried to use it I always turn it off after a couple minutes. I really can't stand it.

 

[Trekker4747]

So, what do you do when using the cruise. Do you cover the brake, or do your rest your foot flat on the floor?

I've never driven a car with cruise control, but I agree with your friend. As long as you keep proper distance to the car in front of you and stay aware of what's happening around you there's never a situation where the fraction of a second you save by keeping your foot on the brake matters in this scenario imo.

A car moving at 75 miles an hour traverses 55 feet in half a second.

 

[Roger Wilco]

So?

 

[RoJoHen]

If I kept my foot sitting on the break, while trying not to actually press the break, I would probably strain my ankle.

 

[Lindley]

Foot on the floor unless it's cramping. Then sometimes I'll press it behind the brake for a few seconds to loosen it up before returning to the floor.

A car moving at 75 miles an hour traverses 55 feet in half a second.

Yes, but only relative to static obstacles, which you should be able to see coming from further out. Against other vehicles, your speed should be relatively much slower.

The only cases when that closing speed or worse should matter is (a) a car veering into your lane from the other direction, or (b) a static obstacle appearing abruptly such as a rockfall.

In either of these cases it's possible your extra half-second could help. However, evasive driving is going to be just as important as breaking in either condition.

I have found on a few occasions that when faced with an imminent danger while driving, my body gets a surge of adrenaline which increases my reaction time and precision to the point where it seems like time is actually slowing down. So far that's been enough to keep me out of trouble.