3 Driving Myths Too Many People Believe

[Freija]

3 driving myths too many people believe

The zipper merge is your friend.

www.popsci.com

The average American spends nearly an hour a day behind the wheel, according to the US Department of Transportation. Some people love driving. Others tolerate it in order to get around. But either way, on average we all spend a lot of time doing it.


So it’s understandable if, over time, we all come to believe a few things about our cars that aren’t true. There’s nothing more human than believing myths, but some of these false beliefs have people wasting money or getting upset at people who are actually doing the right thing. With that in mind, here are a few widely believed driving myths—and why research suggests they’re false.

Premium fuel is pointless (unless your car is made for it).​

Diesel aside, there are three kinds of fuel at most gas pumps—regular, plus, and premium. The overwhelming majority of personal vehicles are built with regular fuel in mind; it’s basically just sports cars and a few luxury vehicles that require the higher octane.

Some people believe using premium fuel offers benefits, such as higher fuel economy, increased performance, or reduced tailpipe emissions. But there’s no evidence to support this idea. Engines are designed with a specific octane in mind. Using a higher octane won’t hurt anything, but it doesn’t benefit the vehicle in any way.

With the EPA extension to allow E10 ethanol blended fuels to continue to be sold longer into the warmer months than usual along with the newer and even shittier E15 blends that can cause damage in older cars in attempts to reduce fuel costs, my choices at the pump to avoid E15 have all been premium. Or as we used to say, ethyl or "high test". Fortunately, I don't drive much. Maybe 40 to 50 miles a month if I'm really busy.

Waiting to merge is good, actually.​

There’s a widespread belief that, if there’s a lane closure up ahead, people should merge into the open lane as soon as possible. The problem is that doing this slows down traffic. “When most drivers see the first ‘lane closed ahead’ sign in a work zone, they slow too quickly and move to the lane that will continue through the construction area,” reported the Minnesota Department of Transportation. “This behavior can lead to unexpected and dangerous lane switching, serious crashes, and road rage.”

There’s research backing this up. A 1999 study by researchers from the University of Nebraska showed that traffic moves faster if people stay in their lanes until the merge point, then take turns merging. A 2018 study from North Carolina State University shows that there’s a real safety benefit to this system, which is referred to as a zipper merge. According to the study, “drivers merged at much safer distances after installation of the zipper merge at these sites than before the zipper merge was in place.” The study also found that the zipper merge was safer for construction workers. A 2024 paper by researchers from Iowa State University analyzed construction sites in Michigan and Missouri, where portable lit signs instructed drivers to stay in the closing lane until the merge point. They found increased traffic throughput at those sites.

Manual transmissions aren’t more efficient than automatic ones.​

This myth was true, at some point, and still might be true for particular cars with particularly skilled drivers. Overall, though, there’s no real fuel economy advantage to driving a modern manual car. That’s according to the US Department of Energy (DoE), which stated that “advances in automatic transmissions have improved their efficiency to the point that the automatic version of a vehicle often gets the same or better fuel economy than the version with a manual transmission.”

I have my doubts about this one. Maybe it's true if you have a newer model car but for those of us who don't, especially if it is an under powered economy car to begin with, automatic transmissions suck power and not only that, they take all the fun and half the skill out of driving.

Here is my little runabout. 5-speed manual, revvy little 4-banger, 240,000 miles (386,242 km) and 44 years old. I hope to keep driving this until I'm dead.

 

[Bally]

That's clean. You must look after it. I don't know what sort of car that is. I have 2 diesel's. Ford Ranger and a Holden Rodeo. Both 4 x 4 because of where I live. Roads are bad out here at times.

Kind regards,

Bally)

 

[Freija]

It's a 1983 model year Toyota Tercel first purchased in '82. I'm the 3rd owner and I painted it myself. I've had it about 20 years.

It has no bumpers or front grill. I should find a picture of the front because it's quite entertaining. Most people don't know what it is and most commonly ask me if it is a Yugo. It is fun to drive.

 

[Bally]

I should find a picture of the front because it's quite entertaining.

Righto, let her rip! @Freija .