We are in week two of our Shell Smarter Driving tour across the U.S.! We’ve had a jam-packed week with early mornings, long stretches on the road and lots of beautiful country!
Day Six
On August 6, we crossed into state number 14 – Louisiana! We hit more road work so we reduced our speed accordingly. After a long road south we headed east where the traffic built. Where are all these people going so early on a Saturday morning?
An important piece of this world record drive is mapping our route. The rules decree that we must drive at least 30 miles in each state so we must plan carefully to avoid any unnecessary driving. We decided to head to Alabama then into Florida. In at Pensacola and out at Century, across Alabama once more and into Georgia. To reach Alabama efficiently we must travel from Louisiana and through Mississippi again! In fact, there have been many occasions when we visit the same state more than once. We have a navigation system but it is imperative for us to also follow a physical map to ensure every record regulation box is ticked.
On day 6, we traveled through states 14 (Louisiana), 15 (Alabama), 16 (Florida) and 17 (Georgia)!
South Carolina
Day Seven
After crossing through four states, we were quite tired on August 7. Aware of this, we pushed ourselves extra hard the day before to have a complete day of rest.
North Carolina
Day Eight
Monday, August 8 was our first Shell Smarter Driving stop scheduled in Decatur, Georgia. We arrived at the Shell station before 6:00 am to an excited crowd!
We set the car up for everyone to see the fuel seal from our last fill still intact. We asked the sheriff to verify this, check the odometer and sign his approval. A live radio broadcast brought many drivers to meet us, broaden their knowledge about the Shell Smarter Driving Program and have the opportunity to take home a Smarter Driving kit.
Virginia
After that, we were on the road from Atlanta to Augusta, which is in need of attention. Remnants of tires were strewn along the side of the road—a testimony to the importance of the “M” for maintenance in Shell’s Smarter Driving M.A.P. system: perform smart maintenance before you drive. Make sure tires are not over or under-inflated. Proper air pressure can improve gasoline mileage by more than 3 percent*.
Before long we reach our 18th state—South Carolina. We turned off towards Charlotte, North Carolina, and enjoyed pleasant green surroundings. State 19!
The terrain was mountainous as we approached Virginia (state 20). The scenery was unbelievable but navigating through the fuel-sapping Blue Ridge Mountains was tough.
We drove through the Big Walker Mountain Tunnel and before long we’ve reached West Virginia (state 21)! We head towards Beckley, West Virginia, and the drive was challenging. A strong wind was hitting the side of the car forcing us to reduce our speed to lessen wind resistance.
Virginia
Day Nine
Tuesday, August 9, we were relieved to have calmer weather as we passed through lush farmland on our way to Virginia.
Since we didn’t drive through any new states today, we stopped to have our Chevy Cruze serviced. We wanted an expert to check under the hood to reassure us everything was in “tip-top” working order.
West Virginia
Day 10
Wednesday, August 10, traffic was a nightmare getting to Washington, D.C., where we participated in the second Shell Smarter Driving stop.
We left the event and headed toward state 22—Maryland! We stopped along the way to take a lunch break and noticed a gentleman happily sitting in his vehicle, eating his lunch with his engine running and his air conditioning on full blast! We saw the same thing 20 minutes later and were horrified!
Shell Smarter Driving Tip: When you idle, you get zero miles per gallon*. It would have been much better for him to sit under a shady bench or in the restaurant. Imagine how much gas he would have saved!
We crossed the border into Delaware (state 23) and then on to Pennsylvania (24). Our expectation of congestion in Philadelphia was accurate, and we rambled through as efficiently as possible.
Driving into Trenton, New Jersey, state 25, you guessed it, there was a lot of traffic. We drove, observing the magnificent landscape of New York City in the distance. Making our way to the Lincoln Tunnel proved interesting, it is the worst possible driving conditions you could wish for on a fuel efficiency world record drive attempt. We inched along the Lincoln Tunnel, but at least the Chevy Cruze was in motion.
We arrived into New York City (state 26) and had a lovely meal downtown.
Day 11
On Thursday, August 11, we conducted the third Shell Smarter Driving stop in NYC—possibly the busiest station we’ve ever seen!
After reaching Connecticut (state 27) and crossing the Yankee Doodle Bridge, we were finally able to establish some driving rhythm, both driver and vehicle. Traffic was heavy in Newhaven but we soon turn and head toward Providence, Rhode Island (state 28), away from the mayhem. We crossed the border from Rhode Island into Massachusetts (state 29), refueled in Massachusetts and headed back to New Hampshire (state 30).
Driving conditions were favorable so we continue on to Maine. This is a tricky navigational sector of the contiguous 48 U.S. States drive. It’s a matter of driving the legal required distance in Maine then immediately turning back towards Vermont, via New Hampshire.
We made it safely to state 31, Maine!
Check back in next week for updates from our last week on the road! And don’t miss updates at www.shell.us/smarterdriving!
**Some tips sourced from: www.fueleconomy.gov
Related posts:
- The Shell Smarter Driving Tour: Week One
- Record Road Trip: Couple to Set Fuel Efficiency Record Across 48 Contiguous States
- GM Driving Day
No comments:
Post a Comment