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My GF doesn't coast while driving

somerset9

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Los Angeles
I try not to be a couch quarterback when someone else is driving. I'm not the perfect driver and neither is anyone else I've met.
However, for all the faults I've seen while driving, this one drives me up the wall the most.

My GF, when driving, does not coast. She is either on the gas or the brakes, and especially on the highway this irks me to no end.
In the city, fair enough. You're always getting up to speed or coming to a full stop, and with all the surprises that can pop out, I don't want to give anyone grief for anything short of egregious.

However, on the highway she'll get within 1-2 car lengths of the car in front, and because she's on the gas she'll eventually get within one car length. She brakes enough to get back to 2 car lengths, and then starts creeping up, then brake, then gas. No wonder she gets 23 MPG on her 2013 328i. I exactly don't hold back while driving my GTI and I get 25-26 on average.

That's my rant of the day. Anyone else have spouses with similarly frustrating driving habits?
 

brat_burner

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
Car(s)
Mk6
Get her a new Honda with radar based cruise control. I dated a girl for a few months and she would call me just about every time she got in her car to drive somewhere. Couldn't even understand what she was blabbing about bc it was mostly mumbles.
 
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riceburner

Autocross Champion
Location
nice try PPNT
Car(s)
MK5 Best GTI
my wife is a saint and a great driver! Thank heaven. I have been with someone who drives like the OP describes. Makes you seasick after a while and you just wanna be like 'hey buddy.... what the F are you doing!"
 

tmw2442

Autocross Newbie
Location
Approved NPC storage contanier
Car(s)
Mk7 R
Sounds like she is only driving staring a couple feet in front of her hood...I like to call it city driving syndrome...

Same people that accelerate up to 35 mph as fast as possible to immediately stop at the red light that has been glaring in front of them since they left the last.
 

somerset9

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Los Angeles
my wife is a saint and a great driver! Thank heaven. I have been with someone who drives like the OP describes. Makes you seasick after a while and you just wanna be like 'hey buddy.... what the F are you doing!"

The driver that makes me the most nauseous would be my father. He coasts, but when he's on either brakes he's stomping on 'em.
Which is weird, because he used to drive my brother's old Impreza whose throttle pedal went from zero to 100 if you didn't get on it with the grace of a ballerina. I would have expected him to have the opposite problem of being too gentle with the throttle, but nope! It's GAS coast coast GAS coast coast coast BRAKE coast.

If you took the worst of my GF and the worst of my father it would feel like a bucking bronco.

Sounds like she is only driving staring a couple feet in front of her hood...I like to call it city driving syndrome...

Same people that accelerate up to 35 mph as fast as possible to immediately stop at the red light that has been glaring in front of them since they left the last.

That's a good point, I didn't think of that. Looking farther ahead could definitely help her have a bigger picture when it comes to planning out how fast to go.
I take it a step too far sometimes trying to look at the car in front of it, but if she can maintain a reasonable distance between just the car in front of her, it would be a massive improvement.
 

tmw2442

Autocross Newbie
Location
Approved NPC storage contanier
Car(s)
Mk7 R
The driver that makes me the most nauseous would be my father. He coasts, but when he's on either brakes he's stomping on 'em.
Which is weird, because he used to drive my brother's old Impreza whose throttle pedal went from zero to 100 if you didn't get on it with the grace of a ballerina. I would have expected him to have the opposite problem of being too gentle with the throttle, but nope! It's GAS coast coast GAS coast coast coast BRAKE coast.

If you took the worst of my GF and the worst of my father it would feel like a bucking bronco.



That's a good point, I didn't think of that. Looking farther ahead could definitely help her have a bigger picture when it comes to planning out how fast to go.
I take it a step too far sometimes trying to look at the car in front of it, but if she can maintain a reasonable distance between just the car in front of her, it would be a massive improvement.

Has she never heard of the 2 second following rule?
 

somerset9

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Los Angeles
I've been telling her, if she can read their license plate clearly, then you are too close.
It's getting a little better. Before, I could read the month and year of registration!
 
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Chogokin

Autocross Champion
Location
So Cal
Car(s)
GTI Sport | Audi A3
My GF does the same thing. She is either on or off the gas. Constantly changing lanes. I got her a Power Module for her Cooper S...I'm regretting that now after being in the car with her on the first drive.
 

torga

Autocross Champion
Location
Seattle
Car(s)
'11 GTI
My best friend does everything OP's wife does and he also turns the wheel while going straight like the driver in any driving shot from any sitcom or older movie. As if the car's alignment changes twice per second.
 

1ashchuckton

Autocross Champion
Location
Ohio
Sounds like your gf is a racecar driver. Im for it

That was my thought exactly. My wife got her SCCA competition license & it was great. She no longer complained about the money I was spending on the race car. Those were the days.
 

GTI Jake

Autocross Champion
Location
Charlotte, NC
My wife drives my mk7 (manual) better than most of my customers. Zero complaints there.

But, in our Suburban it’s as the OP described. I cringe at her getting way too close to people and not coasting. The damn thing weighs 7,000# once it’s going it’ll coast for miles, yet she’s on the gas till 100 yards before she stops lol
 

brat_burner

Autocross Champion
Location
FL
Car(s)
Mk6
I just randomly stumbled upon this topic in our owners manual. It discusses driving technique and how it relates to fuel consumption. It starts on pg 187 I believe.... you can just leave these pages out for her review. :cool:
 
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