Forum:
On the “Bursty Thing” post Edlithgow made comment on losing control of his car, which is a whole new topic for sure, to borrow a quote from Ed himself. However in amongst his drama of reversing through a hedge at break-neck speed and almost going over a cliff he mentioned coasting downhill and that got my attention.
This is one of those terms that seems to me to have altered its definition during my lifetime. And I have noticed a wider trend. As I have gotten older I see words and phrases have been shape-shifted by a new generation. A good example is con-trail, which is an abbreviation of condensation trail, and refers to aircraft leaving a trail of condensation at altitude. I frequently see this now being referred to as a chem-trail, which I assume means chemical trail to those using it. This is not correct, it is a condensation trail. My guess is that the term has been misheard and misunderstood and then repeated and written enough times incorrectly to be slowly turned into “chem” instead of “con”.
Anyway another term that has altered, albeit in context and not in spelling, is “coasting” in the context of driving a car.
Back in the day it was explained that coasting in a car was the car rolling either in neutral or clutch depressed. But today I hear it being used to describe the condition of the car rolling in gear but no throttle i.e slowing down under engine braking. So which is it? It is the first one, because rolling in gear with no throttle has another term and it is engine overrun or engine braking.
Modern electronically controlled engines will shut off fuel completely when an engine is in an overrun condition (engine braking) so if you genuinely coast along in a neutral state up to the traffic lights you will use more fuel because the engine is then actually idling in neutral. And it is in this context I have read articles by various motoring journalists referring to “coasting” (rolling) in gear so as to maintain the overrun condition for the purposes of the fuel economy aspect. The correct term is overrun or engine braking, which would suffice and be more accurate instead of mixing in the coasting terminology.
I am a fan of allowing the English language to evolve because that is one of the best things about the language – it is so adaptable. I have no problem with new words arriving, but I do have a problem with warping definitions or breaking the conventions of the language because all sorts of things can be misconstrued. I don’t mind my surgeon or Boeing pilot having the use of new words but please let them get the context correct. It’s kind of important. Misuse of a word can change an intended context into something completely different. Coasting is in fact a very good example and getting it wrong it will affect safety and fuel economy. Which do you want to do, coast or overrun?
Incidentally allowing a car to genuinely coast (rolling in neutral) is a poor driving technique. It would certainly earn a fail on a driving test. So Edlithgow, were you “coasting” or “overrunning” when the car departed the highway? We need to know so we can start the “whole new debate” you mentioned.
Regards
Phil
Coasting versus Overrun.
When the car departed the highway I'm not sure. I was kind of busy, and its a long time ago.
When I spun I was in gear and had just lifted off the accelerator, and I think it was probably the overrun engine braking that caused the spin, as I have already said.
(Do try and pay attention.)
I think I may have depressed the clutch by the time I hit the hedge, but of course it was far too late by them. All I definately remember was centralising the steering, which seemed like a good idea. I think I may have braked after I went through the hedge, though the hedge had almost stopped the car. I recommend hitting hedges, if you have to hit anything.
I'm not sure I want to get into a debate on coasting. (I've had them before and I know how they go) but I'll play if you really want to. I do it to save a little fuel, and because I like it. My favorite is the Rest and be Thankfull, in Scotland, which goes on for ever if you have the nerve not to brake where the road kinks going over the bridge. I used to coast engine-off in Palestine sometimes in a VW Beetle, but servo-braking has rather spoiled that.
I think personnaly that any loss of control is minor and of little practical significance. Some cars have been fitted with freewheels, and automatics essentially freewheel, so engine braking is not apparently indispensable.
Just to repeat, I wasn't coasting at the start of the spin-off incident, and if I had been, I suspect it wouldn't have happened.
Coasting
Coasting can be a good thing. It is recommended when sliding on ice to depress the clutch because it brings some semblance of control back to the steering. Of course you won't slow down but at least you can steer, so the theory goes. Never had the opportunity to give it a go.
Regards
A Timely Reminder
Here's something I posted on the local foreigner website here in Taiwan a while ago:
"Nice morning. Driving downhill through a village near the school, with the sun dancing on my dirty windscreen, maybe doing about 50. If I hadn't to teach later I'd have been feeling pretty good.
Glance over at a nice trad house I was passing, which is slowly falling down. Didn't have to do that, I've seen it before. Dunno how long that took, maybe a second.
Look ahead again in time to see a scooter just finishing peeling out in front of me, dead centre in my lane and hardly moving. Yell, jerk the wheel to the left to swerve out, and jerk it to swerve back in time to miss oncoming truck.
I'd guess this might have looked a routine manouvre to an external, (Taiwanese) observer, but it wasn't. It was bloody close, and could easily have involved a head-on with the truck, which was going pretty fast.
You just can't afford to relax out there. I knew that, but forgot for a second or few. That's all it takes"
OK, better driving would have avoided the incident entirely,lets take that as read.
OTOH, only VERY slightly worse driving (or more accurately, slightly less LUCKY driving) would probably have involved serious injury or death.
What I didn't say, was that I was coasting downhill through the village. I don't think that contributed to the incident in any negative way, and I think it probably saved me.
If I been in gear, my instinct would have been to lift off, and perhaps brake. This would probably have slowed my evasive reaction, and it would almost certainly have deadened the steering enough to hit the scooter. If the tail had come unstuck I'd probably have hit the scooter AND been hit by the truck.
As it was, these two rather abrupt course changes had the car rocking from side to side, but it remained fully in control and held its line.
Chalk up one close shave for coasting, IMHO.