Boring. Don't Read.

I have about a 40 mile commute every day, and while I try to keep my speed under control, sometimes I succumb to human weakness and allow my car to get up to 80.

(Coincidentally, 80mph is where my car is happiest, like a horse finally allowed to run.)

I keep the periods of 80mph to a minimum though, as the Highway Patrol are out in force along my commute route, and I see several speeders pulled over every day. Since I don't want to get a ticket (better things to spend my money on) I keep my speed to 75 and have yet to be pulled over - the speed limit is 70.

But I sometimes allow myself brief stints at 80, and I always wonder during these times just how much sooner I'm getting to work because of these bursts of speed. Well, the only way to know is to calculate it... (Now, feel free to correct my math, because I do all my counting on my fingers. I'm one of those guys who has to get naked to count up to 21)

Commute is 42 miles total

5.8 miles of street driving
36.2 miles of highway driving

75 miles per hour is:
18.75 miles every 15 minutes
6.25 miles in 5 minutes
1.25 miles per minute

80 miles per hour is:
19.95 miles every 15 minutes
6.65 miles in 5 minutes
1.33 miles per minute

If I ran the entire freeway portion of
36.2 miles @ 75mph = 28.96 minutes
or
36.2 miles @ 80mph = 27.21 minutes

Comes out to 1.75 minutes, and that's running the entire 36.2 miles at 80mph. So are those brief bursts to 80 getting me to work any faster? No more than catching one more traffic light green would.
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