Why do people pump the gas pedal?

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Sage

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I know at least three people who pump the gas pedal while they drive… and I don’t mean occasionally on accident, I mean very consistently. It drives me absolutely insane – after half a mile I want to just jump out of the car (I had to spend 200+ miles with one of these persons driving). Do they realize they’re doing this? Is it some subconscious control over their foot? Is it a genuine attempt to keep a certain speed?
 
Wait... what? Like, they make the car rev up and down like an ebb and flow? Never seen that. Sometimes I have to play with the throttle to make my car's crappy auto go into gear, but that's about it.
 
I actually caught myself doing this one time when driving a big Penske moving truck, but I think it was because the soft bounciness of the suspension just "kept the flow going" and I stopped when I finally noticed myself doing it.
 
could be habit from hill-hunty 4 speed autos in emissions strangled 3 liters running in 2 ton sedans with every possible convienence and only 130 hp.
 
I know at least three people who pump the gas pedal while they drive… Do they realize they’re doing this? Is it some subconscious control over their foot? Is it a genuine attempt to keep a certain speed?

Having known several people who do that, I've come to the conclusion that yes, it is a genuine attempt to keep a certain speed, but NO, they don't realize they're doing it. It seems that they just have numb feet (and numb brains). They accelerate from a stop, notice that they are going too fast, and take their foot off the throttle. The car slows down, so they give it more gas. It speeds up, so they take their foot off... it makes the passengers want to hurl, and it murders your fuel economy as well.

I live on a slight hill near a fairly busy suburban road. One car in particular I notice almost every day - WAAAAAAHHHHH out of the intersection wuuhhhhh through the slight bend WAAAAAAHHHHH at the base of the rise wuuhhhhh halfway up WAAAAAAHHHHH over the top wuuhhhhh down the other side... if I rode with that person every day, I'd kill him.

My old boss used to be like that (come to think of it, my current one is too, kind of). He also had the endearing habit of apparently using his toes to push his right foot off the gas pedal when he wanted to brake, so we'd get that last burst of acceleration just before he stomped on the brakes.
 
I think it's more something you'd see from drivers of autos. That whole not having to modulate the clutch and throttle, especially from stop, seems to get certain people driving this way. A friend of mine used to drive his mum's old 2002 this way. But when i drove with him in a manual car the other week he drove totally differently.
 
I do not understand how anyone who's driven a car for more than 6 months would drive a car that's running fine would do that.

I used to have to pump the gas a little when I had my old carbureted automatic-tranny Accord, when it occasionally ran poorly at low revs. But once it was at a constant 2000 rpm or above (so you'd only have to do that in high gear at slow speeds), it would run fine with no need to pump the gas pedal.
 
Well, it is nothing more than what you or I do to maintain a proper speed - they just don't seem to be able to do it in increments of less than about half throttle.
 
I see this with people driving quicker cars than they're used to. They press the throttle, notice, other than then in their own Fiat Panda, the car accelerates. Constantly balancing between speeds - unable to hold the pedal in for 10%.

I think it has to do with a lack of feel for the mechanics of the car and a lack of understanding of basic laws of movement physics.
 
My wife does this and it drives me insane.

She starts out on the interstate and turns on the cruise control. Then she has this habit of not just allowing the automated shut-off to work, but she actually switches the cruise control off when she needs to slow down. Then as she navigates traffic she speeds up and slows down, speeds up and slows down. If I am lucky she will turn the cruise control back on when she gets on open road, but even then it takes her a good five minutes to realize that she can.

Anytime I mention it she just says that we can take my car and I can drive.

Once she did it while I was fighting a migraine and I truly thought I was going to be sick. On top of it, the migraine had me irritable so I just snapped and said, "Is your cruise control broken or something, because your foot obviously is." I got the usual response, only said in a raised voice this time, and then it was very quiet the rest of the night.
 
My wife does this and it drives me insane.

She starts out on the interstate and turns on the cruise control. Then she has this habit of not just allowing the automated shut-off to work, but she actually switches the cruise control off when she needs to slow down. Then as she navigates traffic she speeds up and slows down, speeds up and slows down. If I am lucky she will turn the cruise control back on when she gets on open road, but even then it takes her a good five minutes to realize that she can.

Anytime I mention it she just says that we can take my car and I can drive.

Once she did it while I was fighting a migraine and I truly thought I was going to be sick. On top of it, the migraine had me irritable so I just snapped and said, "Is your cruise control broken or something, because your foot obviously is." I got the usual response, only said in a raised voice this time, and then it was very quiet the rest of the night.

Automated shut-off? I once managed 250 miles controlling the car's speed using only the cruise control controls.

My wife is really offended that I'm specifying an auto on our next car. She only ever drives me when I'm drunk. Sometimes, if she picks me up from work, the children ask her to "let daddy drive". Apparently, "the little black car [an Audi A2] is fast when daddy drives".
 
Automated shut-off? I once managed 250 miles controlling the car's speed using only the cruise control controls.

My wife is really offended that I'm specifying an auto on our next car. She only ever drives me when I'm drunk. Sometimes, if she picks me up from work, the children ask her to "let daddy drive". Apparently, "the little black car [an Audi A2] is fast when daddy drives".

My mom's car is like that. Slow in one persons hands, ridiculously fast in another's. She doesn't pump the pedal or anything, she just drives unbearably slow in her car. Whenever my dad or brother drives it, the 300 horsepower engine gets to work. I'm not sure why she drives so slow. But it annoys me.
 
I only use cruise control when I need to scratch or stretch my right foot after a few hours' use.

I can't stand being that disconnected from the car.
 
A girl I was sort of seeing recently did this in her 500. She was a shocking driver anyway, her road positioning was off and she had no idea how to get the car to stay between road markings or what cross hatched areas meant. I ended up going mad at her for pumping the throttle and driving like a general maniac.

She turned round and blamed me for giving her bad directions!
 
I have an aunt that lives in LA... one time I drove all the way there and she was amazed I got the best gas mileage she'd ever got in her car. (she's the only driver of the car)

It drives me up the wall when people do this, occasionally my dad does it. My mom... just can't drive. Actually, my dad can't really drive that well these days either.
 
My dad was doing that in the Camry he rented for parents weekend. That didn't annoy me so much as the fact that he was going consistently 5 under and removed his foot from the pedal completely many times to make some comment about some store. And yes, I was actually yelling at him every time he did something.

There's also some FedEx driver around Burien who does this with his turbo diesel delivery truck. He probably goes through a cycle every second or so. Kinda funny to watch.

I generally refuse to use cruise control, so on long highway trips, I do catch myself going a little fast or slow. But it's generally only one mph or so, so I guess it probably isn't that bad when riding shotgun. Basically I'm consistent enough that I rarely to never have to "pump" the throttle in city driving. And I have managed to get better gas mileage without cruise control than with. But that could be due to me driving at 65 instead of 60.
 
Automated shut-off?
Yeah, you hit the brakes and it gives you control back, and you re-engage it by hitting "resume." My wife thinks, ar acts like she does, that she has to physically turn it off in order to regain control.

I once managed 250 miles controlling the car's speed using only the cruise control controls.
Do 250 miles of my daily drive and let me know how that works for you.

I only use cruise control when I need to scratch or stretch my right foot after a few hours' use.

I can't stand being that disconnected from the car.
I prefer to not use it, but I have this tendancy to not notice my speed. The Kentucky State Police thank me for my use of cruise control.
 
C'mon, don't you know pumping the gas is the only way to pull a wheelie? :sly:
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Ugh. Thanks to this series, I get to hear "THUNK THUNK! THUNK THUNK!" as people endlessly double-pump the gas pedal on the racing games, even though we only have one game where that trick applies (not Cruis'n, but a game made by the same development team).

As for real pumping, I only do it if I'm testing a vehicle's powerband, or trying to figure out if the engine is hesitating, or some other diagnostic process. All of which usually not involving a passenger for me to annoy.

I also never use cruise control, though I suppose I might if the vehicle I'm driving has an unusually high-effort gas pedal. If I'm speeding, my freeway driving style is too dynamic anyway. I check for police vehicles whenever I reach the crest of a hill, accelerate down the hill, and then use the next hill to slow myself to the speed limit again. Though that process is probably still smoother than what you all are talking about.
 
I've gotten on some of my friends time and time again. PICK A SPOT AND HOLD IT THERE. Argh, it makes me angry to the point of laughing.

When I drive I'm (subconsciously I think) paying attention to the engine's rpm, listening to it. I know when my speed changes because I can hear the rpm change and usually I'm able to keep it within 1 or 2 miles per hour. As opposed to these crazy people who speed up and slow down constantly, varying 5 mph in either direction. WTH. They're simply unable to make precise movements with their feet I guess.
 
I know it sounds Initial D Korney, but my dad had taught me to drive like I have an egg between my foot and the gas pedal. In other words smoothness... I don't think many people know about the concept of smoothness. I also think it would be a good idea for them to watch the driving stressed episode of Mythbusters to see how much gas you can wasted.
 
Yeah, you hit the brakes and it gives you control back, and you re-engage it by hitting "resume." My wife thinks, ar acts like she does, that she has to physically turn it off in order to regain control.

I never brake to release the cruise, unless I've not been paying attention or someone pulls out in front of me. It's very uncomfortable for passengers. I usually depress the accelerator to about where it should be, hit "cancel", then release the throttle, then brake. It rounds off the transition from cruise to deceleration.

Do 250 miles of my daily drive and let me know how that works for you.

I can't comment on that! I did Auxerre to Paris without using the brakes last month though. My daily drive is about 12 miles through Edinburgh, where cruise is unnecessary, and not fitted to the scooter!!
 
Thanks to this series, I get to hear "THUNK THUNK! THUNK THUNK!" as people endlessly double-pump the gas pedal on the racing games, even though we only have one game where that trick applies (not Cruis'n, but a game made by the same development team).
Off Road Thunder?


Though I personally pump the gas all the time when I'm playing the RRV cabinet at the laundromat. I don't think it does anything, but it is fun.
 
I never brake to release the cruise, unless I've not been paying attention or someone pulls out in front of me. It's very uncomfortable for passengers. I usually depress the accelerator to about where it should be, hit "cancel", then release the throttle, then brake. It rounds off the transition from cruise to deceleration.



I can't comment on that! I did Auxerre to Paris without using the brakes last month though. My daily drive is about 12 miles through Edinburgh, where cruise is unnecessary, and not fitted to the scooter!!


My CC releases with a clutch tap, as well, so I tap the clutch with my foot on the gas to keep it from closing the throttle completely, seamless release. In an auto, I do the same thing, just a tap on the brake with the left toe with the foot on the gas to catch the pedal. Smooth transition without so much goings on.

Of course, the automatic car I have weighs 4200 pounds, so the throttle release doesn't drag the car as hard as the manual box does, either.

In all CC-equipped cars i've driven, you can feel the slack in the accelerator, and you know when you've reached the point the CC is holding. Not a mystery to get it "about where it should be." Now if the car were throttle by wire I'd see a problem.
 
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I never brake to release the cruise, unless I've not been paying attention or someone pulls out in front of me. It's very uncomfortable for passengers. I usually depress the accelerator to about where it should be, hit "cancel", then release the throttle, then brake. It rounds off the transition from cruise to deceleration.

In my parent's Chevy Tahoe, I cancel the cruise by depressing the brake, but it only has to be pressed ever so slightly to disengage the cruise, and most of the time the passengers never notice. Of course to lower the speed of the cruise control, rather then using the brake to slow down I just hold in the "set" button until the vehicle slows down to the speed I want, and I then just release the button.
 
You guys don't have a problem with the possibility of it not disengaging at all? Never know...

Never reported to have happened as far as I know (not the world's greatest authority, but I like to think I am!), but even if it did, any car's brakes are at least 3 to 4 times as powerful as its engine. Check stop times vs time to speed if you don't believe it.

Of course, there's always the CC's off button, neutral, or ignition key off if it actually failed to disengage.
 
When I drive I'm (subconsciously I think) paying attention to the engine's rpm, listening to it. I know when my speed changes because I can hear the rpm change and usually I'm able to keep it within 1 or 2 miles per hour.
When I'm holding a constant speed that's what I do. It's rather easy with a 24-year-old chassis, the original interior, an exhaust pipe that I think is misaligned and rests against the chassis, and relatively new engine/transmission mounts. Also cold weather. ;)


@Toronado: Nope, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. If only we could replace it for another two Maximum Tune 3 cabinets, or OutRun 2, or any number of other, better games...
 
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