I've mentioned it before but I've been thinking about it a lot lately. My Volt has really changed my life, and not just in the obvious ways.
I was especially reflective while driving my Toyota Camry for the last time early this morning. It's been essentially sitting in our driveway undergoing minor repairs to avoid a big lease turn-in expense. Finally, we were ready to free up the left side of the driveway so our 20 year old daughter, who is returning home from college for about a week and a half before embarking on her next adventure, can park there.
The Camry has been sitting largely unused since May 30. I thought that when I gave myself seven weeks of overlap between getting the Volt and turning in "Tony the Toyota" as my little kids called it that I'd need some transition time to get used to the new car. As you know, 'twas not the case and instead the transition to full-time Volt driving was rather immediate. In fact, the very few times I've driven the Camry in order to let the Volt charge long enough for my next journey, I've felt sort of "dirty" using gasoline. So I've avoided it pretty much altogether.
The shift was so quick that I has to remind myself how I used to drive. Two months ago, I was a merciless speeder and weaver. I'd gun my engine every change I got, always aiming at the left line, rolling my eyes if the left-lane traffic in front of me was not going at least miles over the speed limit. I could make it anywhere in record time. It's a wonder that I wasn't getting a ticket every other week. In fact, I have only had two speeding tickets in the last 8 years, mostly due to careful watching of the road ahead. Trust me - this is nothing short of miraculous.
Driving it this morning on the 15 or so mile trip to Central Florida Toyota on Orange Blossom Trail was a somewhat surreal experience. I've been taking mainly side streets wherever I go since entering the Volt age, simply because EV efficiency is higher in stop-and-go traffic. But I made the conscious effort to use highway for part of the journey to save some time, knowing that efficiency was better on the highway for the ICE Camry. I'd have taken it all the way save for the exorbitant tolls.
There I was, hardly realizing that it was me cruising at 55 in the west-bound right-hand lane of SR 528 (otherwise known as the Beachline or to those of us who have been in Florida a long time, the Beeline). The right lane! Cars were whizzing past me on the left, going around 70mph, and I just shook my head.
Then I realized what I was doing, and how far I'd come.
No longer do I speed. I haven't looked for a police officer on the road in weeks, and that's only partly because I'm constantly looking at my battery availability and how many miles I've gone. It's also because there is no way I'm getting a speeding thicket and I've stopped worrying about it.
No longer do I weave - I'm going to be in the right lane unless I'm getting ready to turn in the next half-block.
No longer do I shake my head at people driving at the speed limit. Now I shake my head at the speeders.
The right-lane driving is more than a literal position on the road, for me. It's also my new way of life. Why was I always in such a rush before? I don't really know. Does it matter if I'm 5 minutes late, or if I get up 10 minutes early, if it means I don't have to rush like a madwoman? For the first time in my life I have to say that the answer is no.
I'm a better person now. A safer, calmer, happier person.
Thank you, Zippy.
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