# Cruise Control Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740 "2009-08-17T16:50:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/1 "2009-08-17T16:50:26Z")
My car, like all the other cruise-control-equipped cars I’ve seen, has a setting for cruise control being ‘on,’ and then you have to set the speed to actually turn it _on_ on. Is there a downside to having it in the ‘on’ position for a while (for instance, if you expect traffic to clear up in a couple of miles)? Should you turn it all the way off, or just leave it in cruise control ‘mode’ but not set, or does it matter? ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/2 "2009-08-17T16:56:22Z")
Should not matter one bit. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/3 "2009-08-17T16:56:49Z")
You might burn out that little light 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/4 "2009-08-17T17:06:45Z")
The main danger is that you could accidentally hit the “resume” button and your car will speed up when you’re not expecting it. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/5 "2009-08-17T18:02:21Z")
Leave it on when you think you might to engage cruise later. Turn it off if you want to avoid the possibility of accidentally engaging cruise, or if you want to disengage without hitting the brake pedal. There’s no harm to the system either way. Use it in a way that’s convenient for you. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/6 "2009-08-17T18:06:08Z")
Do people really use cruise control much? I always found it mildly dangerous unless you are a seriously rural area with straight roads like West Texas. I have long legs so putting my foot on the accelerator pedal is just as easy, if not easier, than putting them on the floor. I never understood the point especially when it comes to emergency braking. Staying 2 miles per hour +/- your desired speed simply isn’t that hard for an experienced driver. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/7 "2009-08-17T18:16:55Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Do people really use cruise control much? I always found it mildly dangerous unless you are a seriously rural area with straight roads like West Texas. I have long legs so putting my foot on the accelerator pedal is just as easy, if not easier, than putting them on the floor. I never understood the point especially when it comes to emergency braking. Staying 2 miles per hour +/- your desired speed simply isn’t that hard for an experienced driver. I was just on a road trip. Driving twelve hours in a day is a lot easier when I can move my legs around as I need. Also, [you get better gas mileage with cruise control](http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/articles/106842/article.html). I got ~41 MPG in my 1996 Toyota Corolla yesterday driving from South Dakota to Illinois (had to stop using cruise control around Baraboo, WI). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/8 "2009-08-17T18:24:12Z")
I use mine all the time, even just around town. I tend to actually drive the speed limit :eek: so if I don’t set the cruise, I’ll wind up drifting along at 53 in a 45 zone like the rest of the assholes. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/9 "2009-08-17T18:29:00Z")
'cause everyone going faster than you is an asshole. Everyone going slower is an idiot: Stuck behind someone, you curse, “Would you look at this idiot! Come on, let’s go. I need to get around this guy!”. Car goes \*zooming \*by you before you can get ready to pass the slow idiot: “Wow, look at that asshole!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/10 "2009-08-17T18:40:33Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Do people really use cruise control much? I never use it around town or anything, only on long road trips when I’m on the interstate for hours - under those conditions I find it very useful. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/11 "2009-08-17T18:46:21Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Do people really use cruise control much? I always found it mildly dangerous unless you are a seriously rural area with straight roads like West Texas. I have long legs so putting my foot on the accelerator pedal is just as easy, if not easier, than putting them on the floor. I never understood the point especially when it comes to emergency braking. Staying 2 miles per hour +/- your desired speed simply isn’t that hard for an experienced driver. In the 70’s the spacing between cars allowed for cruise control. If you were overtaking a car you would move to the left lane to pass and then back over. Now both lanes are used because of traffic density so it is much less useful. I still remember my mother asking why traffic was going so slow (while driving a newly purchased 1972 Olds 88). I looked over at the speedometer and she was going 100 mph. uh Mom… The car had the smallest engine that Oldsmobile made at the time, which was a 350 CI motor (5.7 L). My dad had the cruise control set at 125 out in the desert of Arizona(?) in a section of road that had no speed limit. Sigh… the days of real cars and the open road. ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/12 "2009-08-17T18:49:52Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Do people really use cruise control much? I use it all the time, even for short stretches (as little as 5 miles), as long as the highway is fairly open. I use it for the reasons already mentioned - it saves fuel and it keeps me from exceeding the speed limit. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/13 "2009-08-17T19:30:03Z")
Haven’t one on the current car but used it all the time on the previous one to prevent me from attracting speeding tickets. Mine was permanently switched on. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/14 "2009-08-17T19:54:03Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > In the 70’s the spacing between cars allowed for cruise control. If you were overtaking a car you would move to the left lane to pass and then back over. Now both lanes are used because of traffic density so it is much less useful. Obviously, this depends on where you do your driving. It’s kinda like the bright headlights: some people use them all the time, others go their whole driving lives without having occasion to use them. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/15 "2009-08-17T20:44:06Z")
Having driven (more or less nonstop) from Orlando to Washington D.C. in a cruise-equipped vehicle, and then driven back in a non-cruise vehicle, I can confidently assert that it makes _one hell of a difference_. When we got to D.C., we went to look at the Lincoln Memorial and then went clubbing. When we got to Orlando, I staggered from the car and collapsed on a stranger’s couch, rubbing my right knee and moaning softly. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/16 "2009-08-17T20:59:20Z")
Also, if you use cruise control you can keep your right foot in a position where you can quickly hit the brake pedal if you need to. It could save an important fraction of a second in an emergency. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/17 "2009-08-17T21:04:13Z")
I use cruise control in short-driving situations, too - but more to maximize my time spent at 7 MPH over the limit without worrying about speeding too much ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/18 "2009-08-17T21:06:27Z")
Man, bunch of wusses. I drove from Seattle to San Francisco in a day, in a stick shift. > [@Manduck](#): > > Also, if you use cruise control you can keep your right foot in a position where you can quickly hit the brake pedal if you need to. Like right next to the brake pedal…on the gas pedal? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/19 "2009-08-17T22:40:36Z")
I leave mine on all the time. I have had no problems doing this with several cars over a 20 year period. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740/20 "2009-08-17T22:52:10Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Like right next to the brake pedal…on the gas pedal? No, like right next to the brake pedal and at a height where you only need to pivot on your heel rather than lift if first. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control-question/506740.md?page=2)