# Cruise control **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 21, 2009, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365 "2009-11-21T02:52:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/1 "2009-11-21T02:52:15Z")
Do you use cruise control? ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/2 "2009-11-21T03:03:42Z")
I’m in DC rush hour traffic all the time. My knee is actually sore from doing the gas-break-gas-break shuffle for 45 minutes twice a day. So yeah, whenever I can use CC, I take the opportunity to rest my knee. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/3 "2009-11-21T03:08:03Z")
Pretty much every day. I drive 25 miles one way to work. The first 5 miles is mountain switchbacks, but then there is about 10 miles to the first town that is reasonably straight and level. And in the morning, I may only see 3 or 4 other cars. Depends on the situation. And the weather. On long drives, I will always use it. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/4 "2009-11-21T03:14:05Z")
Only on the highway. I drive an automatic because of shoulder problems. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/5 "2009-11-21T03:29:36Z")
I used it on a longish trip I took a few months ago, but not before or since then. I live in a fairly metropolitan area with lots of traffic, and using cruise control would be a waste of effort. (Not that setting it is a great effort, but you know what I mean.) But I liked using it on my trip! ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/6 "2009-11-21T03:39:07Z")
My current vehicle doesn’t have it, and I really miss it on long trips. I’ll look down at the speedometer and be shocked to discover that I’m tooling along at 85. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/7 "2009-11-21T03:40:56Z")
I always kind of forget its there. I drive stick and rarely am on an open stretch of highway. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/8 "2009-11-21T03:43:02Z")
My car has [Adaptive Cruise Control](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_cruise_control_system). If the car in front of me brakes, so does my car. When the guy in front speeds back up, I follow him. It’s a very odd feeling. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/9 "2009-11-21T03:43:10Z")
I used to use it all the time. Nowadays, unless I’m on a long stretch of open highway, I find it impractical. There are just too many lane-changers and road boulders that require me to adjust my speed every couple of minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Discipline](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Discipline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Discipline)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/10 "2009-11-21T03:50:55Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I always kind of forget its there. I drive stick and rarely am on an open stretch of highway. Same. Don’t even know how to turn it on in my current car. I wonder if usage rates depend on where you are located? In the northwest, I’m pretty much always either going up a hill or down one, and the roads aren’t ever straight. I haven’t spent too much time in the middle of the country, but what I have seen was long and flat and straight and boring - with 50 miles between destinations, too. I could see using cruise out there regularly. ---
**Author:** ![MitzeKatze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@MitzeKatze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MitzeKatze)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/11 "2009-11-21T04:05:22Z")
I have always hated my cruise control…actually I like it in theory and tried to use it many times, especially on long road trips. What I hate is the feeling of cruise control. It makes me feel like I am no longer in control of the vehicle at all, and I just don’t feel safe. I know that is weird and my husband teases me constantly on long drives because of it, but I have been driving for a long time and it doesn’t seem like something that is going to change any time soon. ---
**Author:** ![Countrypolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/858c86/32.png) [@Countrypolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Countrypolitan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/12 "2009-11-21T23:14:56Z")
I only use it on long drives, when my ankle cramps up. It seems like every time I put it on, the next rest stop pops up (old K9 needs her potty breaks!) or some butt-much decides to get on the highway and putter along ten miles below the flow of traffic. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/13 "2009-11-22T00:43:31Z")
I live in a very urban area, so rarely get the chance on a day-to-day basis. Freeways around here just have too much traffic to make it useful - you’re constantly adjusting your speed in response to what’s going on around you. When I do drive outside of greater Los Angeles, I use it if the situation permits. I’ve had vehicles without cruise control, and can certainly live without it, but there are times when it’s a nice feature to have and use. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/14 "2009-11-22T00:52:32Z")
You know, it’s funny; I could actually use my cruise control quite a lot on the 405. (But I preferred riding the bike.) ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/15 "2009-11-22T01:31:38Z")
Well, it’s my father’s car, but I do like using the cruise control when I can. Usually on the motorways, I wouldn’t get to use the car other than when he and Mum come to visit or I’m coming back home with them. It’s nice to sit and cruise with a pleasing MPG arriving on the trip computer. I find I’m less inclined to speed up to join a faster moving bunch in the stream of traffic too when it’s on. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/16 "2009-11-22T01:33:25Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > Usually on the motorways, Whenever I heard that word, this goes through my head: _Boys and girls, come out to play On the busy motorway_ ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/17 "2009-11-22T02:48:02Z")
I use is as much as I possibly can. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/18 "2009-11-22T04:11:27Z")
Stupid question about CC: with stick, I’d still have to shift once in a while unless the area is really flat, correct? Seems more trouble than it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Bacon\_Salt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@Bacon\_Salt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bacon_Salt)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/19 "2009-11-22T04:37:43Z")
I haven’t been able to figure out how to make it work on my car and really don’t have a desire to. I used to spend the majority of my driving on a long stretch of highway and didn’t really see the point in not having to have my foot on the accelerator. Now I spend most of my driving in traffic that requires constant speed adjustment so cruise control is impractical. It doesn’t help that the one time I used cruise control, I was a new driver and the car in question was an old beater that would suddenly shudder forward when climbing a hill. Oddly, it’s my left leg that has problems if I’ve been driving too long. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365/20 "2009-11-22T05:09:13Z")
I play mine like a squeezebox. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruise-control/518365.md?page=2)