# When/how do you use cruise control? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 12, 2006, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066 "2006-11-12T02:26:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/1 "2006-11-12T02:26:53Z")
When I drive, I tend to reserve cruise control for when I’m on a restricted access highway, travelling long distances, with fairly light traffic and unlimited visibility both ahead of and behind me. So in practice, I use it almost never. Mrs. Mercotan uses it all the time on expressways, including downtown, during rush hours, road construction, and basically any time that she’s got 10 feet of clearance between the cars in front _or_ in back of her. It used to make me nervous having her drive like that with me in the car. However, she’s an expert at it, and uses it about as expertly as an indy car racer would use the accelerator. So I keep my mouth shut. She’s been driving that way for 3 decades, racking up over 500,000 miles at least, and with a negligible accident or even close call record. So dopers, how do you use your cruise control? ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/2 "2006-11-12T02:32:36Z")
I bought a 1989 Pontiac Tempest (a Canada only rebadged Chevy Corsica) earlier this year, and it was the first vehicle I’d ever driven that had cruise control. I must say it’s quite delightful, although it took some time an practice to get use to. I had to refer to the owner’s manual to figure out exactly how it works. I don’t use it in City driving but wherever the limit is above 60km/h I used it. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/3 "2006-11-12T02:35:08Z")
I use mine most mornings as my I travel about 30 miles south on the Parkway every morning. I actually use it to keep my speed down as I have a very heavy foot. I rarely use it to drive home, as traffic is much heavier and the extra ½ second reaction time could be dangerous. I also use it on long trips, it gives me a chance to rest my leg in a different position for short periods. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/4 "2006-11-12T02:36:45Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] When I drive, I tend to reserve cruise control for when I’m on a restricted access highway, travelling long distances, with fairly light traffic and unlimited visibility both ahead of and behind me. So in practice, I use it almost never. [/QUOTE] I do it your way. In Massachusetts the highways are busy enough that I rarely use it. I did use it recently going up to Maine. I find it hard to remember to keep my foot in the vicinity of the brake pedal when I’m using it. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/5 "2006-11-12T03:01:38Z")
I’m with **What Exit?** on this one - I mostly use it to control my speed on restricted-access roads - the Wrangler likes to cruise about 70 and I’m allergic to speeding tickets. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/6 "2006-11-12T03:09:45Z")
The only time I **don’t** use it is when it’s raining or the pavement is wet. Again, to keep down speeding tickets. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/7 "2006-11-12T03:16:04Z")
I don’t use it at all, as my car lacks cruise control. (I can get it added, I’ve just never got around to it.) Anyway, when I am driving a car that has cruise control, I only use it on restricted-access highways (which around here are only the interstates) and never in a large metro area. Heck, I’ve gotten so used to driving without cruise control even on long trips that I often forget to turn it on when driving a car that does have it. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/8 "2006-11-12T03:21:01Z")
I very, very rarely use it and I have never turned it on in my SUV. I don’t see the point much. I have never had a leg cramp from keeping my foot on the gas and never found it much of a chore anyway. I can also keep speed within +/- 2 mph without any effort as well. The loss of control more than cancels out any benefits. I have seen put their cruise control on in the snow. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/9 "2006-11-12T03:33:35Z")
I rarely use it - only on quiet Interstates. I think it makes me drive less safely as I will tend to let myself get closer to cars than normal because I don’t want to have to take the cruise control off. I do sometimes get sciatic pain down my right leg, and then using cc helps; otherwise, I would never use it. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/10 "2006-11-12T03:39:30Z")
On the highway and when I’m working on base. Highway because it’s more comfy, and base because the speed limit is so ridiculously low (25 and 35) that I’ll forget and keep edging up toward a normal speed if I don’t keep cruise on for the long stretches. ---
**Author:** ![Klaatu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Klaatu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klaatu)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/11 "2006-11-12T04:18:05Z")
I only use it when traveling on wide open interstates. I can put the cruise on and kick back for a few hours. For a time I used it like your wife does, and was pretty good at the "coast, resume, coast, etc and like you said, it was like a secondary accelerator. However, it made me feel I was not paying as much attention as I should have been for in-city freeway driving. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/12 "2006-11-12T04:56:03Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] When I drive, I tend to reserve cruise control for when I’m on a restricted access highway, travelling long distances, with fairly light traffic and unlimited visibility both ahead of and behind me. So in practice, I use it almost never. …snip… So dopers, how do you use your cruise control? [/QUOTE] Whenever I hit the speed limit or a mile or two over, depending on traffic flow. ---
**Author:** ![Gridnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ee59a6/32.png) [@Gridnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gridnak)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/13 "2006-11-12T07:08:40Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I very, very rarely use it and I have never turned it on in my SUV. [/QUOTE] I’m with Shagnasty. I can keep the vehical at a pretty constant speed easily enough and generally use the gas pedal to modulate more so than the brakes on the freeway. I’ve also found, when using cruise control I have a tendancy to sort of squeeze into places I normally wouldn’t so I don’t have to do the pause-resume-pause-resume dance. I honestly don’t even know if my current ride has cruise control. I suspect it does but I’ve never actually checked and I’ve had it for over a year and half with at least three fairly long hauls. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/14 "2006-11-12T07:37:43Z")
I rarely use it, as it’s useless in traffic, and when the roads are clear, I like to drive fast. Which entails a lot of adjustment in order to slow down for areas with bad visibility of the road ahead, packs of cars, potential cop hideouts, and so forth. However, this summer I drove from Connecticut to Oklahoma (and back again), and made use of it on several on the highways out there once I got all the speeding out of my system. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/15 "2006-11-12T13:10:12Z")
I use it on the highway when I’m going a long distance and the traffic is light. I’d say of my commute to work, I generally use it about 80% of the time. I set it to about three miles over the speed limit. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/16 "2006-11-12T13:58:19Z")
I use it on the tristate or else I find myself going 95, 85 is fast enough for me. Otherwise, I use it on limited access highways. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/17 "2006-11-12T14:21:02Z")
I use my CC normally when I drive, but I drive on open roads normally. I see it as a tradeoff, you are trading a bit of control for a bit of knowledge. That is you know your speed is pretty constant, you can spend more time looking at the road, less at your speedometer. When sudden situations come up and you have to make a emergency maneuver you have a point of reference available, you know your speed when it started. If you were not using the CC you may be going (much) faster then you thought, and try to do something that you shouldn’t at the speed you are really going. Anyone got any statistics on CC vs non-CC accidents and violations? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/18 "2006-11-12T14:32:50Z")
My daughter and I will be driving about 400 miles tomorrow, and we will use the cruise control on the highways. I generally don’t use CC unless I’m on a highway, and expect to be on one for more than half an hour. Speed limits and other conditions change too frequently to use CC while I’m driving around town. ---
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/19 "2006-11-12T16:07:17Z")
I’ve never used it. I’m kind of paranoid that I’ll turn it on and won’t be able to turn it off. Hitting the brake automatically shuts it off, right? I probably should use it when I go home for Thanksgiving, I start getting a leg cramp after about 4 hours with my foot on the accelerator. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066/20 "2006-11-12T17:13:32Z")
I use it on most long trips. In fact, without it, I wouldn’t have been as happy with my daughter going to college 400 miles away. It is much easier to drive long distances. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-how-do-you-use-cruise-control/380066.md?page=2)