May 31st, 2008 Brian Herzog
As I’m sure you’ve heard, gas prices are on the rise. Stations around here are still hovering in the $3.90 range, but $4.00/gallon can’t be far away. I am sure that’s what prompted this week’s exchange:
Patron: Can you tell me about, gas prices… and, um… fuel economy… ?
Me: Well, maybe. What kind of information are you looking for?
Patron: C’mon, you know, gas prices, and tips, and stuff. Is it real?
After a bit more of this, I learned that the patron:
- received an email forward from a friend with driving tips that claim to save gas, and also a list of gas stations that sell gas made from oil from Middle Eastern countries,
- wanted to know if there were real driving tips that could save gas, and,
- wanted to see national gas prices and find the cheapest gas in town.
I’ve seen the gas imports email before, and lately have been seeing and hearing gas saving tips everywhere. We started searching the internet for information about driving tips, and found lots. Here’s my attempt at organizing those that look reliable:
Driving Tips To Save Gas
Gas Price Listings
Other Fuel Economy Information
Of course, the best tips are to drive less (by walking, biking or riding public transportation), or buy a more fuel efficient vehicle. None of those were practical options for the patron, so he was pretty happy to get this list when I emailed it to him later that day.
Tags: auto, autos, car, cars, driving, economy, efficiency, fuel, gas, gasoline, libraries, Library, public, Reference Question, tip, tips See Also
Posted under Library, Reference Question, Resources | 3 Comments »
March 8th, 2008 Brian Herzog
First thing one morning, a very pleasant older couple approach me at the desk. The husband asks me (in a Irish accent, which I tremendously enjoyed and won’t even try to reproduce in type):
Do you have a book that tells me all the bridge heights between here and Florida?
I felt there was more to this story. After a bit more questioning, I learned that he and his wife bought a new RV, and were leaving next week for Florida. Since buying it, though, he’d started to notice signs everywhere he drives indicating the clearance under bridges. To prepare for their road trip, he wanted a book that will help him plan a route that won’t take him under any bridge that is too low for their RV.
We did not have any book that gave this information. One possibility, I thought, was to check our various road atlases to see if they might indicate this. None of them did.
I thought the best bet would be to contact AAA, but first, I tried an internet search for interstate bridge clearance site:.gov. This led us to a U.S. Dept. of Transportation Federal Highway Administration memo on vertical clearances of the Interstate System.
Although not a strict specification, the memo did state that most interstate minimum clearances are 4.9 meters, with some being 4.3 meters.
Patron: Meters? We came to America to get away from the metric system. What’s that in feet?
Convert 4.9 meters to feet yields approximately 16 feet, and 4.3 meters = ~14 feet.
This made the patron happy, as his RV is 13 feet high. I still felt I needed to give him more, so I asked if they minded waiting while I called AAA. I often call outside resources who are likely to give an expert answer on something, and luckily in this case I am an AAA member.
I looked up the local AAA office in the phone book, and the first person I spoke to said enthusiastically that yes, AAA’s TripTik department does have this information, and he transferred me to them. But surprisingly, when I explained what I was looking for to the TripTik operator, she said they did not have this information.
She did have some advice, though - avoid Parkways. These roads, such as the Merritt Parkway (CT) and the Garden State Parkway (NJ), are designed for smaller, non-commercial-sized vehicles, and often have lower under-structure clearances - especially toll booths. Huh.
I think this bit of information jogged her memory, because she then said that yes, AAA does publish a book with this information. It’s called the AAA Truck & RV Road Atlas (Amazon is the only listing I could find), and is available at any AAA office.
I relayed this information to the patron, and he was delighted. He was a brand new AAA member, and was happy to have a reason to go use his membership. The AAA woman said the book retails at about $22.95, but is discounted for AAA members at the local offices. My library does not have one, so I might have to add it to the collection.
Tags: aaa, bridge, clearance, clearances, driving, highway, libraries, Library, public, question, reference, Reference Question See Also
Posted under Library, Reference Question | 4 Comments »
November 29th, 2007 Brian Herzog
For Thanksgiving, I drove from Massachusetts to my hometown in Ohio. It’s about a 12-hour drive, each way, and I found that 12 hours in the car means different things to different people.
Most people reacted with, “ugh, that sounds miserable” or “I could never sit in the car that long.”
I suppose I am lucky that I am an excellent sitter, but I also don’t mind driving distances like that at all. I enjoy traveling and seeing the country (though it is unfortunate that not much can be seen at 80 65 mph). But this trip also meant 24 hours of audiobooks.
For this trip, I listened to The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, and also Washington Schlepped Here, by Christopher Buckley. The last one was kind of walking tour of Washington, D.C., with history, humor and current politics all blended together, and the first two are the two books that come after Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass. I was thoroughly entertained for the entire trip, and although I didn’t know much about The Golden Compass before, now I’m really looking forward to the movie.
But do you know what I like best about audiobooks?
This post is continued at this point on the other side of this blog
audio book, audio books, audiobook, audiobooks, driving, traveling
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Posted under Books, Personal | No Comments »
