Maybe it was because my first driving experience came at the wheel of a quarter midget, a pint-sized race car, whizzing around a banked oval track and trying to get to the checkered flag first. Or maybe it was just a character flaw that compelled me to always need to be in front of any cars going the same direction I was. Whatever it was, I have been a speed demon most of my life.

I would never let anybody get away from a stoplight before me if I could help it. I would take lane-changing chances that made my wife cringe, all so I could get past another driver, who would no doubt catch up to me at the next stoplight. I firmly believed it was my right as an American to go 10 mph over the posted speed limit without any risk of being pulled over.

Yes, people, I was a real jerk, but I have changed. I have exorcised my inner speed demon and it’s all thanks to $4-a-gallon gas.

Actually, I started changing my driving habits a few months ago when I had to replace my much-abused 12-year-old car with a new (well, newer) car. Between the pain of high gas prices and wanting to make this new car last, I found myself going a bit slower, taking off from stoplights at a more leisurely pace.

I still had a bit of the demon in me until I heard a radio report about hypermilers, people who could take a car that gets 30 mpg and milk at least twice as many miles from a gallon of gas, just by being hyperconscious about how much fuel their engine is burning.

Hypermilers avoid jackrabbit starts, preferring the less well known sleepy turtle start. They make sure their tires are inflated to the maximum pressure so their cars consume less fuel to roll. They jettison any extra weight — every 100 pounds carried takes away about 1 mile per gallon in fuel efficiency. The hypermiling masters always go to the bathroom before leaving home.

On the road, hypermilers take the utmost care to avoid needlessly losing their momentum through braking. They “get the big picture” and anticipate when they might have to come to a stop and coast as much as possible on their way to a stop, using aerodynamic drag and friction to help stop the car.

Some hypermilers are so serious they have special gauges so they can tell how many miles per gallon they are getting. Some even drive barefoot so they are more attuned to the vibrations from the engine coming through the accelerator pedal.

I am not a hypermiler ... yet ... although something about getting the most out of a gallon of gas appeals to my competitive streak. I do take care to accelerate gradually. I drive more slowly and take advantage of hills to coast whenever possible.

On the freeway, I set the cruise at 60 mph — which alone saves me about 5 mpg over going 65. It’s not so long since I was ruled by my inner speed demon, so I am hyper aware of faster traffic and try to stay out of the way. If I see a single vehicle coming up behind me in the right lane on the freeway, for example, I’ll just drift over into the left lane so they don’t even have to change lanes to pass. I don’t want to be the guy that makes other drivers grit their teeth and mutter, “C’mon, GRANDPA!”

Yes, one side benefit of my new approach to driving is I don’t view other motorists as competitors. They’re just fellow human beings who sometimes don’t realize they’re burning up fossil fuel much faster than they need to.

And strangely, I do find that my new driving methods satisfy the race car driver in me. A few weeks ago, NASCAR racing star Dale Earnhardt Jr. broke a long winless streak not by overpowering the competition but by conserving fuel. He was able to skip a pit stop, so while his competitors had to pull of the track for some gas, he kept racing. Sometimes the race doesn’t go to the fastest but to the smartest.

Contact Randy Erickson at randy.erickson@lee.net or 786-6812.