Midas crowns America's commuting king
Auto repair
shop chain Midas has declared Dave Givens to be the ultimate road warrior, with a daily round trip of 372
miles, earning him the America's Longest Commute award. Every day, Givens drives from his 7.5-acre ranch in
Mariposa, CA to his electrical engineering job at Cisco Systems in San Jose, CA (Google Local says that it's "only" 159
miles one way, but maybe Givens takes a few trips around the block at either end because he likes to drive so much).
The stated reason for this is the enjoyment he receives from living in a rural area, although we're not sure how much
time is left after his seven-hour commute. All that time is spent in a 2005 Honda Accord, which already has nearly
75,000 miles on the clock after nine months of ownership.
The Federal Highway Administration says that the length of the average commute increased by about 5% from 1990 to 2000... we're thinking that Givens himself might be solely responsible for that increase.
[Sources: North Country Times; Google Local]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
TheOne442 11:40AM (4/20/2006)
California land of fruits and nuts!
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Corey W. 11:45AM (4/20/2006)
Wow!! I like to drive but that's too much time wasted in a day. I wonder if he has kids.... :-(
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S1500 11:51AM (4/20/2006)
This guy would be a great candidate for testing a hybrid car. Honda or Toyota should hook him up with one, with test equipment.
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Judd 11:58AM (4/20/2006)
Wow! I thought my 3 hour 99 mile commute one way was bad. Sacramento area to San Francisco. Yes I do have kids. They have learned that I do it for them.
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RossL 12:01PM (4/20/2006)
So he likes living in the country, huh? It's sure quieter than the city. Fewer roads. Fewer cars. Cleaner air. Wonderful.
Of course, it's back-to-the-land commuters like this twerp who are messing up the countryside, polluting the air, and creating the demand for more roads. Way to go, Davey.
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Optimus Prime 12:02PM (4/20/2006)
Haha ... my 'commute' is a 15 minute walk from home to my office (along a pretty scenic part of town too). At least hes not driving a honkin' SUV.
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Mike 12:10PM (4/20/2006)
ok:
24 hours a day, minus 7 hours for driving equals
17 hours left, minus 9 hours for work (8hr shift, 1hr lunch) equals
8 hours left, minus 2hrs for breakfast, dinner, and morning prep time equals
6 hours left for sleeping.
I take it this man doesn't have a wife or kids, and has no intention of dating at any point in the near future.
ok:
372 miles a day. you can try to break it down by milage if you want, but it sounds to me like it is about a full tank of gas per day. Let's go conservative and say $35.00 per day for gas. Ok, maintenance: oil changed every 3k miles means that the oil is changed once every 8 business days, assuming the honda is not driven on weekends. Assuming a shop does the work, that is another $30 every week and a half, assuming he can find time to get the car to the shop.
the math just doesn't add up to me....
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Richard Warren 12:12PM (4/20/2006)
Interesting, the longest commute I ever had in California was 77 mile one way, I love to drive but after a year, I decide I had too much windshield time away from family.
I like my commute now, 5 minutes walking, a couple of minutes riding my bike, unless I take a "shortcut" through our state park past the 2 lakes and river, then it's 45 minutes.
It's great for gas mileage too.
#3 Great point
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gbh 12:12PM (4/20/2006)
Not really that impressive. I lived in the SF bay area during the tech boom. I worked with several folks that lived 200+ miles away but would not commute it every day - they'd have a 'crash pad' somewhere near the job.
I would wager a significant sum there are dozens of people in Montana who wish they'd heard of this contest...
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djsyndrome 12:20PM (4/20/2006)
"Not really that impressive. I lived in the SF bay area during the tech boom. I worked with several folks that lived 200+ miles away but would not commute it every day - they'd have a 'crash pad' somewhere near the job."
So how, exactly, does driving two hundred miles one way on a Monday, then driving back on a Thursday or Friday, equate to driving over 350 miles a day? Oh wait, it doesn't.
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Richard Warren 12:37PM (4/20/2006)
The longest commute I did in California was 77 miles one way. I did that for a year and decided that even though I liked the drive it was taking too much family time away.
I like my commute now, 5 minutes walk, a couple of minutes riding my bike, of course that turns longer if I take a "shortcut" through our state park bike trail by the 2 lakes and river, then it's 45 minutes.
#3 Agreed #8 I've got friends out there that do just what you said, sort of split the week. Not only is the housing really expensive, to save some money on it you just have to commute, a real catch 22
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Erik 12:40PM (4/20/2006)
Interesting how a post on an H2 will illicit a huge stream of flames, yet this irresponsible jackass pollutes far more than an average SUV driver, gets an award for it, and no one has anything to say (save for RossL, who is dead-on)
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RossL 12:41PM (4/20/2006)
#7 is right - it doesn't add up.
And isn't it interesting that he works for Cisco? You know - the company that extols the virtues of telecommuting (because it increases demand for the networking products that Cisco sells). You've got to imagine that this guy would prefer to work from home at least some of the time. If he actually does commute five days a week, then Cisco has some 'splaining to do.
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Brian from Racedriven 12:50PM (4/20/2006)
Speechless... Nope, all I can say is what a waste and I thought that an hour and 1/2 commute one way was huge, but this is just outragis. Get a home closer or like said above, a crash pad for during the week.
ALL OF THAT WASTED GASOLINE, THIS IS WHY WE HAVE NO GASOLINE AND $2.50 - $4.50 PER GALLON GAS PRICES...
Something is not right here!
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Jason 12:52PM (4/20/2006)
The trip from Merced to Mariposa is a one way straight shot (although much of it is twisty and well patrolled). However, there are a number of ways to do the Merced to SJ run. The shortest way is probably not the fastest. Especially when 101 NB is considered.
That being said, having been to Mariposa a number of times, I can definitely understand the desire to be out there.
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Takeo 12:56PM (4/20/2006)
Forget cars, the guy needs an Airplane, I'm sure he's got a grass strip nearby, and Reid Hillview Airport in eastside San Jose is not THAT far from Cisco on Tasman, He could probably catch the light rail.
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MikeW 1:02PM (4/20/2006)
I hope this guy tests the top speed governor of his accord daily (to make sure it is still there)
And since he doesn't have a carburetor, I doubt he changes his oil every 3000 miles. He could go every 10,000 miles since it is all highway type miles.
How about cisco work on a transporter so they could 'beam' him from home to work in 7 seconds.
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Trent 1:13PM (4/20/2006)
#11 - Irresponsible for burning valuable fossil fuel and releasing global warming gases, yes, but for actual air pollution, that depends. If the guy is driving a 4 cylinder Accord in California, it is probably a California super ultra low emissions vehicle (SULEV) which receives a "9.5" score on the federal emissions rating system.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/2001cartablef.jsp?id=20867
http://www.epa.gov/autoemissions/rating.htm
It would take 200,000 miles of driving in the SULEV Accord to equal the amount of nitrogen dioxide and 300,000 miles to equal the formaldehyde released by a Honda Pilot, which receives a "7" score on the rating system, in 100,000 miles. However, the Accord, over 200,000 miles would release twice the amount of particule matter and carbon monoxide.
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gbh 1:27PM (4/20/2006)
Perhaps I wasn't clear enough for you djsyndrome...
They wouldn't commute it EVERY DAY - that means that some days they WOULD commute it (200+ each way, 400+ total) and SOME days they would crash in town. Usually 3 or 4 days a week they would make the 'commute', which in general parlance, is a round trip.
But yeah, it's terribly wasteful. And he should get a small plane - better gas mileage and less time.
The main reason most people have these stupid commutes is that they cannot afford to live any closer to their jobs. Which is a whole different political kettle of fish in the Bay...
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Ken 1:36PM (4/20/2006)
That would be between $30-40 a day in gas, or roughly $7,500 a year...not to mention the cost of keeping the car running (oil, tires, etc.)
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