Commute champ drives 186 miles - one way
By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer | ∞
Are you sitting down? An auto-repair company claims it has found the person with the nation's longest commute. That would be one Dave Givens, who drives 186 miles door to door from his ranch-style home in rural Mariposa near Yosemite National Park to his electrical engineering job at Cisco Systems in San Jose.
And you thought your commute was bad.
On any given Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, Givens reportedly spends seven hours on the road getting back and forth. He puts in a nine- to 10-hour workday, so that leaves seven or eight hours to kiss his wife, eat dinner, relax, go to bed, get up and get ready to do it all over again.
That's on a good day.
On a bad one, like last Wednesday when rain drenched the San Francisco Bay Area, Givens, who is 46, said he had to detour around accidents and drive a total of 225 miles ----- one way ---- to get home.
Most days Givens burns 12 gallons of gasoline, which comes to 60 gallons a week. With prices at the pump hovering around $3 a gallon, he's spending $180 a week ---- $10,000 a year ---- on gas. Perhaps it is a good thing the prize for being named winner of the "America's Longest Commute" contest is $10,000.
"He's the ultimate road warrior," said Rick Dow, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Midas Inc.
Jennifer Christopher, a public relations consultant who represents Midas, said the contest is not an annual event for the brake and exhaust giant. Rather, it is something Midas chose to do to mark its 50th anniversary.
When asked how he kills time, Givens said, "I listen to the radio and keep my eyes on the road. I also drink a lot of coffee. Starbucks keeps me going."
I'll bet. He could probably use a year's supply of caffeine, too.
Givens said he puts up with the headache because he loves the little bit of rural life that's left when he finally reaches his 7.5-acre horse ranch in the scenic foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
"It's beautiful," he said.
Plus, he's been driving long distances for so long ---- since 1989 ---- that he has adapted to perpetually sitting in traffic. As for this particular commute, he's done that for two years.
"It actually doesn't bother me," he said. "I like driving."
Givens drives a 2005 Honda Accord which, as of Friday, had 74,500 miles on it. "I bought it brand new in June," he said. Before that, he piled up more than 300,000 miles on a Civic.
Although no one from the San Diego region matched Givens in Midas' contest, which involved 3,000 road warriors nationwide, our area has plenty of marathon commuters.
Anne Steinberger, spokeswoman for the San Diego Association of Governments, a regional transportation agency, said the agency sponsors eight vanpools that daily transport 83 workers about 125 miles from Calexico in Imperial County to the NAASCO shipbuilding plant on the San Diego Harbor.
There have to be other local horror stories out there that would give the declared commute champ a run for his gas money. We invite you to tell us yours.
The North County Times commuter column is published every Monday morning. Readers are encouraged to ask questions and submit ideas for
future columns. Staff writer Dave Downey may be reached at (760) 740-5442 or ddowney@nctimes.com. For the latest traffic conditions, go to
nctimes.com/traffic.
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Carrie wrote on Apr 18, 2006 9:38 PM:So much for conservation. He could not only save himself some money by just going home on weekends but that would be thousands of gallons of gasoline saved. Or, a hybrid. I'm all for driving what you want, but at least have some common sense.
Michael wrote on Apr 20, 2006 9:25 AM:I don't care how much he loves where he lives, or loves his job, he needs to change one or the other or come home on the weekends. That is wasteful.
Betty wrote on Apr 21, 2006 4:21 PM:This is in reply to Michael's comment. Who determines what is wasteful? Givens doesn't need to change anything to conform to Michael's opinions. Givens is working to provide a life for himself and his family. People can judge and say whatever they want, but in the end I feel that Givens is a winner!
Nancy wrote on Apr 25, 2006 2:43 PM:How much time does he really get to enjoy his horse ranch after he commutes that much?
WD wrote on Apr 25, 2006 2:54 PM:Givens is making a huge sacrifice--not just financially, but in lifestyle. Some may say this is a trade off necessary to live in a soul satisfying location like the sierra foothills, but in order to keep health and financial benefits (he obviously loves his work, too) he becomes the road warrior. I'd recommend a little less caffeine and more stimulating audio enjoyment to Givens. He could learn a second, or third, fourth, etc. language while he commutes listening to tapes/CDs or plugging in his iPod. He could register with ridesharing websites and add the occasional passenger--who would directly share the expenses--Givens doesn't have to permanently add a rider only once a week would lower his costs somewhat below 20% (extra weight would lower uphill climb fuel costs, eg.). Via con Dios, Amigo!
Doug wrote on Apr 25, 2006 6:26 PM:My take is that Mr. Givens must enjoy all of what he does, or he wouldn't do it, since it makes no sense otherwise. I enjoy driving, too; I have an Accord and two motorcycles. And a detour just adds to the daily show he must enjoy watching> What else he does with his time on the road is really his deal; I just hope he doesn't amuse himself on a cellphone.
Donn wrote on Apr 25, 2006 7:14 PM:What about telecommuting to the company that calls itself, "the backbone of the internet"? Ironic.
Thomas wrote on Apr 25, 2006 10:22 PM:He may choose not to stay close to the worksite a week at a time because he most likely would end up working even longer hours. He sounds like a type A workaholic, and at least this way he is attempting some sort of balance. It probably would be wise occasionally if his work day extends past 12 hours to rent a hotel room or make arrangements to rest at a co-workers just to prevent any potential accidents. At that point he would not be worth much to his family or his employer.
Richard wrote on Apr 26, 2006 5:33 AM:I can appreciate that Mr. Givens loves his job and his rural residence, but at a company like Cicso can't he work out a work-from-home program for at least a couple of days a week. This is exactly the kind of person that needs to rethink his 12 gallon a day habit. Maybe when gas hits $4.50/gal he will rework his cost/benefit numbers and find a job closer to home, even if it means a cut in pay.
Jaime wrote on Apr 26, 2006 12:54 PM:Just cannot believe the case ! and I complain about my 5 mile commute ! For sure he must love his work and to drive, but I wonder: at what time does he leaves home, and return ? Any energy left ? My God
RM wrote on Apr 27, 2006 3:20 PM:That's still not the real award winner...the most remarkable was a man 15 or 18 years ago who commuted all the way from Fresno to San Francisco every day (part of the way in a commuter airplane, maybe that's cheating)...
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