Please reconsider this horrible PR for hybrids or hypermiling - skeptics, trollers, and truckers mention close drafting to discredit. It's usually the first thing they mention. Consider the loss of would-be hypermilers more than offsets the gains of discussing drafting semis. Please observe the no zone....

 

I once got a face full of tire-smoke from the trucker who got tired of me tailing him for too long. This was a long time ago, and I know better now.

I try to put myself in their spot. I would hate if someone did that to me (drove in my blind spot). These days, the bigger the vehicle, the farther I tend to stay away.

 

Leave the drafting to the NASCAR guys. They're trained to do it safely.

 

Come again?

 

maybe the trucks shouldnt ride 6 inches off people's bumpers going down hills on the interstate either. WE can sure SEE them, but its just as unsafe .....They seem not to have a problem with invading our, NO ZONE...If anyone thinks 100 feet is too close to follow a semi, try finding a spot on a busy interstate thats not within 100 feet of a truck, car, or motorcycle. Use your head, riding behind a truck and drafting ( 20 - 75 feet ) are two different things..

 

When I use to drive hard & fast I often drafted trucks and did stop after having a piece of tire fly off and luckily fly right over the top of my car. I then adopted the rule of getting no closer than where I can see both of the truck's mirror. These days it is not an issue at all. I never seem to be going fast enough to even begin to draft a big rig. They blow past me like I am standing still. I never go faster than 65 unless coasting down a long hill and even then everyone seems to just fly by.

 

I'm comfortable staying 'bout 30 yards behind the big trucks when possible. Not quite sure what all the fuss is about. I'm sitting in a far safer spot compared to driving in traffic on almost any bypass around any big city. Those drivers are scary! In the long run, most of the trucks leave me anyway...they drive too fast for me.

 

The truckers don't hate drafters because they're unsafe. They hate them because they're COSTING the truckers money.

Nothing is free in physics. The boost a car driver gets by drafting a semi comes at the expense of of the truck's mpg. And with diesel at $5 per gallon, truckers aren't willing to surrender any efficiency.

Besides, one $250 insurance deductible to replace a rock-chipped windshield negates ALL of the drafting you'll ever do. So why risk it?

If that doesn't convince you, then look at it this way; When you draft a semi, you're putting your safety in the hands of a guy whose pocket you're picking. You're depending on him NOT to slam on his brakes in protest, causing you injury or death in an accident that would be your fault, meaning your insurance company would pay to repair his truck.

I'm surprised that truckers don't do this every day. Maybe they just can't afford the down time.
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A semi slamming on the brakes, even with tires smoking, will only cause me to use half of my braking ability. My only concern is the question on why he/she is smokin' 'em. A semi's stopping ability is ridiculously long.

 

The semi doesn't have to stop for you to hit it. It only has to create a minor difference in speed between your two vehicles. And, of course, you assume that you'll hit your brakes at the exact second the semi driver hits his.

You won't.

At 60 mph, you're traveling 90 feet per second. If you're 20 feet behind the truck (one car length), that gives you 1/4 of a second to react. And that implies that you're never distracted by a cell phone, a road sign, an attractive woman in the car next to you, etc.

Basically, when you draft a truck, you're asking for trouble. Eventually, trouble is going to answer.

But forget the risk of death and dismemberment. Forget the needless sand and rock damage to the front end of your car. By drafting, you're only gaining mpg for your car by stealing it from the truck driver.

It's no different than constantly borrowing your neighbor's tools, instead of buying your own. Or inviting yourself to your neighbor's barbeque to eat his food and drink his beer. You're taking something that someone doesn't really want to give you. Isn't that reason enough not to do it?

Nobody likes a mooch.
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