SDAlexander8
Senior Member
- First Name
- Steve
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2019
- Threads
- 49
- Messages
- 2,450
- Reaction score
- 2,091
- Location
- Indianapolis, IN
- Vehicle(s)
- 17’ Si FC3, 17’ Accord 2dr V6 6MT, 22’ RL RTL-E
I can’t emphasize enough how dangerous this is, regardless of the fact that you’ll be able to react to the semi braking and accelerating.You don't need to be remotely close to a semi to get a good slipstream effect. 20 car lengths back will give you a good little boost, and riding the bumper will pretty much allow you to turn your engine off except for hills. I try to stay half of the legal tailgating distance, about a half car length per 10mph. This gives me about 50% more mpg at highway speeds and is safer and further back than most traffic stays anyway. I use the 3-4 car lengths as a buffer for when the semi speeds up and slows down, following too closely you will have to use breaks if anything happens and that will kill all the extra mpg's you just saved pretty quickly. Pretty much 90% of drivers tailgate in dense traffic. I am usually further back than just about everyone else, and you are much safer behind a semi than anywhere else but a clear road. They stop and accelerate so slowly that it is easy to react to them, they will never outbreak you unless they run into a brick wall.
You are completely cutting off your vision of the road ahead of you. The semi may be unaware that you are even there. Some semi drivers have no problem accelerating hard or driving well above the posted speed limit for trucks.
Those things handle and accelerate much better than you think. They can change lanes quickly or brake hard if they have to. you may be caught off-guard if they decide to aggressively pass another semi going 15 mph slower than they are.
Semi drivers are also taught to get over to the left lane for cars and trucks that are broken down on the shoulder. It’s actually a law in most states. I see accidents occur from cars passing semis on the right all the time.
Part of safe highway driving is anticipating the road ahead of you, and you are taking this advantage away from yourself by tailing a semi trailer, even at several car lengths. You will get unlucky one day when you aren't giving it full attention and an accident ahead on the highway has every car slamming their brakes or dodging out of the way. Maybe a deer runs out in the road and they slam the brakes while you’re focused on changing the music or sipping your starbucks. Maybe a tire retread blowout happens and they’re dodging tire pieces.
I’ve literally seen a wheel tandem fall off the axel of a semi truck trailer on the highway and roll freely next to the truck for some distance.
It isn’t worth it for the pennies you’re saving.
If you need to save some money, look at how you can save money on your monthly bills and subscriptions. Quit smoking those 7$/ pack cigarettes. Quit going to starbucks for your daily frappacino-machiatto-pumpkin spice latte w/ 2 pumps cream 1 sugar that costs 6$. Chewing tobacco, lotto tix that you’re never gonna hit a jackpot on, alcohol, whatever etc. Move closer to work, work closer to home, buy a hybrid.
Sacrificing your safety and the safety of others on your daily commute to save a couple dollars is not worth it.
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