Hypermiling Tricks To Avoid
Here's what Wayne Gerdes recently had to say about the hypermiler trick of drafting:
Q: What about drafting – following a large vehicle to reduce wind resistance?
A: Drafting is like NASCAR. Don't do that on the road or you'll be dead.
You really can't get much more explicit than that.
Drafting is the most controversial hypermiler trick, and for good reason. People associate drafting with racing and the Venn diagram of hypermiling enthusiasts and racing enthusiasts has a huge overlap. There's a certain romantic notion tied to drafting- it seems like a cool thing to do. The problem is that while the relative coolness of drafting might be argued, the relative danger of it is not up for debate.
When you draft while hypermiling you are in essence putting your safety into the hands of the driver you are behind. I don't know about you, but there aren't very many people out on the roads that I trust with my life.
Saving gas is certainly not worth risking my neck over.
The Baltimore Sun recently summarized the subject this way:
...some auto experts question the safety of advanced hypermiling techniques such as "drafting" - closely following tractor-trailers to cut down on the flow of air against a vehicle.
Leon James, a University of Hawaii professor who has written about the psychology of driving, said hypermiling can become a form of aggressive driving if, for example, drivers practice it in the fast lane, forcing others to drive around them, or if they coast through stop signs.
"If you were behind someone who's practicing certain features of hypermiling, you get very annoyed," James said. "Hypermiling can be a selfish thing to do."
Ed Kriston of AAA said that the automobile group encourages gentle driving to save gas but discourages aggressive types of hypermiling.
"Some of the things they do are very dangerous," he said. He pointed to drivers going below the speed limit on highways such as Interstate 795, where the limit is typically higher than those posted on most highways.
I shudder to think about the damage that will be done and the bad publicity that will arise after the first incident picked up in the media where people are injured as a result of someone drafting.
Where are the facts in this drivel?
Rampant Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt !
Sure its more dangerous than not doing it, but cars are not exploding from drafting.
If the draftee stops suddenly and the drafter runs into him, common conception is that it is like hitting a brick wall.
ITS NOT!. the difference between the two vehicles is the speed of decelleration times the reaction time.
therefore, folks, and bring on the flames -
The closer you follow, the safer it is!
The two vehicles are going the SAME SPEED. you might as well be parking with a whiskey in your hand, er on your mind.
Bring on the FACTS - Where are the flood of deaths attributed to drafting ?
No, wait. Drafting is terribly dangerous. Don’t do it. Idiots shouldnt be drafting. Leave it to the situationally aware.
They’re going the same speed… until the guy in front of you hits the brakes because he dropped his donut and he has to reach down to get it.
No, seriously though, how close do you follow behind when you’re drafting?
I love whipping past selfish hypermilers in my F250 and undoing all of their savings.
People who speed are maniacs. People going too slow are idiots. This is an old saying from George Carlin. This has changed in recent years. People who speed are pompous assholes with no care in the world for people around them. People who go too slow are pompous assholes with no care in the world for the people around them. How you drive will never determine your station in life. Haven’t you heard? Americans are all assholes now.
Words of wisdom from one of my personal heroes.
Hypermiling is something people are looking into as a desperate measure for beating the gas prices. It can be frustrating driving behind someone who is hypermiling and dangerous too, so you have to learn how to do it so it does not affect so many motorists.