Murphy’s Road Rules #018
There is a commonly held belief that high-speed tailgating in heavy traffic reduces petrol consumption as you get sucked along in the slipstream of the car in front.
John The Aussie
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John The Aussie 
I remember as a girl, coming home from a vacation while towing a trailer, we were about 100 kms. from the next town & my dad noticed we were running out of gas (we had used more gas than expected due to heavy head winds). He slipped in behind a semi trailer & let the semi tow us most of the way to town or we wouldn’t have made it. The truck driver wasn’t happy, but my dad was being practical – 2 small girls in a car in the middle of nowhere in a rain storm. What was he supposed to do?
We did the same thing with a road train travelling from Alice Springs down the the SA border… 5 trailers creates one big draft….
Your dad did what he needed to do to keep you two safe.
Mythbusters confirmed this, in the episode from which your photograph was taken 🙂
I know I was watching it when I typed it!
Drafting is great for the smidgeon of gas you save, but riding at high speed in the blind spot of a semi when you really don’t know how long that driver has been on the road… Nah, I’ll pass and pay the extra buck when I fill up! If it’s a need (like the story offered by benzeknees) – okay, I get the reasoning. But I had a brother-in-law who drove cross country (I’m in the US), and I know how often he skipped sleep to make a coast-to-coast delivery and almost wrecked by drifting off at the wheel. Scary stuff people – and I drive like a lunatic.
Dark Angel, ya gotta do what ya gotta do… We had laws put in so a truck driver can only drive 10 hours (with an hour break) in a day with a 8-12 (I forget) break before driving again. There are log books, weigh stations, camera recordings and everything to ensure it’s abided by… Though some still find the tricks to avoid it…
Yup, we have laws like that too… but nothing stops the machine, and many, many find a way around it. Unfortunately.
Sometimes too unfortunate
Very true.
Makes me nervous!
Me too, I’ve seen ‘roos flicked as high as a car from the tyres of the back of a truck. Only time I ever do it, is when I have positive communication via 2-way radio with the truck driver and have his permission.
I do it so the driver of the semi won’t see me in his mirrors as I apply my makeup.
You… I …. That’s it I’m coming to Ohio to slash your tyres…
Hahaha … I knew you would like that one. 🙂
😛
Aah. I love the smell of diesel in the morning!
I dont, it reminds me of work.