Reverse drafting

[MetroMPG]

Change to the right lane in front of a slow vehicle (keeping a respectable distance of course). You are now free to drive at the reduced pace of the vehicle behind you. You are no longer responsible for blocking faster traffic; it was flowing around this vehicle anyway.

[90CivicStandard]

Haha... I do that all the time. lol. I thought I was the only one.

Lately though, I have been really pleased because the highway patrol has REALLY stepped up their presence around here. It's not unusual for me to see 5 to 7 motorcycle cops on one 10 mile stretch of highway. It's nice, because now I can go just over the speed limit and not have other drivers pissed off at me.

:)

[ketel0ne]

In the area I am in the slowest cars on the road are not large trucks they are hybrids, me, and cars in need of repair, grandma's, or pickups with trailers towing boats, horses, or race cars.

Most transport type of trucks are doing 65+ on 55mph. If the speed limit is 65 most vehicles are doing 80+.

[Silveredwings]

In the area I am in the slowest cars on the road are not large trucks they are hybrids, me, and cars in need of repair, grandma's, or pickups with trailers towing boats, horses, or race cars.

Most transport type of trucks are doing 65+ on 55mph. If the speed limit is 65 most vehicles are doing 80+.

Maybe if you put up a sail, you can surf the bow wave of a big rig. :D

[zpiloto]

It's a speed limit sign. I guess most people think that it is the minumum speed you can drive. It was nice driving wise when gas hit $ 3.00 there were quite a few driving in the right hand lane at the posted speed.:D

[Matt Timion]

Who has ever been passed by a semi?

I have.:o

[JanGeo]

Yeah and I flash them the brights when it is clear for them to change back to my lane after they pass - they seem to like that a lot and blink their running lights back at me. Only problem I have with going the speed limit is freeking people keep passing and pulling back in my lane WAY too close and throwing rocks into my windshield. You think they were pulling into a parking space . . . where did I put my forward mounted rocket launcher! What really pisses me off is I get into a draft behind a couple of trucks leaving about 2.5 to 3 seconds distance and a jerk pulls into the space between us and moves me back out of the draft.

[tomauto]

Semi's get pissed at me :( They would get stuck behind me for a while, and then when the traffic clears, they quickly change other lanes in a very dramatic manner.

I've been driving at least 60 on 70mph highway. They definately aren't the slowest on the road. After all, for them, time is really money!!

[white90crxhf]

i am almost without fail the slowest person on the road. I'd love to go below the speed limit but i don't think that's an option with the kinds of idiots around here. the only time it's ok is when it's raining, most people around here slow down, except for trucks, they fly by when it's raining.

[rh77]

Metro - for the first time, I'll have to respectfully disagree.

Truck drivers around here tend to speed up rapidly before a hill to maintain momentum for the upcoming hill. If I get in front, I'm not accelerating as fast in my "pulse" phase and the lorrie driver gets right on my bumper (making me pretty nervous).

The solution would be to ID major trucking companies that have governors on their tractors; for example, Swift Trucking governs their trucks to 61 mph (possibly to save on FE :-D) BUT...having driven a truck with a governor, the ability to "Glide" is still there; example: the governor is on the fuel delivery, not the speed. If gravity takes over, the truck can coast faster than its limiter allows. Again, there I am in the crosshairs or with a Mack bulldog up my arse.

Otherwise, it's a decent strategy.

RH77

[MetroMPG]

I didn't say so in my original post, but I adjust my speed to match the vehicle I'm reverse drafting, including trucks behind me on hills. Common courtesy.

[The Toecutter]

Who has ever been passed by a semi?

I've had one turning into my lane without using a signal while I was there. I had to swerve into a ditch to avoid the *******, who I could clearly see in his mirror as he flipped me off(also verifying I wasn't in his blind spot). Wish I had my gun in the car at the time; I'd have blown his tires out.

[rh77]

I see your point Metro, but I'd probably end up giving more throttle than I'd like to match the speed, and kill the FE on the upswing side. Now, coming down the hill, I'd have a "backdoor" and maybe go well above the speed limit to have a leg-up on the next hill. They'll pull the semi over first.

Anyways...

99.836% of drivers out there are hard to please. I'm constantly feeling guilty being the slow guy, because I know how I used to feel about, well, how I am now. My experiment with 57 mph in the 70 zone on I-70 for 200 miles really brought out the worst in society. The US and Canada aren't ready for people who drive under the limit, as we all know.

I get the best FE out on the 6-laner -- I stay in the middle lane so I can let people pass on the left and get on the highway on the right (and adjust according to special situations). In town, people tend to be more tolerant because traffic is thick anyway.

I think we just have to try a few things, do a quick psychological profile of the drivers around us, and try to get the best FE possible.

I have a very important rule though:

Sometimes preventing road rage is more important than FE.

RH77

[The Toecutter]

Sometimes preventing road rage is more important than FE.


Lord knows it's almost gotten me killed on multiple occassions.

[MetroMPG]

Is it really that bad where you live?

The worst response I've ever seen in my rear view mirror was a guy go apoplectic when he caught up to me coasting to a red light - a light which he also had no choice but to stop at.

[GeoMetry]

I drive a Metro I think people understand why it is slow. I still would like to get a bumper sticker that says "Avoid the rush pass me now, I'm peddling as fast as I can!" Perhaps it would be appropriate to turn on the emergency flashers if we are significantly slower than traffic. What are the rules regarding emergency flashers?

On the subject of being passed... I was driving on the Washington DC beltway (not in my Metro) the posted speed limit was 55, I was going 70 and a cop passed me going at least 75. Scared the heck out of me.

[MetroMPG]

I love the bumper sticker idea!

I use my 4-way flashers on a pretty regular basis to encourage cars to go around me when it's clear (e.g. 2-lane highways). When I do this, I also move the car in a very obvious manner to the extreme right side of the road as an additional signal.

In the city, the technique is somewhat different - I'll signal right and pull to the edge of the road as if I'm going to pull over and park, or turn into a driveway. I often put the brake lights on as well (without engaging the brakes).

I also sometimes use turning lanes to let a following car pass me. As long as there's no other driver around who might misinterpret my move, I signal, pull in the turning lane activate the brake lights, then tuck back in behind the car when he goes by.

I've found it extremely rare that the following driver won't go around without fuss in these situations.

[diamondlarry]

I love the bumper sticker idea!

I use my 4-way flashers on a pretty regular basis to encourage cars to go around me when it's clear (e.g. 2-lane highways). When I do this, I also move the car in a very obvious manner to the extreme right side of the road as an additional signal.

In the city, the technique is somewhat different - I'll signal right and pull to the edge of the road as if I'm going to pull over and park, or turn into a driveway. I often put the brake lights on as well (without engaging the brakes).

I also sometimes use turning lanes to let a following car pass me. As long as there's no other driver around who might misinterpret my move, I signal, pull in the turning lane activate the brake lights, then tuck back in behind the car when he goes by.

I've found it extremely rare that the following driver won't go around without fuss in these situations.

Using the flashers was one of the things Wayne had me do when we went out for my FE "clinic." That, along with pulling to the edge of the road(RR-ridge riding), we had no trouble with people going around and leaving us alone. In fact, I don't think we even got any "salutes.":p

[thisisntjared]

It's a speed limit sign. I guess most people think that it is the minumum speed you can drive. It was nice driving wise when gas hit $ 3.00 there were quite a few driving in the right hand lane at the posted speed.:Dthats really just a suggestion. :p

but i agree metrompg, regardless of how fast your are going, you should ALWAYS be considerate!!! i get really frustrated when a car is going 30 in a 35 mph no passing zone for 5 miles. some people make me want to shoot myself in the face!! so does the guy going 52 in the left lane while passing a mac truck(who is very slowly accelerating to 60) in a 55mph zone. i guess people are only really this rude in nj....

anyway i really appreciate that the majority of you are mindful of surrounding motorists and make efforts to be courteous. you are the best example of slow drivers i haver ever known!

[ketel0ne]

We just made a round trip to york, pa today and we were going 65 in the right lane (speed limit) and we felt like we needed our flashers on. We were high beamed flashed, honked at, flipped off, and swerved around in the most aggresive ways. Now mind you traffic was light and this was a 4 lane highway, at no point were we obstructing anyone. The left lane was always clear.

Got 41.5 one way and 43.5 the other. So F em :).

[The Toecutter]

Is it really that bad where you live?

I imagine its even worse in California.