Slipstreaming an unhappy Eddie Stobart truck

[RustyNissanPrairie]

A rare-ish (for me) m-way trip tonight in the 110 with rack and rooftent so not very aerodynamic, tall Eddie Stobart 40ft'er came up behind and overtook. Pulled up behind to slipstream as its an exposed section of windy m-way. Ok for a mile or two then ES driver starts driving halfway on hard shoulder which ends up firing debris and carp over the front of my Lanny, does this a few times then brake checks me, then does it again pretty hard slowing down to 40mph. Pulled past him at this point and left him to it.

Does being slip streamed affect the lead trucks fuel economy? any other reason why you wouldn't want to be slip streamed by a Landrover?

[rtbarton]

Maybe he thought you were planning a hi-jack, or too close for comfort.

[Retroanaconda]

Other than not wanting a Land Rover up your arse if one has to brake suddenly?

How close were you?

[RustyNissanPrairie]

not that close, close enough to get out of the wind but not that close that I ran into the back of him when he slammed on.

I always end up slip streaming on m-way runs as its a 2.5NA and 1.6 transfer box, 56mph is a happy speed, never had any issues before.

[orangebean]

Possibly a Pro/ Am thing. They take the other artics out there as having professional drivers with superhuman powers and the ability to overcome the laws of physics and human reaction times, and allow them to slipstream. Mere mortals, once they've disappeared from their mirrors, make them anxious...

[Retroanaconda]

http://mythbustersresults.com/episode80

See second one down. I'm not entirely sure the benefits outweigh the risks. Even 100 feet is nowhere near enough space between vehicles at motorway speeds.

[orangebean]

http://mythbustersresults.com/episode80

See second one down. I'm not entirely sure the benefits outweigh the risks. Even 100 feet is nowhere near enough space between vehicles at motorway speeds.

Spot on- saw it, love Mythbusters. All the things I would have loved to experiment with, if I hadn't settled down to a sensible, practical, conventional life- sigh

[greenstream]

Morning All

Before I discovered the wonderful life of Land Rovering, I owned a Citroen 2 CV, not the fastet pony around.

When I went Motorway-driving, then I used to do slipstreaming to, it made me safe on fuel - no doubt. BUT I had to be very close to the truck ! In the 2 CV you can feel it when you are getting close to the truck, for a while the car shakes quite a lot and the when your close enough, and here we are talking CLOSE, the car settles down again and you sort of gets sucked.

As said earlier - I was a lot younger then and as other, did a few stupid things.

To day I would that this practise was one of those stupid things and I certainly wouldnt recommend others to do it and I do understanf why the truckdriwer wants one to keep some distance.

Cheers

Morten

[M&S]

He was probably trying to boil a pan of soup on a stove sat on the passenger seat...

It does scare me when I see folk "slipstreaming" lorries on the motorway (usually in the smallest of cars for some reason). They can stop a lot quicker than you may think when they really need to. With no view of the road ahead you are guessing as to when this will happen.

[tacr2man]

Slipstreaming is a accident waiting to happen, to be close enough to be effective ,in an emergency stop situation the following vehicle will hit the back of the front vehicle before the brakes are applied .

Most big rigs are not doing it for slipstreaming as with the horsepower of modern artics etc eg 460hp + wind is not a factor, unless its a crosswind , the speed limiter is the only factor , with high traffic density and the small differential in limiter settings (unless its an irish truck ) they tend to get very close to the one in front before pulling out to creep past .

[pete3000]

why not add a couple of magnets to your bumper.

clip on and sit back. touch the brakes to disconnect.

seriously though the only time I have driven behind a 40 tonner for any length of time is

a) when the guy had forgotten to connect his electrics and was travelling at night on unlit motorway with no lights. To warn people from rear ending him.

b) in the snow/poor road conditions, when they can see over most of the traffic to slow or stop smoothly. If they don't manage it you can always pull up a bit quicker due to the 18-37 tonne energy difference.

I certainly wouldn't cut in front or travel close in front of them then practice an emergency stop as you see some people trying.

[nicks90]

i used to love finding a national express coach for slipstreaming when i was younger and more stupid.

they cruise about at very high speeds and sat behind them in my mini meant i could get really good mileage and keep the engine quiet with minimal throttle.

Not to be recommended though.

[Chrissyg]

I used to drive at a sensible distance from big trucks when my series was my daily drive (probably out of effective range). However, when driving 200 miles each way between home and uni once a month, even a few quid saved makes a difference. I was convinced it made a difference - not loads, but a bit. Probably only a couple of litres over the journey, but as I did the journey relatively often I reckon it made a difference..

[hobson]

When i was taught to drive i was told by my father who was a trucker "if you can't see their mirrors, they can't see you"

and from my experience of driving large vehicles, it is very unnverving when someone drives right up your backside as you've no idea what they're doing, how close they actually are, and just how much of a mess they're going to make if you have to jump on the brakes (air brakes on most lorries are surprisingly good these days)

i'm sure there are a few competent drivers out there who could safely follow a vehicle from a foot or two, but the problem is, the lorry driver doesn't know how good or bad a driver you are, so will automatically assume you're an idiot who's making him nervous and putting people in danger.

personally i don't think the whole slipstream thing makes that much of a difference, especially to warrant the risk of a huge crash if you get it a bit wrong.

Only a fool breaks the two second rule and all that...

[FridgeFreezer]

Fuel saving from slipstreaming could have more to do with the fact you're having to drive quite steadily rather than the awesome aerodynamic effects at 52mph. As has been said, trucks can see a long way ahead and 40 tonnes doesn't make for rapid changes in speed.

[MrKev]

The closer you are following the vehicle in front, the less damage will be done if you hit, as the difference between your speeds will be smaller.

Probably the worst distance to be is halfway between touching the vehicle in front and being just far enough behind that in emergency breaking you come to a complete stop just touching - that way you will have hit the vehicle in front with the greatest speed difference between yourself and it.

Kev

[Night Train]

any other reason why you wouldn't want to be slip streamed?

There are enough potential dangers and risks on the roads from people who drive badly without having one so far up your arse that you start hoping they are wearing a condom!

I would think the few quids savings in fuel isn't worth the pain of head butting the back end of a truck at 56mph.

[SiWhite]

Also, imagine where your Landy would first hit the back of an LGV - the under run bars are often at windscreen height. I've seen a couple of people killed like this - the bumper of the car has no contact with the lorry.

[missingsid]

When young and dumb, I slipstreamed a couple of times.

When in a knackered van going to Wales on the M5 I was behind a truck in the middle lane not particularly close just normal truck distance. When the truck in front pulled into the left lane in front of the truck we were overtaking my van stopped overtaking and I had to slow down to pull in behind. Not nice at all as I had four trucks behind me which all stayed at the same speed.

When behind a truck I could come of the gas by about 1/4 of the pedal so it does seem to save fuel if you have a slow vehicle. Mainly though it allows something that is not aerodynamic and low on power to reach a higher speed.

Once when hitch-hiking I got a lift in an artic with 30 tons of nuts and bolts in it. We came up behind a bus full of teenage girls and the idiot trucker pulled up until he was about 6 feet off the back and stayed there for a couple of miles.

The real nut was in the cab not in the trailer.

Marc.

[Mo Murphy]

I've slipstreamed artics the length and breadth of Britain going to scooter rallies when I was a tad younger. I always remember that when you tried to overtake you could get up to the cab but there you met a wall of air that used to be difficult to push through

The things we did as youngsters

Mo

[mad_pete]

At just ten feet, the car managed to increase its fuel efficiency by 40%. - mythbusters result.

Air is fairly difficult to push out the way.

[ludylandy]

Of course it may well be that the said driver was desperately trying to stay awake rather than shake you off his tale. Have seen it lots of times before and is one of the reasons that the hard shoulder is the most dangerous place on the motorway.

[nicks90]

I've slipstreamed artics the length and breadth of Britain going to scooter rallies when I was a tad younger. I always remember that when you tried to overtake you could get up to the cab but there you met a wall of air that used to be difficult to push through

The things we did as youngsters

Mo

ooh yes, when i;m towing the caravan in my tdi 90 and go to over take - i always make sure i get a good run up with at least a 10mph differential between me and the truck. When you hit that wall, more importantly when the caravan hits that wall, its like someones chucked a boat anchor out the back! It can be quite embarrasing to go overtaking and then have to pull back and try again. People think you;re wierd.

[missingsid]

ooh yes, when i;m towing the caravan in my tdi 90 and go to over take - i always make sure i get a good run up with at least a 10mph differential between me and the truck. When you hit that wall, more importantly when the caravan hits that wall, its like someones chucked a boat anchor out the back! It can be quite embarrasing to go overtaking and then have to pull back and try again. People think you;re wierd.

Slighlty on topic still.

Once when using the newly opened M40 in very high winds I overtook a soon to be very shaken woman in a small hatchback whilst she in turn was overtaking an artic in the right hand lane. Just as the rear of her car passed through the bow wave of air a crosswind gust caught the front of the car in the oposite direction.

Her car was spun across the front of the truck and continued until it ended up facing backwards on the hard shoulder. Luckily her car did not touch either my car or the truck that she passed in front of missing it by a couple of feet.

No one was hurt in the episode.

Marc.

[Joe 90]

not one to normally pay to much of what a traffic cop says. but this one has stuck in my mind about hiting some one up the rear end {to close to fast}you cant argue with that one.