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Even in the slowest lane (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/whitepeopletwitter@sh.itjust.works
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[–] 15 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Also, following a truck will increase your mpg.

And not because of the lower air pressure zone behind the truck; you have to get dangerously close for that.

Truckers spend a fuck ton on fuel, so they have a huge vested interest in driving efficiency. My highway mpg rating is 27mpg, but I got 38mpg on an hour drive by chilling a safe distance behind a semi. It only added like 5 minutes tops to my trip.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Exactly. Similar to how others responded to a similar comment to yours, there isn't much slipstream savings without getting into the danger zone of around 30m (100ft), which you can't get with 3 second gaps at speed.

    But you do get more fuel savings from driving at that slower speed, and from coasting and accelerating lightly/cruising. It perplexes me why people alternate gunning it with braking so much on the highway.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago

    Agreed, provided you're not driving very far.

    I go on several hundred mile trips almost every year (usually ~800mi), and going 10mph over the limit saves over an hour and can be the difference between making it in one day and having to get a hotel.

    So I'll hang out behind semis on shorter trips (<200 miles) and speed ahead on longer trips. It costs more in gas, but I make up for it in other costs.

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