how can a 4 wheeler best help an 18 wheeler?

Again, those drivers arent very bright.

So then if you have to be atleast 25 feet back from someone's bumper to get good drafting mileage then why travel that close at a hundred feet? You said it yourself that you have to be that close for drafting to be any good.

Foloow me that close and no, I wont be pissed..... I'll just be jotting down your plate number.....

 

Drafting, huh? Where is the proof that this saves fuel? Sounds like an "old wives tale".

 

Some drivers have been known to draft behind other vehicles, particularly tailgating larger vehicles, to save gasoline. For example, hypermilers using this technique can achieve 75 mpg or more. Some sources say that the most common tailgating does not save gasoline even at freeway speeds because one is likely to accelerate and brake so frequently that any aerodynamic savings are lost through the brakes. On the show Mythbusters, drafting behind an 18-wheeler truck was tested and results showed that traveling 100 feet (30 m) behind the truck increased overall mpg efficiency by 11%. Traveling 10 feet (3.0 m) behind the truck produced a 39% gain in efficiency. Of course, they warn that this type of driving "is insane" because the truck's blindspot is in that area, and if the truck stops quickly there is much less time to react. Truckers are not fond of the extra stress this puts on them, worrying about cars on their tail. Additionally, it can be very dangerous for the following car if one of the truck's tires (or their recaps) delaminate, as the chunks of ejected rubber can be large enough to cause serious harm, even death, to a driver following too close.

-from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drafting_(aerodynamics)

 

I have a friend who is a driver that told me being hit by a chunk of the recap will make a deer hit look/feel like a kiss. I started watching my following distance even closer after that. I also don't "hang" beside the trailer while passing. I scoot around as quick as possible.

 

If only you knew how much this was greatly appreciated.......

 

Back to the original question...... How can a 4 wheeler best help an 18 wheeler?

The short answer....... Go to a legitimate, professional driving school and obtain some training. When you do your search for a school, ask them if they teach driving skills in and around big rigs. If they don't...... continue your search until you do find one.

On a side note, unfortunately, to many 4 wheelers shouldn't even be driving. Driver training in this country is woefully inadequate.

 

if you see me turn my signal on, and im trying to get in your lane, and u are only 5 feet behind my trailer in that lane, back off for a few seconds so i have a little bit of space....dont just ride there waiting for me to come over....atleast flash your headlights

we cant always speed up and it can be hard to judge how far back u are especially at night and in rain/snow

4 wheelers dont even think about these things but the few of them that do them and help us out are greatly appreciated

 

We really should be able to work together better. All of us are out there for the same reason.. we're trying to get somewhere else. I had a perfect example of working together happen to me on the way home from school tonight. When I first got on the interstate, I merged in behind an big truck that was doing 60 and I wanted to do 65. So I put on my blinker, moved over and started to pass him. As I'm coming alongside his truck, I noticed two vehicles on the side of the road with their flashers on, changing a tire or something. Now I've worked light duty wrecker before, I've had trucks pass me two feet away, if that, doing 65 and it ain't no fun. It's a three lane interstate and no one is beside me so I move over. As soon as he sees me getting over, he gets over too. I gave him the space he needed, we both showed some courtesy to the break down and we went our merry way down the road