There are several tips for saving on gas, but does driving behind a semi-truck help? Before you do it, here’s everything you need to know.
There are many methods to avoid wasting fuel floating around the internet and pub counters; a few are urban legends, and many more actually work. From running your car in a higher gear to cruising at lower speeds, there are various ways in which people have gotten the practice of hypermiling down to a science. But what about driving close to a truck — or, indeed, any other vehicle in front of you on the highway?
It’s been tested before on MythBusters, in fact, and the team found that, yes, driving a passenger car behind a truck will save you a decent amount of fuel, depending on the distance and type of vehicle you’re driving. But what is the exact metric behind this, how does it save you on fuel, and is there a way to do this safely? As a quick refresher, the data acquired from the MythBusters test states that a Dodge Magnum traveling at incrementally closer distances to a big rig will, in fact, show a proportionate increase in fuel saving, up to a point. If a car gets too close, then the management of the throttle to keep it at that specific distance will negatively affect fuel consumption.
So there’s a sweet spot in there based on factors like blind spots, the speed the truck is going, and what sort of car you’re driving. This sort of practice benefits fuel economy across the board, though less aerodynamic vehicles like SUVs may benefit more. However, as a reminder, never tailgate a truck to the point where you cannot see; that’s dangerously unsafe.
