Fuel for Thought Eureka !

[chillout]

The side of my truck does not say Eureka….Hoover….Dirt Devil ...or any other vacuum brand name. It says Landstar. Even before I leased to Landstar, I’ve never driven a truck with vacuum labels on the side. Yet, as long as I can remember, passing vehicles will get drawn closer to me when they pass. There is a very good reason for this, yet it should not happen as often as it does.

When you pass a truck, bus or other large vehicle, you may notice this effect on your vehicle as well. Air pressure is the culprit and planning for this will help avoid those close calls.

Pay Attention! Maintain Your Lane!

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[Turtle]

That's also why parallel train tracks are as far apart as they are. For slow moving trains, though towns and in rail yards, 13 feet is normal. For curves and higher speed trains it's 15 feet. For high speed trains the distance between the center of each track needs to be 20 feet. Otherwise the low pressure between passing trains would just pull the trains in and slap them together.

"By the way, if you have been caught in the rocking winds behind a truck, you were most likely following too close..."

Or not nearly close enough, as NASCAR teaches us.

 

[Greg]

"By the way, if you have been caught in the rocking winds behind a truck, you were most likely following too close..."

Or not nearly close enough, as NASCAR teaches us.

Yes, NASCAR does teach us about drafting, but I would not advise it on the highways. I get motorcycles drafting me from time to time, not sure what they would do if I had to brake.

 

[Turtle]

Yeah, not really advisable. You want to be at least as far back as to see the side mirrors of the vehicle in front of you.

You see drafting sometimes, mainly out west, where 3 or more trucks are drafting each other. Drafting spreads out the resistance between all of the vehicles and makes it more efficient. 10 feet behind the other vehicle is the sweet spot. Closer than that and your fuel mileage actually goes down. But at 10 feet you'l get an increase in MPG of about 40% or more. But if you're going to draft another vehicle at 10 feet on the Interstate, the two of you had better be in real clear constant communications.

I do a lot of "long distance" drafting, especially long mostly straight and flat roads, like the Ohio Turnpike. Basically, you just drive 2-5 MPH slower than the traffic passing you on the left, and they will more or less drag you along in their wake. Instead of getting 22-23 MPG I'll get 28-30 MPG when doing that. More with a tail wind, less with a head or side wind. It's the safe way to draft.

 

[FlyingVan]

That's also why parallel train tracks are as far apart as they are. For slow moving trains, though towns and in rail yards, 13 feet is normal. For curves and higher speed trains it's 15 feet. For high speed trains the distance between the center of each track needs to be 20 feet. Otherwise the low pressure between passing trains would just pull the trains in and slap them together.

"By the way, if you have been caught in the rocking winds behind a truck, you were most likely following too close..."

Or not nearly close enough, as NASCAR teaches us.

I just watched a documentary discussing among other things the Shanghai Maglev Train that connects the airport to the city. They have 2 tracks, well, not really tracks, but magnetic levitation lines that run parallel to each other and 2 trains. Both leave from the opposite ends speeding towards each other at about 268 mph each, or 534 mph in relation to each other. They had to design the lines in such a way so the trains wouldn't slam into each other when passing by each other at those speeds. Cool stuff.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

[FlyingVan]

That's also why parallel train tracks are as far apart as they are. For slow moving trains, though towns and in rail yards, 13 feet is normal. For curves and higher speed trains it's 15 feet. For high speed trains the distance between the center of each track needs to be 20 feet. Otherwise the low pressure between passing trains would just pull the trains in and slap them together.

"By the way, if you have been caught in the rocking winds behind a truck, you were most likely following too close..."

Or not nearly close enough, as NASCAR teaches us.

I just watched a documentary discussing among other things the Shanghai Maglev Train that connects the airport to the city. They have 2 tracks, well, not really tracks, but magnetic levitation lines that run parallel to each other and 2 trains. Both leave from the opposite ends speeding towards each other at about 268 mph each, or 534 mph in relation to each other. They had to design the lines in such a way so the trains wouldn't slam into each other when passing by each other at those speeds. Cool stuff.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk