Thread: Safer Drafting?
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Old 06-11-2009, 10:11 PM   #20 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stevey_frac View Post
That sounds good until the truck your drafting swerves around the accident that kills you.
That really doesn't deserve attention, but I'm bored....

Semi's CAN'T swerve around something fast enough that a driver (even one seemingly attached to his ass-end) can't react before hitting whatever the truck swerved around.

What that means: Even if you're attached nose to tail with a trucker, and he needs to swerve, the amount of time he'll need to successfully maneuver around an accident or the like will inevitably provide you with "sight time" enough to proceed in the same manner. If it didn't, the driver of the truck would inevitably hit whatever obstacle was in the road.

There is a very distinct appearance to a truck that is swerving, versus one swaying or anything else... any driver who can tail one that closely, would probably have learned to react based on the demeanor of the truck in front of him, as a matter of not being able to see in front, which also says that you wouldn't necessarily need to see the obstacle in order to know it was present and how to avoid it.

There is a given problem with tailgating a truck of that size though - he may not swerve for something that is still large enough to damage your vehicle intensely, like large rocks or medium animals, "gators" (tire treads), and other smaller obstacles. Draft at your own risk.
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