How to accept momentum from other drivers

[actwithclarity]

Situation: you are stuck behind a slow driver, unable to pass because of other traffic, impatient, tailgating, cursing.

That situation is experienced by many, perhaps the majority of drivers. In the heat of the moment they would do practically anything to make the slow driver go faster.

Since I'm pretty sure they are willing to help us go faster, if we could design a mechanism to facilitate the transfer of momentum from them to us, we would benefit in terms of time, fuel consumption (on our end), and MPG.

How about if you have something with a soft surface on the rear of your vehicle which the person behind you can drive up to and safely, gently push on? A step further, you could rig it to, say, automatically engage the clutch and shut off the engine or such to make optimal use of the push. You would need to have a big sign on the back welcoming drivers to give you a push if you are driving too slow for their liking, with some bogus explanation. This would be a very foreign concept, it would be interesting to see how people respond to it and the legal implications.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by actwithclarity

Situation: you are stuck behind a slow driver, unable to pass because of other traffic, impatient, tailgating, cursing.

Relax, it's all good for your fuel economy.

How about if you have something with a soft surface on the rear of your vehicle which the person behind you can drive up to and safely, gently push on?

Are you nuts ?

If the push is too hard or off-center, you could be in serious trouble.
If the front car has to brake, it'll have to brake for both cars, one of them with a driver still on the gas.
Good luck trying to stop in due time.

[nemo]

Originally Posted by actwithclarity

Since I'm pretty sure they are willing to help us go faster, if we could design a mechanism to facilitate the transfer of momentum from them to us, we would benefit in terms of time, fuel consumption (on our end), and MPG.

And how about a device for the front of the car so you could attach to that empty semi that is passing wasting al that fuel?

I believe they are both available from The Acme Corporation.

Ask Wile E. Coyote for installation and model choice. I think he posts here from time to time, mostly in the Unicorn Corral.

"That's a Joke Son"

Hope you get the cartoon humor.

In all seriousness having been pushed in excess of 80 MPH I can definitely not recommend it it. Some crazy idea about push starting an automatic.

Originally Posted by actwithclarity

sign on the back welcoming drivers to give you a push

"Push don't pass I'm pedaling as fast as I can." Seen that somewhere.

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by euromodder

Are you nuts ?

If the push is too hard or off-center, you could be in serious trouble.

This is how police try to spin chased cars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnAQw0W-Pkc

[Frank Lee]

Situation: you are stuck behind a slow driver, unable to pass because of other traffic, impatient, tailgating, cursing.

Almost never happens to me.

Probably happens a lot to people behind me though! L O L

[actwithclarity]

Originally Posted by euromodder

If the push is too hard or off-center, you could be in serious trouble.

It would be hard to push someone off-center on a well designed pad on their bumper. The reason for using the pad is because you don't want to damage either vehicle. Accepting a little push does not mean people can slam into your side or cause damage or anything. If they push you into a collision then they are going to be at fault.

Originally Posted by euromodder

If the front car has to brake, it'll have to brake for both cars, one of them with a driver still on the gas.
Good luck trying to stop in due time.

I think this would be mostly used for highway driving, where braking is quite rare. It would probably be necessary to modify your brake lights anyways since if someone pushing you they might not be able to see them.

Originally Posted by nemo

And how about a device for the front of the car so you could attach to that empty semi that is passing wasting al that fuel?

Nobody cares about people driving slow behind them. The whole idea here is to exploit people who get angry when they are forced to slow down. Although it would be interesting to attach yourself to someone else on the highway and get towed for free, I don't think they would respond very kindly to it.

[Frank Lee]

Angry motorists pushing my vehicle. Nope, I'll pass on that.

[Thymeclock]

Probably all you need would be a bumper sticker that says "If you are going to tailgate me, PUSH HERE".

I'm sure eventually someone would oblige...

The abbreviated, more vulgar version would simply say "Kiss my a--". (But that might be taking it too far.)

[D.O.G.]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Almost never happens to me.

Probably happens a lot to people behind me though! L O L

Actually, it happens to me quite often.
I do a lot of coasting in neutral (automatic) and have worked out what speed I need to be doing to maximise the coast in that location.
It's really very annoying to have a three kilometre coast cut in half because some shoebox on wheels is going 10kph below the speed limit.

[actwithclarity]

It's really annoying when you're driving a company vehicle with free gas and the shoebox in front of you is only going 10km/h over the speed limit.