There is no safe distance!

I would NEVER trail a truck or any other vehicle at any distance for one reason -- they launch rocks and other road debris continuously.

Once ariborne, these objects become dangerous projectiles cabable of instantly damaging paint and destroying windshields.

It's simply not safe, otherwise they would not display signs disclaiming responsibility for road debris.

 

Dump, construction and flat-bed trucks are particularly bad about this from stuff falling off. However, our experience has been that what small stones the tires pickup up tends to bounce off our sloping windshields. BTW, regular vehicles do the same thing.

Bob Wilson

 

I don't follow them either.

 

That to me is saying there is no safe road with regard to road debris. I can't drive without being behind someone almost all the time.

I can follow a truck with a 3 second interval or pass the truck only to have another vehicle less than 3 seconds away. There is less chance that someone will cut in between me and the truck so I have more control over the distance between me the vehicle in front of me.

 

Look at how "most" drivers drive. They leave about 1 second of following distance between them and the car in front of them. We follow trucks with more than the normally regarded safe following distance, and get classified as dangerous drivers.

Something seems out of place.

Also, rock chips in the paint is not a danger, it is a cosmetic blemish we don't like, but it poses no health hazard.

 

You are right!

On the first road construction project I worked on, a woman driving a car was killed. She was following the "water truck." It had a large flat rock caught in the dual rear tires. The rock was flung back, and went through the windshield, killing the woman.

As others have mentioned, tires shred routinely. I had a truck overtake me, and a tire came apart, and the carcass landed on top of the pickup truck I was driving. It pinned the driver's mirror back, but did no damage.

I also had a semi blow a wheel completely off right next to me. I was standing on the shoulder of an Interstate highway inspecting road work when I heard a tremendous bang literally a few feet away. A large semi sheared all the lug bolts off a driving wheel. The loose wheel proceeded down the road, narrowly missing a couple of workers, and traveled perhaps a mile down the road. There have been incidents where wheels from big trucks have run through school yards and killed children.

So yes, treat trucks as the dangerous objects they are, and don't dawdle around them. Get around them and stay away from them.

Harry

 

Harry,
The kind of thing you describe is actually a greater risk when you meet the other vehicle in the oncoming traffic lane -- this doubles the impact velocity.
Yikes!
How does anyone avoid that?

 

The fact of the matter is, there is NO way to avoid being around a truck. It does not matter what speed you drive, you WILL either pass a truck or be passed by one.

It is unlikley that an OTR truck which has been driving at interstate speeds for more than a couple miles will have a rock stuck in its tires large enough to go through a window and kill someone.

I am in construction, so I am aware of the fact that trucks sling mud, rocks, and all kinds of debris when leaving a construction zone. To copair following a water truck to following a typical OTR truck, is not an equal comparison.

Kind like saying if you shoot a dog with a 45 it will die, so don't shoot it with that BB gun.

Now to following trucks, I was trying my best to follow a truck at the safe distance and we were going 72 - 75 MPH. My mileage for that duration was around 36 - 37 MPG, but when I gave up and fell back to my usual speed of 65 - 68 MPG, I was back up to an average around 40 - 42 MPG. So at least in my TCH, even drafting won't really help me boost my mileage over 70 MPG. Unfortunatly, almost all the trucks between Columbus and Houston on I-10 drive about 75 - 80 MPH.

 

Following trucks works best in states that have a slower speed limit for trucks versus vehicles. The other option is to look for trucks that tend to use moderate speeds. Moving vans and some truck companies seem to hold about 65 mph and they become 'cover' for my speed.

Bob Wilson

 

Yes, there is one company, I forgot the name but they drive blue trucks with yellow lettering, and they always seem to drive 65, and they don't seem to care if you draft them at reasonable distances. Most of the independants seem to be the hot heads that drive way to fast and don't want anybody anywhere behind them, even 10 seconds back.