Safety
Geoff Sundstrom, director of AAA Public Affairs, notes that "saving fuel and conserving energy are important, but so is safety, and preventing crashes." In the US, optimal highway speed for fuel-efficiency often lies between the legal minimum speed and the legal speed limit, typically 45 to 65 mph (72 to 105 km/h). However, these legal speeds may actually be slower than average traffic speed. The hypermiler thus avoids the danger of higher speeds, however, the speed differential created between cars can be problematic in some cases. Driving at speeds much lower than other vehicles may promote other problems; namely, aggressive drivers may choose to tailgate a slower vehicle. Coasting in neutral with or without the engine off may lead to reduced control in some situations, and drafting at any closer than 3 seconds to the vehicle in front is a recognised risk.
According to the Discovery Channel show Mythbusters, drafting a big rig at close distances is life-threatening and extremely dangerous. They recommended a minimum safe driving distance of at least 150 feet (46 m) from a big rig.
Coasting in neutral is a controversial fuel economy technique. Those who warn that coasting can be dangerous claim that the driver has less control of the vehicle, and will take longer to react in an emergency. In addition, a driver legally needs to have the ability to bring the vehicle to a stop under any circumstances, including when the engine stalls during normal driving. In the event that there is a loss of engine power, decelerating to a stop is recommended as the safest action. As a safety feature, vehicles are designed to retain some limited ability to steer and brake even when all engine power is lost.
Coasting is advocated in certain circumstances. For example: "If you are on ice and skidding in a straight line, step on the clutch or shift to neutral." Also, in a stuck throttle emergency, the safe procedure is to put the transmission in neutral, and if that is ineffective, to turn off the engine.
As a result of criticism regarding safety when hypermiling, the Hypermiling Safety Foundation was formed in August 2008 to promote a safety and public awareness program, advocating legal fuel-saving techniques.
Read more about this topic: Hypermiling
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