Drafting larger vehicles to cut down on wind resistance has been around for years.

A simple Google search on "hypermiling" would have returned (at the top) CleanMPG.com where hypermiling techniques are discussed in detail. This site was established by the originator of the term. Drafting is specifically disavowed (dangerous and less effective than other methods), as is running through stop signs and red lights. Safety of various methods is foremost and is as extensively discussed as effectiveness. Don't journalists do research any more?

I've seen more articles than I can count misinforming the public with this picture of an army of reckless geeks hypermiling - any SEEN them? Blind eye is given to an average of 110 Americans killed daily by speeders, drunks, druggies, ragers, distracted...show me even one hypermiling accident.

Check out www.cleanmpg.com for the facts on hypermiling.

P.S.

The picture of the CRX behind the semi....doesn't it look like it's ONE LANE TO THE RIGHT OF THE SEMI (i.e. not drafting?)

How is that purpoted as hypermiling?

If anything, it's the aggressive driving 90% of the vehicles do.

I get tailgated several times a day like that, even with 2-3 lanes to the left of me...some how should I feel gulity for drivers that can't think two seconds ahead....these are nearly everybody that does not hypermiler, BTW.

Correction - I meant CRV - nor CRX behind the semi

Missourians watching their fuel costs should check out the “Save Green on Gasoline” Web page from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Energy Center. It is filled with tips on fuel economy measures and info on driving techniques, car maintenance and trip planning. The site links to Missouri regional carpool organizations and mass transit options and to information on shopping for energy-efficient vehicles. Check it out at www.savegreenongasoline.org
- Kerry Cordray, Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources’ Energy Center

Steve Booher here... I removed a comment by Wayne Gerdes, who is the owner and administrator of the Web site www.cleanmpg.com. While we welcome discussion about the issues and topics of our news stories, Mr. Gerdes' comments were insulting and charged our reporter with knowingly fabricating information. We welcome Mr. Gerdes to participate in this discussion, but urge him to refute the information instead of engaging in personal attacks on our reporters.

I highly suspect Wayne is frustrated - allow me to explain...and to add your article attempted to research hypermiling honestly - just needed additional researching with people with more knowledge of the topic.

He has probably seen about 100 articles this year similar to this that dwell on the extremes, some of which most hypermilers do not use. Over the past year, CleanMPG has stated plainly that drafting is NOT condoned in any way shape or form, yet many articles come out stating WE DO...for a moment put yourself in Wayne's situation...at least 95% of the 8000 members there do not draft and the membership there has stridenly said not to draft...yet numerous articles come out assuming 95% of hypermilers draft inches from semis, roll thru stop signs, obstruct traffic. They may not say it directly, but the bulk of the story is on such things and making an implication this happens frequently, yet I have yet to see documentation.

What about actually interviewing a hypermiler and get their perspective?

I have operated tractor-trailers for almost 30 years now and can't imagine why anyone would think this is a good idea. Have you ever seen the aftermath of a blown out trailer tire at 70 mph? I have and it can be devastating, blowing holes through steel and aluminum like it's an F-16 going through tissue paper. Come on people, use some common sense, the Highway Patrol is spot on.

Misinformation such as this seems to be spreading around Missouri. Hypermiling is by far one of the best ways to show people how to understand and be in total control of their vehicle. It takes a sense of understanding to realize the potential effect of an automobile. Your economic welfare as well as physical well-being can be affected each time you turn the ignition in whatever you drive. If your car is something that you get in, turn the ignition and start rolling, plug in 6 cd's (or MP3 player) to fiddle with, fire up a cigarette, talk on the cellphone, read the newspaper, or put on make-up, you have time and talent enough to learn the intricacies of your auto. I have hypermiled 120,000 miles in 4 years commuting to work. I have not had a speeding ticket and have not had a wreck or hit a deer. This is the polar opposite of my driving record prior to hypermiling. In addition, I have saved over $12,000 in fuel cost. I personally know Mr. Wayne Gerdes and his passion is educating people on how to maximize the economy in whatever they drive. Please contact him or another hypermiler from CleanMPG.com to get the "rest of the story." I would be happy to talk with any affiliates of your paper or the Missouri State Police in Southwestern Missouri.

Well, this one is to the staff. The Denver Post published an article similar to yours back in June or so. After being informed of their errors, they put another article on the front page which was about 1/3 of the front page and covered almost all of page 4 of the front section.

Here is the article: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_9822065

The reporter rode with me to find out what hypermiling actually is and wrote a good article on it.

Inaccurate reporting happens. In my opinion this article is inaccurate reporting. What you have done is the equivalent of saying a hot dog is a pizza and now you want to stand by it. The truthful thing to do is admit you made a mistake. We realize it was an easy one to make. I'd suggest working with Wayne to print a follow-up article.

Hypermiling is a very specific term coined by Wayne Gerdes. Only HE has the ability to define it for you. NOT a state trooper who did "some" research on the matter.

I suggest you title the picture "Truck races by car doing the speed limit" and write an article about that. It's pretty obvious he is in the other lane.

I forgot to comment on Drafting. Drafting is ABSOLUTELY identified as a very unsafe method of driving on CleanMPG. I have taken several long trips on the interstate this year and could have been photographed "as drafting". I drove 55 to 65 mph and was passed by everything. Many of the trucking companies have put speed limiters on their semis. If I was running about 63mph and a semi came upon me at 65 mph, they would pass me and pull back in about 2 car lengths ahead of me. I always eased off of the throttle to get farther away, but this would happen over and over. The picture looks like the semi is in the other lane and could be pulling back in. At any rate, anyone that is hypermiling and educated by the man that coined the ternm (Wayne Gerdes) would NOT be drafting. I agree with 10377586 as a shredded tire is another one of the potential dangers of driving even 300 feet behind a semi.

msirach, you should feel very fortunate not to have ever witnessed the trailer tire situation I mention above. Honestly, it is not safe and it could prove to be fatal. I rode to lunch one day with a lady that drove like that, I asked her to please back off the UPS truck in front of her as I wasn't comfortable with following another vehicle that close. She laughed and told me not to worry. I got out when we reached the stop light at 169 Highway. If one of my kids did this I'd be terribly disappointed in them, they know better. What is wrong with this country when people think it's fine to follow another vehicle at highway speeds distanced by only a few feet? I'll stick with my three second interval at speed, burn a bit more fuel and arrive alive.

10377586,

I hope you read the comments following yours: the vast majority of hypermilers (including CleanMPG) DO NOT ENDORSE OR CONDONE ANY TYPE OF DRAFTING - we are not going to make your life harder. In fact, I frequently get near-sighted aggressive drivers tailgating me that could easily have looked ahead and taken the 2-3 lanes left of me.

One thing not covered in the article is looking and thinking ahead being a basic hypermiling technique

Hey, Deltaflyer, it's called following too close and results in numerous fatalaties every year, maybe some of them are in town but not the fatal ones.

10377586,

Yes, tailgating causes many fatalities a year. That's why you should like hypermilers, as we don't do that. (Don't believe everything you read in a newspaper.)

Tailgating (”Drafting”)
Just like the Nascar pros, hyper-milers have realized that they can save fuel by getting right behind big trucks. I drove past an accident where a car was sandwiched between two 18-wheelers. Without looking closely you would think that the one 18-wheeler rear-ended the other. The remains of the middle car were difficult to spot. After seeing that I am much more careful when driving around 18-wheelers.

Not Worth it

10377586: Sorry if I wasn't clear. I have seen damage from shredded tires. That is part of the reason I fall back from trucks. I don't stay anywhere near them.

The last comment by 10377586 is exactly what hypermilers have been dealing with in the media - repeating incessantly "Hypermiling is Dangerous" without real facts. We don't know the car in the wreck hypermiling, but I'd venture to say they simply were not thinking more. Let's say it was...they will be far outnumbered in the Google hits by accidents caused by speeders, drunks, druggies, distracted - let's focus on 99.9% of the problem on the roads.

A reporter this summer rode with me - let's see if he had a list first hand of dangerous hypermiling > http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/070908dnmethypermiling.35fa7769.html

Please provide some actual evidence hypermiling is dangerous - so far it's underwhelming.

njones60,

If hypermilers were contacted before this story was writen, chancers are it would have given a better picture. A number of sources used for the story admit to being unfamiliar with hypermiling - wouldn't it be better to have people more familiar?

I agree that this would be a great opportunity for a young writer to learn from her hasty and unfactual story telling and to get a broader view of how to truly report a story not just an opinion. It would be great for the News-Press to do the same. Shame on you for not accepting the offer from Wayne - he truly seems informed and impassioned about this activity.

njones60

Per the comments of myself and others in this and many other forms:

Drafting IS dangerous, but hypermiling IS NOT drafting. So many articles are erroneously linking hypermiling to drafting. Might as well say say all bikers are thugs in motorcycle gangs.

Wayne or another hypermiler local to St Joseph could be found for a hypermiler story.

The more I think about your deletion of the deletion of Wayne Gerdes' remarks, the more it is upsetting to me.

It is very similar to castigating a racial group and then disapproving about the way they spoke back against what you said. Had you not made the original false comments, the retaliation would not have been needed.

This is a typical ploy that has been used against groups throughout history. Put that group on a continuous defensive through falsehoods and then attack them when they speak back.

You have had 6 hours or so to admit you made a mistake, yet you have failed to do so. This kind of leads me to believe your fabrication was intentional in order to get an emotional reaction. And a fabrication it was. A false picture on the front page. And simply googling the word hypermiling would have revealed 4 sites with the truth before getting to one that contained the falsehoods.

You might delete this comment. I don't mind. I will consider that proof of your tactics. I've come to expect this from the news media and pretty much ignore anything they say.

Well, I notice you had the time to delete a SECOND post by Wayne while failing to own up to your mistake. Looking for integrity from this newspaper seems to be similar to looking for kosher meat from a pig feedlot.

Eventually, your paper will fail due to your lack of factual reporting.

Well, I just looked through the code of ethics for the ANSE.

This article is applicable:

"ARTICLE IV - Truth and Accuracy. Good faith with the reader is the foundation of good journalism. Every effort must be made to assure that the news content is accurate, free from bias and in context, and that all sides are presented fairly. Editorials, analytical articles and commentary should be held to the same standards of accuracy with respect to facts as news reports. Significant errors of fact, as well as errors of omission, should be corrected promptly and prominently."

Nobody is upset because you made a mistake. What is upsetting is you seemingly refuse to correct it and instead attack those who point out your error.

So, the question arises...do you adhere to this code of ethics or not? If an answer is not forthcoming by 4:00 your time, I'll figure out how to file a complaint with ANSE.

Shalom

This is the definition of "timing lights" as given in www.cleanmpg.com

Timing lights is when you try to avoid stopping at lights by adjusting the speed of the vehicle so you arrive at an intersection while the light is green. By reading signs such as: how long has the light been its current color, is there a flashing crosswalk indicator indicating a light change is coming soon, did the light on the cross street turn yellow (be careful, sometimes there are green turning arrows and your light will remain red) you should be able to get a lot more green lights.

Also, after a while you start looking at not just the light in front of you, but maybe a few lights ahead.

Another technique is Rabbit timing which should have a glossary entry of its own (but it doesn't yet... hint). This is letting faster moving cars around you to trip lights that have sensors. The idea is they get to a red light and trip the sensor and by the time you get there the light is green.

Megan, in an email, you state this is illegal. Can you please have the state trooper from whom you got your information explain how it IS illegal? I want to make sure that the next time I pass through St. Joe on my motorcycle I'm not risking a ticket by arriving at a light when it is green.

I think the real issue here (besides the bewildering and unnecessary deletion of Mr. Gerdes's posts) is the fact that an incredibly ignorant interviewee was consulted as for an expert opinion on the practice of hypermiling.

It is painfully obvious that Ms. Kleinlein has no idea what she is talking about when it comes to hypermiling and is not too strong on auto mechanics either.

Her comments on light timing reveal that she has no idea what the technique really is and her remark that it is somehow more harmful to take a modern car in and out of gear is beyond silly.

Her admitted ignorance should have been enough to force the reporter to seek other sources of information.

Lazy reporting plain and simple.

Megan,

You said in an email that you didn't even see the fabricated picture before publication. I believe that since the photographer is another person. Maybe there are so many hypermilers in St. Joe that he couldn't actually find someone tailgating.

But really, it doesn't matter if you knew or not. The correct thing to do NOW is to admit publically in the paper that the picture was not of someone tailgating. If you don't, not only does it call into question your ethics, but the ethics of the editors of your paper.

Shalom,

Gershon

The email for ANSE is anse@anse.org

I don't know if it will be effective.

Anyway, I've copied all these comments as I suspect all of them will be deleted soon to protect themselves.

I am a hypermiler living in Kansas City, Mo. I am a member of cleanMPG.com. I do not know Wayne Gerdes personally but I have corresponded with him via email on his website. In our correspondence he has never used demeaning, offensive or abusive language, nor has he used obscene language in any of his comments directed towards me or to any other person using that website that I am aware of. I am defending him, not because he needs me to do so, but because I wish to. Mr Gerdes is a well known expert in the field of hypermiling (he coined the term)and as such he deserves the respect of anyone wishing to publish an article on the subject. A failure to allow his comments to stand is tantamount to dis-allowing comments by Robert Jarvik on the creation of an arificial heart.

Shame on stjoenews.net for its callous treatment of the pre-eminent expert in this field!

MichaelH - you need to lighten up. You're stomping around saying "I know this person, and I know that person, and by golly, I'M TELLING ON YOU!!" Give me a break! This article was intended to lightly cover some of the ways people try to save on fuel costs. Who cares if the photo isn't an actual picture of a tail-gater?! In fact, it only mentions "slipstreaming" - whatever that is. All of you who are so up in arms over this article - why, I don't know - but you need to get over yourselves.

I'd love to see how lightheared you would be if you read a one-sided piece on one of your family members or something else dear to you. You might want to educate yourself on slipstreaming and other things hypermiling along with the reporter then comment on the issue rather than other commenters.

what?! So you're saying slipstreaming is "dear" to you, and that's why everybody's fired up?! I read the article before I commented, and now again, and still don't see why all the commotion...?! Okay, here's my comment on the "issue" - nice, informative article.

I knew I didn't like you ninjaman. Read the other posts - I'm not the one who's fired up over a silly article about saving fuel.

I seem to have struck a nerve with the almighty MichaelH. Whatever...

I agree LDM, MichaelH is at best, childish. I made a more detailed post on my position regarding him. You should check it out. Anyway, informative can be perceived on different levels. So, I agree with some of the posters here. While Megan's story could have been more detailed with more research, I see no falsehoods, fabrications or lies. And since everyone is being so petty, technically, in the cut line of the photo that everyone can "so clearly" tell is not directly behind the semi, it doesn't even say that the car is so how's that for far fetched.

what a sexist pig, totally disrespectful to a mother. Is that how you treat your own mother? I sure hope not.

Wow. I don't know if I'm more shocked by such obvious displays of hatred by MichaelH or appreciative of such supportive comments for my being a mom. The irony here is that your last post just goes to prove my earlier comments. You took a three letter word from my user name and transcribed that to mean barefoot, pregnant and a slave to housework. Are we really suppose to believe that you read any of these articles and proceed to have a commonsense thought. That's sad. Yet the truth is that by displaying your rather unintelligent chatter you've managed to become discredited and now the laughing stock of all bloggers on this site.
NOTE: We should all probably not continue on about mothers, housework or questioning whether or not MichaelH even has a mom, because that would be considered straying off topic and might get us shut down.
Ta ta for now. May you all have a great day.

Actually, MichaelH, you were the one to throw out the first cheap shot, by referring to me as "Learning Disabled", a "fool", and an "idiot". And, now that you've begun attacking others, I have to agree that you have discredited yourself, and no one wants to hear what you have to say, other than for the shock value - or perhaps a good laugh.
And Ninjaman, I've changed my mind about you. I can see you're a good guy!