RV Driving Etiquette

RVs of various kinds, by their very nature, tend to be large and cumbersome and usually slow especially on hills or curvy roads.   Very often the drivers are in unfamiliar territory.  But that doesn't mean they have to be traffic hazards!  Poor driving is what makes them hazards.  I recently had the experience of driving over 100 miles on two-lane, mountain roads in my passenger car.   I am sad to report that virtually every RV I encountered was impeding traffic and ignored numerous opportunities to pull over and allow the traffic that was backing up behind them pass. Very rude!  They were obviously intimidated by the combination of their vehicle and the mountain road and were driving way below the posted speed limit.  This kind of behavior is inexcusable!  Most of these rigs were identifiable as rentals so the drivers were probably inexperienced, but that is no excuse for creating a traffic hazard.  Yes, big, heavy rigs are slow.  And, yes, many drivers are intimidated by mountain roads.  But all you have to do to be a good citizen is watch your rear view mirror and, when traffic starts to back up behind you, pull over and let them go around.   In California and many other states the law REQUIRES you to pull over if there are 4 or more vehicles behind you. regardless of how fast or slow you are driving.   In any state, common courtesy demands you pull over when ever you are holding up any traffic.  Not only is it courteous, it is a safety issue.  Often the legal opportunities for passing are few and far between on mountain roads and impatient drivers may be inclined to attempt to pass when it isn't safe.  Not only do they risk a head on collision with oncoming traffic, which they may not be able to see around an RV until it is too late, any evasive action or accident they may be involved in is likely to affect the RV they are passing.  For your own safety, as well as a courtesy to other drivers, pull over and let them go around!  Any time you lose waiting for traffic to go around you will be insignificant compared to the time you'll lose if you're involved in an accident! 

Some drivers may try to justify their failure to pull over by claiming it is too hard and takes too long to get those big rigs moving again.   It is true that getting back up to speed on steep hills is difficult, but in most situations there are alternating up and down hill stretches so pulling over at the top so you have gravity to help you get going faster down the other side or pulling over on a down grade or on the level is usually an option.  And when it is not, the time you might lose pulling over and getting going again is nothing compared to what you would lose due to an accident from someone attempting to pass you -- or to how much of other drivers' time you're wasting.

On many mountain roads turn outs will be clearly posted and slower vehicles should use them whenever there are other vehicles behind them.  Even when turn outs aren't posted, savvy drivers will look ahead and take advantage of places they can get over to let traffic get around them.

Some other things you can do to minimize your negative impact on other traffic includes reducing the amount of weight you're hauling.   Lighten the load if/when you can.  Periodically go through your RV and get rid of unnecessary items.   If you are going to have a way to fill your water tank at your destination, bring along only what you'll use during the trip.   Water is very heavy:  8 pounds per gallon. A 100 gallon tank will contain 800 pounds of water when full.  You can probably get by with 5-10 gallons on the road, only 40-80 pounds.  That saves you more than 700 pounds!   Not only will you have better acceleration and climb hills with less effort, you may even save on gas. Think about it:  800 pounds is about 20-25% of the weight of an average car.   Imagine what loading 1/4 of an extra car onto your daily driver would do to the gas mileage and acceleration!

When caravaning with other RVs leave plenty of space between rigs to give other drivers room to pass you one at a time.   Try to signal other drivers when it is safe to pass by driving as close to the right shoulder as possible so they can see around you.   If someone attempts to pass you when there is oncoming traffic, slow down and keep right to allow them to get around you as quickly as possible. NEVER accelerate when someone is trying to pass you and NEVER speed up when you reach a legal passing zone.  RVs are not going to win the race, even if the vehicle passing you is a semi!  Passing lanes are clearly marked "keep right except when passing", and yes, that means YOU!  By the way, speeding up when someone attempts to pass you is illegal in most states as well as discourteous!

So what if someone passes you?  Sometimes our instinctive competitive nature drives us be offended or get angry when someone passes us.   I had an experience once that really put things into perspective for me.  I was on a long trip with my Grandmother riding the front seat with me so I was being especially cautious.   Even though I was driving the speed limit, the fellow behind me, who had been tailgating me for miles, got impatient and sped around me.   I quipped: 'Go on, run ahead and spring the traps for me'.  Not five miles later I passed the same vehicle where he had been pulled over by a state trooper.   So sometimes letting people pass you is a really good thing!  My teen age son once observed a fancy sports car weaving in and out of traffic for more than 50 miles on the freeway through Los Angeles and when they both coincidentally arrived at the same rock concert venue, the speeding Porche was only 2 cars ahead of him in line.  He had to have used up a lot of extra fuel and put a lot of extra wear on his brakes and drive train for virtually nothing, to say nothing of the nerves of drivers around him and perhaps his passengers and his own.

Play nice!