Three-dimensional IMP 8 and Voyager 2 plasma and field data are used to investigate the relative changes in direction of the velocity and magnetic field vectors across tangential discontinuities in the solar wind. It is found that Δv and ΔB/&rgr;1/2 are closely aligned either parallel or antiparallel to each other in the sense associated with the propagation of Alfv¿n waves or rotational discontinuities outward from the sun. This alignment is observed at all solar distances between 1 and 2.2 AU and is independent of the solar wind stream structure. Several possible causes of the effect are briefly discussed, including interplanetary turbulence, the propagation of large-amplitude Alfv¿nic fluctuations traveling independently through the solar wind on both sides of the discontinuities, and the propagation of surface waves on tangential discontinuities.