Tips & tricks for the “normal†driver to achieve satisfying fuel efficiency on the Prius Gen 3

After longer than I expected I finished a new article on my blog that might be of interest to PC readers, especially newbies. You can find it here.
Comments and corrections for errors, are welcome.
Please bear in mind that the post is intended for people who do not want to worry too much about P&G and the such, but rather simply drive the car from A to B.

 

SageBrush, my blog article is not about driving "normally", is about "normal" people who didn't buy a car to P&G and resort to overinflating tires and block grills to get FE improvements. Moreover, those who want to drive "normally" and don't want to change their habits, will not read my article or dismiss it - clearly you need to be an open minded driver to accept any, if all, of the tips I mention.
How would you title the blog post then? Did you read it?

 

Thanks for the proposed corrections (applied) - a lack of punctuation also was the problem.
I agree with your statement, as I also mentioned at the end of the article, though a few tips are truly Prius spefic. Those who buy a Prius sometimes, as I read in the PC posts, are somewhat annoyed they don't get the FE they expect, and then after applying the hints and suggestions from more experienced PC drivers, they very soon head towards the FE they dreamed of before getting the car...this is also why I wrote the article. A one-stop-shop for anybody getting a new Prius, to remind them how to get FE on the Prius, and on any car out there whever applicable...

Thanks here as well for the corrections (changed already). For no. 6 I meant (I added a note for this) the flow as descrived in point 2. Because for me it is first and foremost important to keep the Prius flowing as smoothly as possible - then, it is important to keep the flow within the traffic flow. So to answer your question, yes and no...

 

I leave the decision on which route to take to work my Tomtom Go Live 1000
Actually one tip I forgot to write is - get a Navigation device fitted with "live" services like HD Traffic from Tomtom - one of the best ways to save fuel.
Unfortunately I don't think it is yet available in the US using mobile phone positions, but this page from Tomtom hints to something very similar. It uses the position of mobile phones and their travel times through mobile network cells. A white paper about it here.

 

If we manage to get a Wiki, then my articles will not be needed anymore...
I have linked your video - the audio is not that good unfortunately but for those who do not want to read, the video is another way to get the message across...

 

Hi Son of Gloin!
Thanks for your comments and let me explain what I meant. In EU the use of lights is not the same as in the US, I think - hence the misunderstanding - if I figure out what you mean, I can edit the article to make it more clear.

All cars in EU have "position lights"; if these are called in the US "park lights" - I don't know anymore, based on your comment - I think I have made a wrong translation... .
Position lights are the lights within the headlight optical group positioned to the front. For the back the LEDs will be turned on on a "low" setting. There are no lights on the sides - EU cars have no side markers.

The next step in light intensity is DRL - Daytime Running Lights, which are compulsory starting 02.2011 in all EU on all new EU approved cars - since the Prius 3 was certified for EU roads before this date, it will not get DRL as is. Unless Toyota changes it's mind in the future. All cars that get the OK for EU roads after 02.2011 must have DRLs. Please note that I said "OK for EU roads" and not "being sold". Cars sold after 02.2011 can still not have DRLs if the car was approved for EU roads before this date. DRLs are at the front and are dimmer than headlights, but more powerful than "position lights" - typically now are always done with white LEDs, but there is no regulation in the EU about what type of light is used, I think the regulation talks only of intensity and light spread/position.

Then you have headlights - to be used at night or in bad lighting situation (tunnels, heavy rain/fog, etc.).

The last step are flash lights, to be used only when no cars are approaching in the opposite direction and no car is preceding me on the same lane/direction), to illuminate to the max the road in front of you (typically I use them on country roads, traffic permitting).

Some EU countries, like Nordic countries, have since years, the regulation that headlights need to be on at all times. When headlights are on, position lights are also on, on all EU sold cars.

There are also fog lights, but these need to be used exclusively with fog or heavy rain in no-traffic roads, since they are stronger and have a different beam orientation as the DRLs.

On the Prius I can choose therefore during normal driving to have either all lights off, or keep the position lights on, or the headlights + position lights.
Depending on the ambient light conditions, one can keep the lights off, or keep the position lights on, for extra visibility to other drivers/pedestrians, etc. On cars with DRLs, these will be always on; headlights will need to be used only during the night, in tunnels (especially if not lit), or in cases visibility is not optimal.
So, in my case, I can use position lights, instead of headlights, if the visibility conditions are good.
E.g. If I have a car accident during the day and my lights are off and the visibility conditions were normal, I will not be fined or considered guilty because I did not have my headlights turned on.

So, I tend to keep the parking/position lights turned on, during the day in city traffic, since I don't have DRLs, and I think it is better than no lights at all. But I will keep the headlights turned off to save energy, since I am also not compelled to do that by law/regulation.
If the conditions are not optimal, I need to turn on the headlights in any case.

Those with DRLs simply have no option, since DRLs are on always in any case.

I hope this clarification helps. If that is the case, then I need to understand how my text is not clear or misleading so that I can rephrase it. Please let me know.