Prius drivers don't get any respect!

i agree 100%! if you aren't an aggressive driver these days, you shouldn't be on the road, seems to be the rule. even the cops feel that way.

 

Other threads have covered this problem. You are correct, and I have noticed the same thing driving different vehicles. If you are doing a consistent 75 on the freeway, you are not taking full advantage of the fuel economy the PiP offers. I tend to stay to the right lanes and drive at about 60 mph, unless traffic is heavy and I want to use the HOV lane. It seems nobody wants to follow a Prius, figuring they are slow. Once in a while I will find someone following me at a safe distance for an extended time. I figure that person has realized that driving for economy in a Prius will work if applied to other cars as well, either that or the other driver is just zoned out completely. The thing with discourteous driving, including unsafe lane changes and failing to signal seems to happen regardless of which car I'm driving. The old "me first" thing, I guess.

 

Karma's a bitch. I had a lady in a minivan behind me aggressively change lanes to pass me and then cut me off back into my lane getting onto the ramp from the 405S to the 105E (mind you I was going 50 mph and traffic was going 5 mph on the overpass), only to crash into the car in front of me once we got to the stopped traffic. I felt sorry for the guy she hit, but as I drove passed her I had to honk and smile.

Moreso with my PiP than C, I've learned to drive less aggressively and smarter in the sense of efficiency, such as not speeding up when I see the entire freeway stopped a hundred feet ahead and braking a bit early. During rush hour, I do drive 68 mph in the carpool lane when possible to move that fast, but if there's someone that really wants to pass me I'll move over and get back into the carpool lane when possible. When the freeway is open, I'll hang out in the right lanes (and still get tailgated when the entire freeway is open). It comes with driving "one of them holier-than-tho hiiiighbreeeeds" (especially the Prius).

 

This impression comes up time and time again.

So I have to think there is some degree of truth to it.

But I do also think it get's blown out of proportion.

The Prius is an iconic automobile, with a shape and look that is recognizable.

So do other drivers sometimes recognize a Prius, apply value judgments to the vehicle, and how they "imagine" it is going to be driven? Perhaps. I've been aggressively passed by drivers of Cars, Trucks and SUV's.

But I don't want to be too paranoid. Occasionally it might have something to do with my driving a Prius, but judging from how fast some of these A-Holes are going? My guess is that they would be aggressively passing me regardless of what I was driving.

In any case, I don't care. Anyone "stupid" enough to not respect all vehicles on the road, and drive safely with that in mind, is going to be a bad driver regardless of what I am driving.

 

I have driven a Prius lift back for 5 years now. I do not get tail gated,cut off, flipped off, honked at or dirty looks, I suspect because I accelerate and run with the flow of traffic. If your being a road slug, impeding traffic at all in the search for unrealistically high mpg, your just another obstacle in the way of most bored, tired, upset drivers,, and you will be treated as such. I find that you can run with traffic and still make higher mpg than anything but another Prius, without becoming a hated Prius road slug.

 

i'm thinking of using your 'road slug' as a bumper sticker.

 

I got tired of this bulling too. Now I have been driving aggressively and bulling all those trucks outhtere .....

 

I never did drive "aggressively" and even less so now often (but not always) with 60 mph on the highway as mentioned above. Yes, I notice the "Prius Effect". When the car zooms by and cuts in I just imagine their gas bill and wonder when their next accident will happen. There are rules about speeds and driving. I try to obey those about high speeds as well as slow speeds.

 

This. I honestly think people completely forget this. Also, I do wish the rules were set properly such that it actually makes sense to follow AND enforce them.

 

I think that there is a lot of "Prius Hate" on both sides of the windshield.
Depending on which of the dozen "TriState" areas you call home, you're probably just dealing with normal urban driving.

Three solutions come to mind:
1. Ride a motorcycle for a few months. If your concerns are based on an automotive Napoleonic complex, this approach will pretty much make that go away.
2. Put duct tape over your mirrors.
The G3 is shaped like door-stop. This means that you're not dragging three feet of trunk and bumper behind you. The cars in the RVM are probably not as close as they appear to be - despite what it says on the outside passenger mirror. 99.44 percent of "Prius Hate" that's not caused by people pulsing and gliding on the interstate in rush hour traffic is normal door dings and/or traffic following about as closely as it always does in the sloburbs.
In other words.....WADR to what the Electric Guy posted?
People usually don't ask themselves how many Priuses they can force into a ditch on their way to work in the morning.
3. Look for a problem between the seat and the steering wheel. Angle your inside rear-view-mirror down a little (take the duct-tape off first) and ask the person that you see looking back at you if you're driving any differently than you were Pre-Prius.
I am.
I've found that MY driving is much more relaxed in a Prius, and has been over the last three and a half years, but I pretty much don't give a rats whether somebody "respects" me or not.

Just a thought.


Good Luck!

 

A recent Mythbusters episode compared the SF->San Jose drive down US 101, between aggressively changing lanes to get ahead, and sticking to one lane. The aggressive lane changers came in ahead by about three minutes on a trip of about hour fifteen minutes. They did not discuss the gasoline mileage between the two; they did note that the lane changer tended to end up a nervous wreck.

 

Yes, there are some Prius-haters out there, especially here in oil & gas country. But I always know I'll have the last-laugh, getting at least 2-5 times more miles per gallon than most of them.

 

there are always people who races to next traffic light just to slam on the breaks and wait for the green light.
they might save few minutes here and there, but they will also spend more time pumping gas.

 

I generally agree, but occasionally I'll astound a driver riding my bumper on a road I know very well. In my opinion, my Prius handles very well, and I'm not afraid to push mine when desired.

I'm sure I've earned the respect from a few people who never thought they'd see a Prius run away from them because they couldn't keep up.

 

It was Traffic Tricks -- Aug. 7, 2014. I don't know where the full episode can be found, but 2014 Episode Guide : Discovery Channel is a start.

 

5 years with my Prius and I have never seen disrespect or unusual tailgating. No more so than other cars I have owned. Like others have said you earn respect by first giving respect.