[Q] No respect and bad road manner from other driver?

i wish it were like that everywhere, starbuck mellow.

 

has happened to me as well

 

here you go. "People that drive aggressively and angry. Losers" you are as good at stereotyping as "they" who might say say that "prius drives are slow and losers."

the human nature is to align themselves with one group and hate the other group. you are not above it mister (and many others who posted here).

 

Alright, I did a search online, and I guess Prius hate does exist, I've just never experienced it.

For those wanting to alleviate the issue, I would make a point to avoid any feelings of supremacy or any exacerbating behaviors, such as pass-blocking, acceleration demonstrations or engaging other drivers. We are, after all, just humans driving cars. If confrontational behaviors are experienced, we should make a point not to be reactive--just leave more space or take a different route. Reaction is the objective of these behaviors. If within speaking range, I would probably laugh and tell them "I used to not care for 'em either", which in my case was true!

For example, I believe this Prius driver is clearly in the wrong, and I can't help but agree with some of the comments (pardon the video title and description, possibly NSFW):

youtube.com/watch?v=SpFHf0HwaDc

 

haha, I understand slow and traffic pending drivers can be annoying no matter if they are driving prius or not. but I can tell you that strangely I haven't seen many haters since started driving rav4 hybrid even though I'm driving it a lot slower than I did with prius so I can achieve 40 mpg in average one day. And I don't see those jerks anymore. Mostly people are just passing me nicely without any fingers or cutting off involved, lol.

SAMSUNG-SM-N915A ?

 

That's a rather intriguing observation.

Methinks some people rage at the actual iconic Prius shape for a varying range of reasons - not at the actual HSD technology itself. Drive a Yaris Hybrid or an Auris Hybrid and you might be completely ignored in certain places.

I'm not sure if I should blame 'South Park' for the artificial ignominy that has been heaped on the iconic shaped Gen II and similarly silhouetted Gen III Prii, thanks to that "Smug Alert" episode. Perhaps the hate existed long before then.

I also have a theory I'm working on, that the very shape of the latter mentioned Prii models somehow triggers some kind of primal rage in the haters. Exactly how and why is anybody's guess.

Do those models really look too alien for our roads? Is that silently gliding humped shape subconsciously reminiscent of a road going UFO?
From a Mulder & Scully point of view, Dogs have been repeatedly reported fearfully barking at UFOs that appear close to their location. The way they bark seems to indicate they're disturbed by the appearance of something they do not understand - and doesn't fit into anything else they can specifically classify from a canine point of view.

Is it the high pitched barely audible sound of the HSD in action that's upsetting some haters? Perhaps it's the lack of a primitive snarling and grunting V8 ICE propulsion unit, making the body flex and shudder as it growls, while belching out hydrocarbons like it's 1999?

You'll virtually never see a Prius standing at the traffic lights, revving its engine, like other vehicles can do. Owners of vehicles with stop start technology must have their hackles rising at the back of their necks, when from a silent standing start, a Prius accelerates away without the customary starter motor making it's guttural stutter to bring that Prius to life.

Subconsciously, do some non Prius owners think there are dark forces afoot here? Witchcraft perhaps? Mr or Mrs Bloggs who, leaving early in the morning choose to leave their Cul de Sac in EV mode probably scare the life out of the neighbours because their weird car leaves the area with barely a sound.....and returns just as quietly?

Yes, of course I'm being tongue in cheek about some of this.....but.....guess what?

The truth is out there

p.s. Oops!! I have no idea how this happened, but my post above was really in response to G3priusV's last post regarding observations while driving a RAV4 Hybrid.

(Blushing furiously)

 

This is one of several factors. If you Google for Keith Bradsher's book - The High and The Mighty, he goes into this on marketing SUVs. Designers intentionally made them big, menacing, powerful because they knew many drivers would buy them over more practical reasons. And we have been around guys in person and online that have the urge to speed, as if it validates their manhood.

 

Some of the reasons I came across in research (not personally) include a perceived "holier than thou" mentality, frustrating driving technique and association with liberal politics (we are unfortunately very politically divided in the US). I suspect there may also be some underlying fear regarding the possibilities of restricted liberties in terms of future vehicle selection, and other lifestyle choices.

 

If I'm doing 50 km by the speedo, the garmin, or a roadside radar sign, will say somewhere between 48 and 50, typically 49. Is it that critical to go the "limit"? Remember way back when in days of yore, that was the upper limit, lol. Some kids (and elders that should know better) literally invert that premise, say it's open season on anyone who abides by it.

 

i remember analog speedo's, you could hardly tell how fast you were going.

 

Yeah, the good 'ol fudgy days.

 

The drivers going way under the speed limit are the problem. I drive about 150k miles a year ( 18 wheeler) there is nothing like running along at 75mph (speed limit in Texas ) Your in the right lane cresting a hill with a car beside you in left lane and you come up on a DA hyper miler doing 55 just over the hill. You now have a choice of running over him or running the other guy down into the median. Some choice, ether way its your fault but you can't slow down 80,000 las as fast as people think you can. Real slow drivers get people mad and they take chances and create dangerous situations trying to get around the slow poke.

 

That's not good, and I know truckers have challenges dealing with other drivers.

I know what I see on the road - way more people speeding than going real slow. There are just not that many really slow drivers out there....when posters talk about it as if it's one out of ten or one out of five drivers, it really suggests they have issues (maybe not in your case in an 18-wheeler.) This was directed more at an earlier poster that willfully pretends one out of five members on PriusChat are driving their cars like a farm tractor....he's wishing for an autobahn, trollling, or both.

 

why don't you move into the left lane? is there a minimum for the right? this happens to me all the time. i'm tooting along in the slow lane, and two cars come up behind me doing the same speed. why can't one follow the other? do they own the road?

 

it's not as much the speeders as it is the people weaving in and out, jockeying for position.

 

We are not supposed to be in the left lane on most roads and then you have the idiot in the 3,000 lb car staying in the left lane right beside the 80,000b truck.

 

sounds like a rock and a hard place. but i think people in the right lane should be able to go the legal minimum. the powers that be can raise it if the deem it necessary.

 

I agree when I go on a 1300 mile trip in my Prius I only pass about 3 or 4 other Prius's. I normally drive 5 to 10 mph over the speed limit and still get 45 mpg. The people that drive the Prius like any other car you never hear from on this forum, only the ones that are obsessed with fuel mileage and tire pressure.

 

guilty as charged your honor.

 

They do have that right but don't you think that the ones going 45 are a hazard to the ones doing the speed limit of 75 or 80. Especially at night