How other drivers treat you

There are so many advanced, less polluting cars around here (not just Prii, but other hybrid and plug-in models too), and have been for such a long time, that I'm generally not feeling any 'special' treatment.

Yesterday I was a target of one particular angry driver who just had to gain two spaces by making two dangerously fast and narrow lane changes in stop-and-go traffic while I was trying to transition from the left lane (just past the Express lane merger into the main line) over to the right. But that seemed more like a generic case of an impatient long distance traveler (British Columbia plates) caught up in the thick of Seattle's very slow afternoon commute, nothing specific to the particular car models obstructing his journey.

 

I live in a place where Priuses are abundant!! Still there are several large SUVs, big trucks with big tires, . . . etc. At work one lady has a Danali and another has a Mini- Cooper. The lady with the Danali says her vehicle is much safer than the Prius due to it's enormous size, and the lady with the mini cooper says the Prius causes more pollution than her car, due to the processing and disposing of the battery. I did not waste my time explaining how safe the Prius is or how the making and disposing of the battery does not cause more emissions. I just know that I love my Prius. Don't let others behavior dictate what you do in any area of life. How far will you go letting others behavior mold you into someone you're not. Be true to yourself. And whenever anyone acts stupid towards you,don't take it personally and just think to yourself, "My car is smarter than yours, and so am I" "Stupid is as stupid does" and "You can't fix stupid"

 

Well, thank you, Coast Cruiser! I thoroughly enjoyed the performance in that video


iPhone 6s +

 

While driving my Camry (non-hybrid) on the interstate, and driving faster than the speed limit, another driver came up beside me and the passenger was hanging out of the window giving me both middle fingers. Don't know why, and don't care why. Life is time, and time is precious. Don't waste one second of your life caring about how some idiots waste theirs.

 

That's dreadful, having to put up with that kind of dangerous driving, possibly because people disrespect the vehicle you drive.

A week ago, while driving home from work, a demented moron driving a 16 year old tatty European MPV (a.k.a. Vauxhall Zafira) decided to try and overtake me on the wrong side in spectacular fashion, discovered that he had misjudged his manoeuvre, and cut in too early, almost writing off "The Spaceship" in the process.

The fact that I was travelling at the speed limit, carrying considerable momentum didn't seem to matter. This "bleep"hole swerved to avoid the Mercedes car in front of him he was idiotically racing towards, and decided he'd rather side swipe my Prius instead. Fortunately, I saw what he was doing, and didn't rise to the bait, by going to warp speed in an attempt to show him the Prius is no slouch. If I had, there would have been the most horrendous accident right in the middle of rush hour.

Thank goodness for ABS, good emergency hydraulic brakes that work, and 4 high quality relatively new tyres with barely any wear showing after 9 months of commuting.

The second I realised what manoeuvre the hoodie in the Vauxhall Zafira was callously, stupidly executing, my foot slammed down on the brake pedal, pushing it to the floor (at least, it felt like that). The nose of The Spaceship dipped heavily, as the hydraulics and ABS kicked in, bringing me to an emergency halt in an instant. Time seemed to slow down, as the entire side of the ugly tatty Vauxhall Zafira ominously loomed closer and closer. I waited for the horrendous bang and heart rending scrapping noises of metal on metal....that incredibly, never came.

Indeed, I had braked so hard, my onboard CCTV dash cam unit which was online, registered the enforced gravitational shock, and switched to accident save mode, signalling this with a loud piercing beep.

Somehow, I'd avoided a terrible collision. I was also lucky not to have been struck from the rear. Had I have been unlucky enough to have had a huge fully laden tipper truck hovering behind my bumper matching my already 40mph (the limit for that road), I would have had the rear of my Prius smashed in, putting my life at risk.

Meanwhile, "Hoodie in a Zafira" sailed off down the road, seemingly oblivious to the unimaginable carnage he'd narrowly caused, but quickly came to a halt in congested traffic barely 70 metres ahead.

A temporary red mist descended on me, as I contemplated arming a full spread of photon torpedoes, and letting him have it. Then I downgraded that to targeting his illegally worn tyres with narrow beam phaser fire. Then decided I should at least get a good look at the retarded chimp masquerading as a human, attempting to drive the Zafira, before I decided on a course of action.

Ironically, the lane he had just vacated was moving freely, so I switched lanes easily without antagonising anyone and swiftly pulled up alongside him. I was presented with the sight of two gormless "bleep"holes, both in sunglasses, the driver with his hoodie, both looking rigidly straight ahead where they stood in congested traffic, afraid of looking at me. They knew exactly what they'd done - especially the fruitcake at the wheel. It took milliseconds of risk assessment to realise they didn't have enough brain cells between them, to actually qualify as sentient. They'd both lowered their seats to the floor (a peculiar fad around here, considered cool), so that their heads were barely able to see over the windscreen or steering wheel.

My lane moved on, leaving them stuck in congestion. I slowly, silently cruised away from them in EV mode, Vulcan logic deciding it wasn't even worth a confrontation with the driver, who was doubtlessly a moron of the least kind. The entire incident was caught on HD video anyway, and I toyed with the idea of sending the police a copy. Except nothing would get done anyway.

I should have let them have a full spread of photon torpedoes after all. But, I suppose blowing the relatively innocent passenger up would be somewhat unethical.

It did occur to me much later, that they might have been trying a "Crash for cash" insurance scam on me, though evidence from my discreetly placed dash cam would have earned them a spell in the slammer instead of thousands of pounds in compensation.

Online records later revealed the old Zafira had 146,000 miles on the clock (unusual for that kind of MPV which is famous for spontaneously bursting into flames without warning), was worth about £500 at most, and was on the verge of mechanically falling apart. The perfect car for that sort of crime.

That's what you get for driving a Prius in London. Sometimes




iPhone 6s +

 

That sure reminds me of California!!

 

I rarely see any Prius on the road that is traveling slower or doing anything more stupid than anyone else on the road.

I think that other drivers have a pre-conceived notion about Prius drivers, and it's that notion that pisses the other drivers off, not necessarily the reality of what the driver is actually doing.

The Prius became the poster-child car for the "hey look at me, I'm being eco-conscious" crowd. Hollywood celebs bought them and made a big deal about being seen in them, to enhance their green image, or to make them look like they cared about the environment. That was all well publicized. The stereotype became that Prius drivers were smug, faux eco-conscious people. Being a society that collectively takes pleasure in taking down the smug, the Prius effectively became a target for the aggressive folks on the road. Even normal people are affected....every single time my dad sees a Prius on the road, his first instinct is "I can't be passed by that!" So he speeds up to get in front of it.

I see that last bit every day on my commute. I drive 220-230 miles per day round trip on my commute, 90% of which is on a four-lane divided highway (2 lanes each direction). Every day, at least once, if I move to the left lane to go around someone, they will speed up as I pass them, or if I do manage to get around them, they immediately pull out to pass me. Then as soon as they're in front of me, like clockwork, they revert to their previous speed, causing me to pass them...again. My speed isn't varying...I use the heck out of the cruise control, usually set to 5-8 mph over the limit. That scenario rarely happened before I got a Prius.

So yeah...I love the Prius. I love the fact that it makes my commute easy and affordable. But the Prius has an image problem that makes other drivers get stupid.

 

I'm really trying KimPrius4... Doing my best to have a nice peaceful retirement.

But then another part of me is thinking, How can us Prius drivers fight back?!

 

And now it seems that most Hollywood celebs/Entertainers drive big, blacked-out, gas-guzzling SUV's.

I had no idea, that when I bought a Prius I might be subjected to the kinds of incidents being described here.

 

On a similar topic, has anyone experienced vandalism being done to your Prius? Or heard of any incidents?

 

I presently drive a Yaris Hybrid (due to be replaced with a Prius in 12 was) and haven't noticed people being any more aggressive towards the car. What I do notice though is there is a distinct difference in the number of aggressive drivers in London to the rest of the country.

 

yes, there's a new thread with damaged plastic trim on doors. sun or vandalism?

 

I own and drive several distinctly different vehicles. Each of them receive their own unique reactions from other drivers. It's really amazing to experience.

However, my Prius definitely gets most of the stereotypical reactions everyone else experience.

 

As the years go by, the testosterone tapers off, and it's easier to just stay the course.

It's sad, people, instead of being courteous and helpful, just leap on, when someone's made an error.

 

Other drivers didn't bother me when driving my 2011 Prius.
But if I were to buy another Prius, I would be very angry with myself once the purchase honeymoon is over, then I would become sad and mildly depressed until it is sold.
But, I identified several deal breakers so I'll be dodging that bullet.

 

I had a 300 ZX I was always driving way too fast . I take the Prius any time. I think people are driving like zombies in away like if they have to cut you off or pass you real fast. I just laugh. I am getting what I need from my car.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

In ALL of my other cars I ALWAYS drove over the speed limit and had to set my cruise control to keep from getting more speeding tickets. I received two speeding tickets (over several years), and both times were when I had not set my cruise control. Since getting my first ever Hybrid Prius it has amazed me how differently I drive. I no longer need to set my cruise control and have slowed down enough to start enjoying my driving experience. While driving today a small fawn was standing nearly in the road and I was going slow enough to watch as the little thing stepped off the road and into the woods. I'm not exactly sure what a Zen zone is, but I think I've found mine. and I'm lovin' it!!

I guess we could all start driving like idiots. Put it in "Power" mode and see how fast we can go, cut people off, pass them, then get in front of them and slow way down, dart in and out of lanes, speed off from all red lights, or just drive right through them giving the finger as we go. But, . . . . that's just not who we are, is it? Maybe what we could do is declare one day a year, when all Prius drivers turn into ******* drivers, and then post our most outrageous, idiotic, driving experiences on here, to see who can get the most likes. I would have to drive nearly an hour to get to a city or interstate. But, name the date and I'm in!!

 

you crack me up kim, how is it you figured out the prius zen so fast?

 

I don't know, but it hit me the moment I first sat in the drivers seat. It's like the car was me, and I was the car. We just fit together perfectly