Prius - Invisible to truck drivers

Prior to owning my Prius, I had only been hit by someone once in 15 years of driving. That time I was stopped at a red light in a 1996 Subaru Legacy and rear ended by a guy in an older Ford Ranger that didn't stop.

In just over a year of owning my 2012 PiP, I've been hit by 3 people in trucks.

The first incident was my neighbor backing up his lifted Ford pickup truck in the neighborhood. I realized he wasn't paying attention and started driving away, but he still smashed my tail light with his rear bumper. No damage done to his old steel bumper.

A few weeks after that, while in stop and go traffic on I-5, a guy bumped into me with his truck. He had a bull bar style front bumper that was undamaged. Fortunately the damage to the Prius was just a couple minor scratches to the rear bumper. I didn't bother making a claim since it was so minor and the kid was very responsible (besides paying attention to traffic).

Today my wife was backed into by a Jeep. She was parked 15 feet behind him on the shoulder of a road. For some reason, instead of just pulling forward onto the road, he aggressively reversed without looking.



Is the Prius more difficult to see than other vehicles, or do truck drivers just go around driving without looking?

I'll probably just take a check from his insurance company and keep an eye out at the junk yard for a front bumper cover and foam. I don't really care what the car looks like as long as it functions properly.

 

Doh, that sucks Bisco. Doesn't your PiP have a backup camera?

I hold your opinion in the highest regard, but I find the Prius to have excellent visibility out the rear; better than anything else I've been in. The lower glass allows you to see closer to the rear bumper than other vehicles. I can even (just barely) see the jet ski when I'm backing down a boat ramp if I push my head up into the ceiling.

Sounds like there was a reason why no parking was allowed where that Merc was parked. They should at least get a parking violation.

... and I also drive a Dodge Ram 2500 diesel, but have never hit anyone.

 

I too notice people have a special kind of disdain for the Prius and act even more jerky than they normally do.

I have passed a guy on the freeway in the middle lane (7 mph over speed limit with cruise control) and then moved into the right lane, only to have that guy zoom out and around me, move back into the right lane, and then slam on the brakes to take the exit. He had been going slower than me for miles, but for some reason couldn't accept that he got passed by a Prius, and just barely passed me in time to dangerously make his exit.

It's annoying how gutless the Prius is because some people simply won't let you pass them, even though nobody takes twisting roads as fast as I do. Once I hit a straight section to pass, the jerks speed up.

My neighbor still hasn't paid me for half of the cost to replace the light he backed into. I ordered the cheapest one I could find on Amazon and replaced it myself. His mentality seems to be that it's my fault for not driving a tank that can hold its own when another tank backs into it. Maybe I should back into him with my Dodge diesel? Survival of the fittest!

 

Yes, I'll likely be moving next year due to my wife's requirement to find a job in a rural town in Oregon.

I've got a helicopter on the shopping list too. I'll be looking for a "fuel efficient" chopper. The Robinson R22 gets about 13 MPG