What I've learned about hypermiling part I

Maybe i'm not that smart but i think slamming on the brakes and letting a 2-3 ton truck or suv slam into my prius could change the rest of my life, I could be in pain the rest of my life or killed.

I see it at least 2-4 times a week, a small car is totaled by a large truck/SUV i'm talking new cars that are worth 20-30k and the suv's and truck will end up with a 0-1,000 repair bill. it's not a fare fight thats why i am saying i belive these people in large trucks/suvs that tailgate me are driving with intent to inflect serious harm to my body, and there should be a law that protects my right to defend my body/life!!! If someone goes up to me in public and starts swinging a tire iron around me i have a right to defend myself, even if the person says they were not going to hit me only scare me, I HAVE A RIGHT TO DEFEND MY BODY FROM HARM BY OTHERS. BUT NOT ON THE RAOD????????

 

The Prius can be tricky because of P&G. While gliding you are slowing down, just without the visible signs of the brake lights as an indicator to those behind you. I believe this might be part of the reason Prius owners feel tailgated more often.

When I get a tailgater on my butt i don't slam my brakes, but I do give them a warning tap to back them off, and I just keep doing it until they back off or go around. I'm not looking for a lawsuit, just a little breathing room for safety.

 

Actually, at least in all the places I've lived, slamming on your brakes for no reason constitutes at the very least reckless driving, and can easily land you a ticket. Which can at the very least have you be partially at fault for any accident that happens as a result. And if the investigation shows that you intentionally slammed on your brakes to cause an accident the entire thing can end up being thrown in your lap. And at least some auto insurance won't cover damage to your car if the determination is that you cause it purposefully.

 

If there are lanes they can use to pass me I generally don't even tap my brakes. I just take my foot off the gas. Eventually I slow down enough that they'll pass me.

I haven't really noticed getting tailgated any more with my Prius than I was in my previous car (Highlander). Maybe it is a regional thing...

 

After warm-up, I don't PnG but I do like to get on two-lane, access roads (one way) and set my cruise control at say 28-32 mph while in the right hand lane. Sure enough, there are folks who will run up behind me and not pass. If the left lane is open, I change lanes, they pass me on the right, and I move back to the slow lane.

Sometimes, they scamper up a 100 yards and then brake to make a right turn. Other times, I am behind them at the next red light. Regardless, I'm pretty laid back about it and it does not really bother me. Heck, I consider it a courtesy extended to the other drivers.

Bob Wilson

 

i have been pissing off the driving populace of the Olympia, WA area for 5 plus years now...still see em seething on a daily basis and i used to do it alone, but ya know what?

i now notice that i have company. others are driving even SLOWER than me!!. its great, i have started a trend!! i still see people pointing at my license plates in the Safeway parking lot.

the sun is shining and i feel good

 

Dave,

I've been doing it for a long time myself and seldom am I actually obstructing the angry drivers from behind.

Throw in rudeness on the roads along with similar acts like Serena Williams blowup, Rep Joe Wilson's heckling of the President, Kanye West's hijack of Taylor Swift's award

 

ya, i maybe be magnifying my effect on the psyche of the drivers around here. most are ok with it knowing that traffic wont allow them to get there quicker no matter what i do. but i always get that guy who will go flying around me just to cut back in front of me to slam on his brakes so he is in front of me at the light. see that at least 2-3 times a week. granted i drive the same route, maybe its always the same guy??

 

Dave,

I think the psychologists would say the driver flying to the left of you has a low EQ (Emotional Quotient)

 

but.... they were following too close, it's their fault, end of story.

 

I have to agree with you that maybe slamming on the brakes just to let someone slam into the back of you and teach them a lesson isn't such a good idea.

But you see cars totaled 2-4 times A WEEK?? Where on earth do you live?? I'd sure avoid that area.

 

Perhaps 2-4 times a week is a small exaggeration, but I agree with you 110%. Playing tricks like that (slamming on the brakes) on a public road is asking to do oneself bodily harm.

Occasionally, I'll do a little test when someone is obviously tailgating me. I will rapidly speed up 5-10 mph. If the tailgater paces me, I know he is driving at my speed, no matter how fast I go, rather than setting his own. From then on, he gets no consideration, and I will drop back to my original speed. Some people just cannot judge a safe following distance.

I have a theory about cars tailgating Prii in particular. The profile of a Prius from the rear is quite narrow. For drivers who drive by "habit", meaning they are on autopilot, only half concentrating on their driving, they may think as they are approaching a Prius, that the Prius is farther away than it actually is. This could also apply to other small cars as well.

 

Hi All,

Seeing a totally burned out Suzuki Samari being hauled away after being slamed into by a large, presumably tailgatiing SUV, when traffic slowed suddenly, many of you would take adamce1's point of view.

Why Police DO NOT take this point of view is beyond me. They just do not get it. They are out there, and can easily identify tail gaters. Or at least pull up along side somebody who is and give them a good glare. But they do not, in complete disregard of their duty.

 

No i live in NC, i drive about 50 miles on I-77, I see it at least 2 times a week, Large suv/truck totals a small car from behind. Granted i do drive about a total of 20 hours a week, but still i'm waiting to see small cars hitting suv/trucks it's always the other way around.

I'm tired of seeing people hurt and being injored while there car is totaled, and then i look over and the person in the suv/truck is buffing the paint from the totaled car off of their bumper. These people don't have the right to harm us like this, they need to do something about this with laws and enforcement!!! or people like me might stand up and defend myself!!!! Witch i have a right to do unless i'm driving a car then it is considered road rage if i get a tailgatter to pull over and have a word with them or a fist with them if there have no remorse for risking bodily harm to me. i think a person will be alot less likly to taigate if there new people will defend them selfs.

 

i can EASILY believe seeing two accidents a week. when i lived in So cal and the SF bay area, i had commutes more than 40 miles one way, mostly freeway and there were MANY days when i see at least two totaled vehicles in one day.

now, that i dont use the freeway at all, i still see 1-2 a month. and that is from 4-7 leisure trips.

 

My fantasy solution for tailgaters is to have unmarked police cars photo and ID the violaters, then list them on the registery of sex offenders.

 

That's my method (and take on the tailgating frequency) as well. I don't pull out in front of people so I don't have to floor it to get up to speed. I don't go slower than the speed limit (but I also don't go much higher, if at all) A game of "it's your fault" is so not worth getting into a brawl with a crazy person and getting hurt worse or getting in trouble over.

Robbin

 

That get's 75% of them, most of the remaining 25% can simply be avoided (sometimes) by route planning, taking the slower, less direct route can sometimes result in a much less stressful commute, sometimes.