What's the deal with Prius Hate

Yes I am saying that and yes they do it themselves when on and off duty and yes they almost universally give people a pass for speeding. Maybe not 55 in 45, but certainly a 50 in 45. You cannot possibly tell me that speed limits are put in place oblivious to the reality that virtually every single driver speeds to a slight degree above those limits. That would be illogical.

I have never heard of this. In practice if you're slightly speeding your chances of a ticket are almost nil but they do happen. I've heard of tickets for, for example, 57 in a 55 and they will stand in court.

 

I asked a police officer about this once, and he said that no such grace exists. If you're going 81 km/h in an 80 km/h zone, you can be ticketed.

-Iain

 

It's written in the law here in CT.

Cops aren't supposed to speed unless they have the lights on, but do you see them go speed limit?

 

In addition to the speed limit per California Driver Handbook Speed Limits,

Vehicle code at http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22350.htm.

Side note: At my former work (in WA), someone mentioned that his dad got a ticket in CA (I don't remember the exact numbers, but it was above the speed limit and pretty sure it was So Cal) for going 75 mph in a 65 mph, but not for going to fast. It was for going too slow and impeding traffic.

From having driven in So Cal a bunch, when it's possible due to traffic conditions, people do drive fast there. I remember going 70 mph in a 55 mph portion of I-5 in LA, being in the lanes on the right (not rightmost) and people were still zooming by me.

 

Er, not exactly. District of Columbia and 32 states have "absolute speed limits" - driving even one mile per hour over the limit can get you cited for breaking the law.

OTOH, there is actually some leeway - in California the CHP officer has discretion in whether to issue a ticket if the speed limit is not being exceeded by a few MPH. (Coupled with erratic driving, avoiding a traffic stop, giving lots of guff, not displaying a license or otherwise being uncooperative - and the discretion is withdrawn.) 5 - 7 MPH over the posted limit when traffic conditions are good probably will not get you cited... but don't quite me!

Again, OTOH, regardless of the posted limit, some states (like CA) have a "basic speed law" which state you can not be exceeding a "safe and prudent" speed under current conditions, which can include anything from weather to dusk, etc. or going to slow for conditions (but speeding significantly over the posted limit is generally not permitted under the basic speed law). And officers will, and do, cut a speeder from the herd; being part of a group speeding is not an excuse in court.

(Full disclosure: I do some work with local PDs, CHP, etc.)

Is there Prius hate? Yes, probably. Some folks can get a burr under their saddle about anything and are bad about giving others the power to push their buttons for whatever reason. And we are often good about personalizing the idiot in question is acting out because of something that we have in mind - it's because I am (fill in the blank:_______ a guy, a gal, driving a Prius, bald, a veteran with a bumper sticker, etc.)

It could just be the idiot in question is what we factually observe - a bad driver, and possibly under some kind of impairment (chemical, distracted, upset, etc.) Best ting to do is to not provide any feedback that would give the idiot in question the perceived right to escalate - drive safely, move over, pull into a lot, whatever it takes to let the other driver find another target.

 

Who cares, it's a crab shoot at the end of the day.

 

I've heard of a crab feast but a crab shoot? Poor crabs.

 

Total BS, I asked several cops in my neighborhood & even asked my uncle who is a police chief & they all said the same thing. They can write a ticket for any speed over the limit although most officers will allow up to 3-5 mph over the limit. They always look for the fastest vehicle that may be posing an issue to other traffic.

 

Prius hate is shooting up with concomitant gas prices.

 

Can you point us to the law or vehicle code entry for CT? I'm curious to see how it reads.

As for the latter... absolutely not. They speed all the time. Who's going to give them a ticket?

 

Can you point us to CT the law or vehicle code entry for stating "that you can't get tickets for going less than 10mph over the speed limit"? I'm curious to see how it reads.

I'm in WA now and I'm sure there's some leeway here but, speeding by 10 mph in a school zone I'm quite sure will get you ticketed, if a cop's around. On a highway, 10 mph might whereas being 1-4 mph on the highway over likely won't.

I find it highly unlikely WA vehicle code or laws have anything explicitly written in them to allow legally driving 10 mph over a speed limit or prevent enforcement, ticketing, etc. if inside that.

As for the last point... they speed all the time. Who's going to give them a ticket?

 

Most states base their traffic laws on the Uniform Vehicle Code, which is a privately prepared set of traffic laws. The Uniform Vehicle Law includes the Basic Speed Law, which states that you may never drive faster than what is safe for the conditions, and you may never exceed the speed limit. The speed limit is an upper limit which may never be legally exceeded, except by emergency vehicles.

Traffic laws tend to be general in nature. The specifics of enforcement are left up to the enforcing officers and the courts. In this respect, most officers won't pull you over for slightly exceeding the posted speed limit, but their tolerance to speeding will vary by the officer in question and the jurisdiction. If you doubt this, try speeding on the Ohio Turnpike with an out-of-state plate.

Tom

 

Yep, and that includes the illegality of speeding even in life or death circumstances, i.e. your friend is bleeding out, it is technically illegal for you to speed to the hospital, even though in practice you'll do it anyway.

 

"I just drove home from OC MD a few days ago, and travelled on the Blue Route around Philly, and that road is a race track. Dangerous as hell and very high speed. I reverted back to my old agressive driving method just to stay alive on that stretch of road. Killed my MPG, but I STILL got right about 45 MPG (the Prius hung in there like a champ at 75-80 MPH), rather than the 55 MPG on the way down to OC, when there was no traffic and it was just a nice leisurely pace."



Living in Philly, I can attest to the highway speeds around here. The problem is, the Blue Route and the Schuylkill are normally backed up to a crawl, and when it's not, it's a free for all similar to the autobahn! Drivers are so excited not to be sitting still, they drive as fast as possible in every lane. I'm usually one of the drivers stuck in the crawl, but when I'm out there during off-peak times, I better keep up or get ran over. I could see some serious Philly style hate going on if I didn't.

 

LOL !! Aint that the truth !!

REV

 

I'm like that. Speeding is like a revolution. When you have enough people the authorities cannot keep it back, so if all the people are maniacal you just join the crowd. And after a traffic jam a lot of people are trying to make up for lost time. Man, I'm glad I don't live in heavy traffic anymore. I really hated that lost life.

 

(b) of section 14-218a for which a speed limit has been established in accordance with the provisions of said subsection at a rate of speed greater than sixty-five miles per hour but not greater than seventy miles per hour or

 

I don't see it. Here is 14-218a:

Tom

 

My latest personal experience with Prius Hate happened a couple of weeks ago. I had made some adjustments to the suspension on our Miata. Headed out for one of my favorite back roads to check the fruits of my labor. As I turned on to the road ahead of me was a Prius followed by two Harleys. The Harleys were gracious and allowed me to pass when was safe. The Prius accelerated up to 80 several times to keep me from passing. The last safe passing zone before the serious twisties I finally blew past the arrogant prick. Once the corners began I never saw the Prius again.

I also notice that Prius drivers more often than not avoid using the turnouts on mountain roads. Just another version of blocking traffic by driving slow in the fast lane. Both are against the law. Where does this arrogance come from?

Yes, I drive a Prius and frequently experience Prius Hate.

 

Section 14-219 (b) (2)

Sorry it's 5mph, not 10mph ove