Hybrid Envy in the HOV Lanes

Well, I rarely use the HOV lanes.

When I drove with my Dad to the Tut exhibit in L.A. I used the HOV lanes both ways but when I did, I kept up with traffic. If 70-75 mph wasn't fast enough for those behind me, I got out of the lane and let them pass me, then got back in.

Locally I don't use the HOV lanes much. BUT...I use the carpool onramps to the freeway. They are diamond lanes and as far as I'm concerned also covered under my HOV lane sticker until I am informed otherwise. That alone is worth the price of the stickers to me.

I haven't noticed any reactions from other drivers.

And I think 60-65 mph is plenty fast enough. I have slowed down my driving since I got my Prius because I am more aware of my fuel consumption. I also coast to stops and don't jackrabbit start. The car teaches you to be a better, more fuel conserving driver. All cars could benefit from the screens, not just hybrids. Then again, we *know* driving 55 improves fuel economy but in these days of high gasoline costs, I don't see any rush to bring it back, either voluntarily by drivers or by legislation from our government. If we are a country addicted to oil, our government is our enabler.

 

I can't use HOV lanes single, but when I do use them I go the same speed I always do, about 70-75. Speed limit is set to 65 around here, so I'm allready speeding. Not that it matters with people passing me at 80-90.

For one thing, HOV lanes are NOT the passing/fast/left lane. That is the lane just to the right of the HOV lane. At least in Utah, drivers are NOT required to yeild to faster traffic in the HOV like they are in the passing lane. Get over it. If you want to pass, do so in the passing lane, that's what it's for.

I don't notice any significant MPG difference between 65 and 75, a few MPG, but not enough that I care. So I keep up with traffic, and most of the time I don't have anyone complaining behined me.

I do notice a difference between 55 and 75, but not enough to risk my life driving that slow on the freeways here. Even in the right lane, 55 is just begging to get rear-ended or shot at.

At about 75 MPH, I get about 46 MPG. I'm perfectly happy with that.

My favorite thing about the HOV lanes is that I can usually set the cruise at about 75 and never touch it again until I'm ready to get off the freeway. I'm constantly having to adjust it in any other lane because drivers here have no idea how to maintain speed. As the HOV has fewer users than the others, I have less of a problem with that.

 

This is really important. If you are driving slowly in the carpool lane to save gas -- get over. This is not the time to worry about you mpg. If hybrid owners are slowing down traffic, this perk will _never_ get extended. Many non-HOV drivers want to hate us and will certainly do so if this stereotype persists.

I drive with the flow of traffic. Period.

 

I have my sticker in my center console, but I don't use it at this time. I allow myself plenty of time to get where I'm going, take my laptop along and work on it if I'm early. It just amazes me how intelligent people can become so stupid about certain things. You probably have some idea about how many people complain to me about the price of gas. These same people that drive 80 mph in a 65. A tribute to American short-sightedness: complain about something you could (and should) make better, and do nothing.

I used to drive 70-80 all the time too. It took the Prius to wake me up, not because it's a hybrid but because it has a real-time MPG estimate. The digital readout of your current speed doesn't hurt either. If these two features were in existing cars, our national commute would look much different.

If they can complain about someone obeying the law in the carpool lane... can I at least complain about all the people who blow past me out of nowhere on my right side with the 2 or 3 vacant lanes available on the left of me? Another time perhaps.

If people want to stamp my forehead with the stereotype of a yet another hybrid owner who drives under the speed limit, don't bother. I'll pay for the tattoo.

 

I should add this: If I were to use my sticker I absolutely would keep up with the flow of traffic in the HOV lane. I'm not going to use my sticker unless I repeatedly encounter stop and go traffic though. Sorry for the somewhat off-topic post above, it did not relate specifically to HOV lane driving, so of course I did not email it in. Please don't take offense to my right and next-to-right lane driving habits.

 

For the Prius solo driver -- the HOV lane is about saving commute time not gas. Ultimately most of use save both compared to our previous commute mode -- hence the law.

 

When I use the HOV lanes, other traffic in the HOV lanes is usually not going even 65 when the traffic in the adjacent lanes is stop and go. The HOV lane will slow down to the 45-55 range, because there are cars trying to get out of or into the HOV lane or drivers are just worried about traffic pulling into the HOV lanes from the nearly stopped adjacent lane. When the traffic in the adjacent lanes is going 55-65, I get out of the HOV lanes and let other HOV drivers go as fast as they like. Using the HOV lanes to get past the congestions spots speeds up my commute, but the HOV lanes make no difference on uncongested sections.

 

If the lane is mainly to save commute time, shouldn't they have raised the speed limit higher than the other lanes?

 

That's funny. Unless it's not. If your point is that the Prius should be used to enforce traffic laws, I strongly disagree. That's dangerous and reeks of entitlement.

 

There are no carpool lanes here...but..go with the flow of traffic for christs sake. I agree, they are about time not fuel economy. If you want to use them..move your butt. When I don't want to go fast I stay out of the fast lane. Anyone that goes slow in the fast lane..I'd love to kill them. They don't deserve to live and pass their stupid genes on to anyone else.

 

The police enforce traffic laws. The Prius is for transportation (other than the police Prius'). Is going the speed limit enforcing traffic laws or merely obeying them? Is it the job of other drivers to make someone drive FASTER than the speed limit?

You're the one who said the HOV lane is about saving time. I just pointed out there is no evidence to support your statement.

 

There are carpool lanes on Earth. J/K. I nearly spit out my iced tea reading your response. LOL.

Anyway it is imperative that people really think this through if they respond to Mr. Roadshow -- that guy is like God in the Bay Area -- and what he says is Gospel. Please, let's dispel the Prius-clogging-up-the-HOV going-too-slow stereotype today!

 

Yea, I thought the HOV was actually to reward people for carpooling by allowing them a relatively unrestricted passage within the means of the law. I wonder when people got the idea that the HOV is the Autobahn.

I actually dont' have an HOV lane in my town, but while in SLC once, I drove in it a couple of times. It seemed crazy to me that I was going 75 in a 60 and people were still riding my butt.

My opinion, just as the Prius is not to regulate traffic, neither are other cars there to regulate how fast others drive.

 

The big question is, if everyone's doing a speed in the HOV lanes
that everyone's nominally happy with, do they still *tailgate*, or
is some courtesy in backing off extended?
.
_H*

 

OK. I'm 35, a Software Engineer and I commute from Campbell to Redwood Shores.

I don't have my HOV stickers yet (or my plates) for my new red 2006 Prius, but I can tell you that my driving habits have changed because of the Prius (or may be I'm just getting older).

I bought my Prius for two reasons. One, the gas last summer was killing my budget! With my commute, I used to fill up my Honda S2000 approx. 2 times per week with premium. I was costing me over $70/week in gas alone! I now consume about 3/4 of a tank per week with the Prius on the same commute. The second reason is that I have my first child on the way, and I needed a 4 door car I could take my kid in.

Driving my Honda on my commute, I used to average somewhere between 75-80MPH. Since I got the Prius, I've slowed down to about 67MPH. I've even slowed down to the speed limit or 1-2MPH over overall. I think this is in part due to the Prius with it's display telling me just how much gas I'm consuming, but it is probably also in part to not driving a little red hot-rod all the time.

I've noticed people getting nasty passing me suddenly only to hit their brakes a few feet in front of me as there rarely isn't another car just about 100-150 feet (if not less) in front of me. I've noticed this on side streets too. I've also noticed that these same people that are upset don't get where they are going any faster than me. They are just wasting gas (and emotional energy) doing it. I've even had people pass me on the left on a one lane street (not only illegal but extremely dangerous to me, the other driver and pedestrians) because I was doing 35 in a 35 zone!

[soapbox]
As for the HOV Lanes, I've also noticed that the cars in the HOV lanes go significantly over the speed limit. When I have been in the HOV lane (with a passenger), it's always occurred to me as a very dangerous situation. The "flow" of traffic is somewhere around 80MPH in the HOV lane and the next lane over is stopped. This is bad, because "Speed doesn't kill. Speed differential does." I've seen far too many accidents on 101 in the Redwood City/Palo Alto area that seem to happen between cars in the HOV lane and cars attempting to merge into the HOV lane. I would venture that more and more severe accidents happen there then in the "flow" of traffic stuck doing "stop-and-go".

Also, anyone that thinks HOV lanes are about time should go back and look for why they exist. They are not for speed. Simply adding another lane to any jammed freeway would increase the speed for all drivers. HOV lanes are about enticing us to carpool. Thereby removing cars from the freeways. If we all carpooled, would we need an HOV lane? No. The current 4 lane highway would be sufficient because there would be 1/2 the cars or fewer on the roads. HOV lanes were invented in the 70s as a way of reducing our dependence on foriegn oil. (Sound familiar?) It was reasoned that if more Americans carpooled, we could reduce our oil consumption significantly. The Prius and other hybrids reduce gas consumption by about 50% (more in my case), which is about the same as carpooling. This is how hybrid owners were able to get access to the HOV lane. "The HOV lane is to reduce gas consuption by enticing people to carpool. Some hybrids reduce gas consuption by about as much as carpooling. Thus, hybrid=carpool. Let's let them drive in the HOV lane." Yes, I know that's over simplifying it.

If you are in the HOV lane and doing 65 MPH, you are not "enforcing" the law. You are simply following it. Why should I get a ticket for doing 80MPH just because the guy in the SUV behind me wants to go faster?

Slow down people! The life you save my just be your own (or your kids)!
[getting off my soapbox].

As for entitlement. I'm not entitled to the HOV lane. The state can revoke this privledge anytime they want. However, if they are going to allow me to use the HOV lane for a ridiculously small fee, you bet I'm going to use it!

Scott

 

Well, Like markht says, "other traffic in the HOV lanes is usually not going even 65 when the traffic in the adjacent lanes is stop and go." This is usually true in congested traffic. However, there are large stretches of roadway where traffic in the HOV lane can safely go the speed limit. If a HOV user chooses to drive less than the speed limit when possible to do so, he will (often) get tailgated.

 

My email to [email protected] went as follows:

Gary,

I read the post below on Priuschat.com, and as a southern California Prius
owner, I thought I'd drop you a line real quick. I'm a 36 y/o Desktop Engineer
living in Ladera Ranch, in Orange County. I drive 25 miles on the 5 freeway
every morning from Mission Viejo to Anaheim, and back again in the afternoons
on the 55 and 405, only utilizing the HOV lane when traffic is stopped in the
mornings, or when I have a passenger in my car in the afternoons. I agree that
people driving too slow in the HOV lanes are a problem, more so now that hybrid
owners are beginning to do so, with a caveat...

My concern is this - I have my daughter in the car with me on the way home in
the HOV lane, so I won't go slower than 65, but I also won't go faster than 70
- period. It has nothing to do with getting good MPG - it has everything to do
with my 17 month old daughter in the back seat (in her car seat). The problem
is, I STILL have cars tailgating me at 70mph, even when we're passing 4 lanes
of stopped traffic. It seems that driving a hybrid puts the pre-determined
thought in their head that I'm going too slow, and that they should teach me a
lesson by tailgating me, since they can't pass me while locked in the HOV
lane. Even a light tap on the brakes can't get them to back off. As silly as
it seems, I'm considering a "Baby on Board" bumper sticker. Recently I've seen
agressive speeders use the emergency lane to pass cars in the HOV that were
only going between 65-70.

Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely agree that people who want to go slower
than the posted limit should stay in the slow lanes and out of the HOV and fast
lanes (the HOV access is counterproductive to the hybrids ability to save gas
anyway), but the other perspective MUST be shared to make an article on the
subject valid - too many Californians think that the HOV lane is the autobahn,
and it's not. Just yesterday I had a taxi following me at 72mph no more than 2
feet off my bumper - where is the logic in that? A CHP motorcycle officer
came across four lanes to get behind him, and he backed off, but he didn't get
pulled over.

In summary, yes, inconsiderate drivers going slow in the HOV lanes, hybrid
owners or not, are a problem... But isn't it the speeders and the tailgaters,
those who are obviously breaking the law, endangering themselves and others
(including my daughter) at the same time, who are the BIGGER problem?

My final thought? Give everyone a time management course, which we are ALL bad at, and they won't HAVE to speed to get there on time...

Sincerely,

Jim

 

Wow, Scott, you and I have totally different minds. You sound like you are putting your life in danger to prove a point -- people flying by you and cramming on their brakes, passing on the right, etc... I remember when my dear mother got her first ticket in 30 years on highway 17. It was for going too slow and endangering the lives of herself and others. (I think she was going 50 in a 55 (in the flat part by Los Gatos)).

I never said we Prius carpoolers have the right to speed. Indeed not. I said that I drive with the flow of traffic. Period.

 

My two cents: this is an excellent email.

(I truncated to save space).