Anyone Notice The Bad Driving Around You?

35MPH in a 35MPH zone usually has people passing me. However, most times I drive in the lane I need to be in up the road, so I'm in the left lane doing the speed limit a lot. Still no reason for them to pass me, but I can imagine they think I should be going 'slow' in the right lane...

 

You're not alone Steve6745.
When coming to a "full stop" at the stop sign, I've actually had a couple of drivers behind me honk and make rude hand gestures just because I stopped and checked other crossing traffic at an intersection. Maybe I need to put a sign in my back truck window stating, "Caution, this vehicle actually stops at stop signs!"
When our Prius does arrive, I wonder how many rude drivers will react aggressively just because I might be coasting or engaged in regenerative braking? I suppose some folks will always be in a hurry to rush through everything, including their own lives. Keep driving defensively and take time to smell the roses!

 

Presuming you are going with the flow of traffic, I can't imagine any reason other than the guy has some emotional problem with getting there 'NOW'.

I see no reason to get to 35 mph in 3 seconds flat just because one's vehicle can do it. On the other hand, creeping up to 35 to maximize one's mpg is not warranted either. Traffic lights are generally synchronized (OK, SUPPOSED to be) so creeping off the line will affect the people behind you as they will miss the next signal, even though you make it.

I know I tick some people off when I do my usual 'under 60' on the interstate (posted at 55) and am in the left lane ( we only have 2 lanes ). But I do that only at interchanges when you are SUPPOSED to be in the left/travel lane so those getting on and off don't have to play dodge-car with the people continuing on. Still, people do seem to think it is their right to go 65 or 70 if they like and you shouldn't be in their way.

I wish they had a "aggressive driver patrol" job. You know, you don't have to chase felons or anything, just be able to pull over people who think the roads are theirs and the rules don't apply.

 

Gee, I was thinking just the opposite - I've been trying to figure out how to shoot a permanent yellow diamond caution sign onto cars that reads "Caution, driver runs red lights and stop signs"

 

If you are going too slow, you should stay in the right lane.

If people are piling up behind you, you should pull over to let them pass.

If you are not moving with the flow of traffic, you are part of the hazard.

You do not have a right to go slowly just to do your part to save gas if this creates a dangerous situation on the highway.

You slowpokes give hybrids a bad name.

 

Autoic,

But the guy who started this thread was going the speed limit plus 2! (and in the right hand lane I presume as the other guy was able to pull around and cut him off)

 

I know. I was kidding a bit on some of that.

I try to drive with the flow of traffic, though I will sometimes coast to a stop sign or make other subtle attempts to bump up my MPG.

-Ken

 

i know i'm gonna have an MPG problem with my prius on the highway. i'm great at easy acceleration and coasting, but on the highway, if i'm not doing 72 i'm falling asleep (not literally, but bored to tears)

 

I get guys pulling up beside me and staring at the car instead of watching the road.

 

I was thinking of putting a small LCD display showing my current MPG in the rear, lower window might be an idea.

 

As I posted previously, we should start the Prius racing team. Then we can jackrabbit our way to normality! :lol:

In CA, the speed limit in most FWY is 65MPH. Doing 65 MPH in the slow lane all the way to the right usually brings on speed racers and tail gaters. Not wanting to end up with an SUV up my %@#@, I tend to drive normally during commute hours......70-85 MPH to keep up with the flow of traffic.

The way I figured, a few less miles per gallon is better than whiplash, munched up car, and a few years dealing with insurance and courts. Although I may just end up with a couple of Prii after the fact! :mrgreen:

Be safe! There are crazies out there! Just look at the cars they're driving!

 

MPG vs. Speed

I just wanted to add a quick comment.

I have had my Prius for almost 1 month now. In my 3 tanks of fuel I have used, I have been averaging a little over 50 mpg. I drive pretty normal. If no one is around, I am usually just at or just over the speed limit. Otherwise, I generally go with the flow of traffic. weather you are doing 25 or 35, I have not seen much of a difference in MPG. If any thing, I have found that going faster, say around 40, I get even better millage, because you are still running at high efficency and traveling FARTHER, in the same amount of fuel that you would slower.

This week, my fiance and I drove from Cleveland to Columbusd and back for a graduation party. About 150 miles each way. She drove down there pretty agressivly, around 75 average I would say. I was more just under 70 driving back. Quite honestly we averaged about the same on the display.

I would agree, that it is more important to say with the flow of traffic when it is around. If you are alone, do as your heart contents.

 

I have also noticed the aggression of other drivers around my Prius, I think it makes them mad knowing that with the gas prices going sky high and rising I am not as affected as they are. I also believe in the "kick-me" theory, it may be because of the advertisement the Prius gets on the car magazines "car for geeks", "Techo geeks car" etc. I will have to put a sticker in the back "Driver carries less than $20 in ammo for his Glock .45" and maybe the other drivers will behave. Keep saving gas.

 

I started my driving career in 1956 and have noticed a lot of changes in the way we drive. Yes, people do seem to speed a lot more but what really gets me is the tailgating that goes on - see it everyplace - Driver going the speed limit or faster in left lane lots of traffic on right and sure enuf some Bozo will pull up next to his rear where can he go! Interesting thing is the most agressive drivers I see are Female- yep! didn't used to be so but sure is now. Seems women are getting all the bal...s and men are losing theirs (whoops, thats a whole different topic)

MEDVED: Agree with the better mpg over 30 but defy you to prove that you get better mpg at 75 than at 63!!

 

The ultimate ignorance in rude driving

My best rude driving story comes from a former collegue who was moving back to Idaho from North Dakota. She and her husband were driving separately, one in the U-Haul and the other in their car.


They were crossing Montana with no posted speed limit at the time. A state trooper was passing them when some kid came charging up from nowhere got on the troopers tail. :twisted: The kid kept riding it until the trooper had slowly passed the U-Haul and pulled into the right-hand lane. The kid then charged off only to have the cop hit the sirens and lights. :crazyeyes: A mile or so later... :guns:

(hope I didn't overdo the emoticons)

 

In stop and go, I try to leave some coasting room, but invariably somebody pulls in and I lose my coast and have to jam the brakes. Hybrid only lanes sound awful good to me.

But I don't think it's the hybrid that gets people aggravated. A lot of drivers are just plain bad drivers. They are inconsiderate. If you are in their way, too bad, look out. It didn't use to be like this. I've been driving for 35 years, and it just gets worse and worse. People used to wait for you to go by before pulling into traffic. Now, they pull in front of you, and you slam on the brakes. They go 100 feet, and make a left turn. You have to hit the brakes and wait again. If they waited 5 seconds for you to go by, there's nobody behind you, but no, that's 5 seconds. Another thing, even if I drive 75 to 80 mph, I'm passed by lots of people doing 90 or 100 or more. And they weave across 4 lanes at that speed. It's getting nuts out there.

The ramp from NB DanRyan to west bound Ike is really bad. 2 long lanes with concrete walls to the right and left and no shoulder. the right lane is for an exit to LSD (Lake Shore Drive). The left lane is the exit for the Ike. Sorry about the names for people not in Chicago, but you 'll get the picture. So what happens? The Ike exit backs up because more people take it than the other exit. So THEN people use the right lane to get around everybody in the left lane, and force their way in to the left lane at the last second, just before the concrete median wall starts. What happens then is everybody in the right lane goes, everybody in the left lane is stuck, and the people who actually are exiting the right lane can't because they are behind the jerks trying to force there way in to a stopped line of cars. And they do it at 60 mph so you better get out of their way. It takes up to 5 minutes to go a half mile because of them.

Oh, and let's not ignore the jerks in their Hummers who's God-given right is the ownership of every inch of asphalt or concrete. (Not gravel or dirt, God forbid they get a chip taken out of the paint or get dirt on it). I have been run off the road several times by Hummers. One time the guy was pulling a horse trailer. I was doing 60 in a 55, he made a left in front of me from a side road. I had nowhere to go except to try to pass him with oncoming traffic. Absolutely no other way to avoid rearending him. So what does he do when I'm passing? He pulls over into the oncoming lane and puts me on the gravel shoulder. On purpose. I saw him laughing as he twisted his head around to watch me.

As mentioned above - do not ride the left lane. KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS is what the law says. And if people are behind you on a two-lane road, either let them pass or do not interfere with them by going slow or coasting too much. We don't want a bad image to get around for hybrids (like I have for Hummers). And yes, I know all Hummers aren't like that. My other car is a Ram 2500 4x4. Almost as big as a Hummer, and taller. But I use it as a vacation vehicle, not a run'em off the road vehicle.

Sorry about the rant, but I just had a fun 2 hour drive home in rush hour and needed to vent.

 

Just like Julio and Steve, I've just about decided that my Prius is invisible. I can't decide if everyone thinks my car has great stopping ability or thinks that my car is new so it is ok to cut me off because I won't hit them and damage my new car. Whatever the reason, I've noticed that I'm cut off more frequently now than I was in the old Acura.

 

I seem to drive a bit more slower in my Prius. I guess the car makes me much more calmer and happy! Just the other day, someone honked and gave me the finger because I didn't do a California stop. So they had to slam on their brakes. No mind you, I'm not your "typical" Prius owner. I've got tattoos and piercings and I won't take shit from anyone. I put my car in park, pressed the parking brake in, got out (as he saw my tattoos on my leg), opened the trunk, pulled out my baseball bat, walked up to his window and asked him what the f*ck did he say to me? He apologized and I left it at that. But the whole time I was calm because I didn't smash his window in

Please don't go the extreme that I went, it's not worth it. Just keep your driving and know that they're pissed cause they're spending $45 to fill up their tanks :mrgreen: