Toyota Prius Owners Are Bad Drivers, Worse For Speeding Tickets Than Corvette Owners

And last I knew, radar detectors weren't even illegal in your state.

 

I've seen plenty of Prii being driven like mad in rush hour. I also remember too many days where I'd time the commute wrong and get stuck behind a really nice looking burgundy Mustang GT whose driver would barely cling to the speed limit for 15 miles of 2-lane road going into N .VA. Traffic would stack up as far as you could see in the rear-view! I've found over the past year that I had become one of those mad people, always trying to keep up with the fastest cars, racing from light to light, yet enjoying the mid-40's in mpg. I was one of those guys with a chip that Gokhan refers to, was stuck driving a hybrid not because I wanted to but because I felt I had to at the time that I bought it. Who knows... Now I drive a Subie WRX and laugh at the fact that it took a new car with twice the HP and half the mpg to finally make me feel relaxed and mellow when I'm cruising. I still get tailgated if I'm stuck behind slow people and I still get cut off all the same by people who don't understand what 'stop' and 'yield' mean. I still keep up with everyone, but I no longer feel like I have a need to prove to myself that it's just a car. My new car is no Vette for sure but I roll mellow because I know it'll get up, I don't have to pretend to myself that it's anything else. The article has no real facts but, for me, I do understand the psychology behind it. Could also just be mid-life crisis related!

 

Whenever a friend gets in the Prius for the first time their first comment besides something to do with the weird looking dash is "Man, these cars are not slow at all." Yea, it's the pokey Prius drivers sitting in the #1 lane that gives us lead foot Prius drivers a bad name.

 

The guy who bought the 10 MPG SUV could have bought 2-3 Prius's but chose not to. It's likely you are just in his way.

 

I drive way faster in my Corvette than when I'm in the Prius. Although the Prius can go far above the limit, the Corvette does it so much easier. It's almost impossible not to drive above the posted limit when I'm in the vette. I tend to behave way better when I'm driving the Prius. Maybe it's just me?

 

I haven't either. I know I drive mine with the flow of traffic which is never the speed limit. Drivers in Atlanta (including me, sorry) treat the speed limit signs like a good suggestion. But I know if I were a policeman and I had speeders roll past me, which is better the gray Prius or the shiny red Dodge Challenger with the wing and huge wheels? Even alone I have blown by and they don't bat an eye. There are just better pickings out there.

 

I would say it is somewhat difficult to cruise at a constant speed in a Prius. The reason is that engine speed, and engine tone, have absolutely nothing to do with vehicle speed. So I use cruise control as much as possible. In a Corvette or a Viper, the engine is designed to be heard and an increase in engine tone (frequency) will tell you that you are speeding up.

 

Prius bias... Besides sounding Latin I hope everyone is over this (especially cops)

Personally I don't see a ton of young folks driving Priuses, and I certainly don't recall ever being passed by one.

I (hopefully) pick up my first one tomorrow and I don't think I'll be speeding in it much but well see!

 

Not many people speeding in a Prius around me. I wouldn't say that only the young drivers are the ones that speed. I'm 25 and drive about the speed limit everywhere, unless coasting downhill. If there's no one on a road I'll go 5 under just to prevent the ICE from kicking in. Still waiting for the day when the person that's pissed and zips by at 6:00AM (who's in THAT big of a rush to get to WORK?) gets pulled over down the road. I also think it's a lot easier to gauge my speed in the Prius. I find it more difficult to lay off when I'm driving my girlfriend's corolla.

 

I meant to add I have a friend with a yellow corvette with countless speeding tickets. His license plate, literally, has a phrase basically stating he likes tickets. I seriously do not know how he is still driving.
And Snow, I waited anxiously for years to see a car pulled over after it sped past me. On the way home from a florida vacation about 2 years ago, a car tailed me for a while (closely) and I eased over to let him by. He did the same to cars in front of me and went on. Further down that Alabama highway, he was pulled over by a state trooper. It was amazing to see, particularly since they had been such idiots on the road prior to that!

 

Around the Indy area I have always noticed that maybe over half the Prius drivers speed by quite a bit over....my reasoning...they can still get dang decent mpgs at speed!

 

I once dated a girl that drove a 2000 Hyundai Accent. She got on the freeway one day while I was a passenger and I yelled at her to slow down. The car was rattling, the engine was screaming, it felt unsteady. She then told me we're only going 75 mph.

Most people drive emotionally instead of rationally. My biggest annoyance that illustrates this fact is how slowly most people drive when they come to a curve. They will get on their brakes even though a person could safely go 30 mph faster than they were already going. Heaven forbid they should feel any lateral acceleration force.

Anyhow, my point is that the Prius has adjustable gearing, so driving 85 mph doesn't give the same feedback to the driver as other cars would. The engine won't be spinning as furiously as other cars would be, and it's very steady and relatively quiet. This level of calm at high speed gives confidence to their drivers.

 

I get passed by most prius drivers on the road, I don't drive bellow the speed limit, I do 63 on 55, and I get passed most of the time, and I do 65 on 65, (I pass a lot of people at this speed) I'm not in a hurry to die, I use cruise control 95% of the time, most people slow down on winding roads, way too slow, most people speed to 80 on passing lanes, then down to 60 as soon as the passing lane ends, through those people a curve, and your down to 35 on 55.
I use to drive fast, until I found a dead person behind the wheel of a car from an accident, no matter where I'm going, even if im late, a point at work, and time lost, is still less than a speeding ticket, and endangering the life of others around me.
Try using the cruise control, and see how many idiots pass you, then you pass them, and never changing your speed.
My insurance is more expensive now, then when I had a corvette, and I have an excellent driving record, I save money on gas, but pay more on insurance, and now they want us to pay by the mile.

 

Pretty impressive, for a front wheel drive car ....