"I had been kind of nurturing hope that maybe not everything was lost, and that the humanity might turn around and abandon their wicked ways, but then I drove my Prius c for fifteen minutes on a busy highway ... ".
having driven many miles on DC highways I expect your problem was failing to keep up with traffic. my travels there had my speeds at 70 mph. At 55 I would have been shoveled aside as rudely as you. the fact you got 65 mpg backs up your slow driving. next time do 70 and keep up and volts and BMW's won't be rude. Hey, its just as good to get 50 mpg as 65 if you're being a good driver. ps slower than traffic is also rude; he who is first rude ....
^ not the best place for politicking, but I am seeing across the "Western World" the same pattern. People no longer vote for monumental figures like Gandhi, Eisenhower, De Gaulle or Churchill (like them or not). Not even in those European countries that have hundreds of years of democratic tradition.
I think you over-dramatic on this one. DC beltway traffic is piece of cake nothing to write home about. I put a couple thousands/mo around there and I'd take it over a few hours in Rome rush hours. If you choose to drive slow you should be checking you mirrors, so this shouldn't be a complete surprise. IMHO it isn't as much about speed as it is about reading following traffic flow. You can be driving 63mph and be passing people driving 75, as long as you avoid getting stuck.
One always needs to drive defensively. That said, in some situations, "going with the flow" (by driving above the limit within reason when not in the rightmost lane) is the defensive thing to do. Driving at the limit in the middle lane when others are not, while ideal philosophically, attracts more aggression than I can comfortably accommodate -- and attracting aggression is not defensive. Deep breath, followed by the mantra: "You know what they say about car size....."
And who knows -- maybe habanero/tangerine splash brings on: "You think you're a MUSTANG? I'll show YOU!!!!!"
When I am on a highway, I do the speed limit. Other drivers don't. I just set my Cruze and do the limit. I stay in the right lane and people doing 80 can pass me. My C does great on the highway.
in the late 80's I was stationed at Edwards AFB, California (100 miles north of LA), I had a kid who received a ticket driving in LA, it was marked speeding. He said "but I don't understand, I was driving the speed limit". I looked at the ticket, in remarks was written "IMPEDING TRAFFIC", I showed it to him, he said he noticed it "but I was driving the speed limit". I smiled and told him he has to stay with traffic regardless how fast it was flowing. Our unit was able to get the ticket handled, he still didn't understand but went with it.
Back to the top. I think it's the Prius + C making people angry. My 2012 C4 will go to my daughter and I just bought last night the new line of Mercedes - Benz Van Metris fully loaded. From last night I've been driving the same way I hypermile my PC but haven't got any angry drivers yet. When they are pulling up behind me at my slow speed they just change lane to pass and didn't want to tailgate me: it's a van.
there's no question, most of the country is hip to prius drivers. we're like innocents amonst the terrorists.
If there is no car in front of you, and there is a car behind you, and you're not passing anyone, then move over one more lane to the right. Don't move into an exit lane, but do keep to the farthest right of the travel lanes. Driving 55 mph when everyone else is driving 65-70 mph is only acceptable if you stay to the right. Only move over to the left if your lane is about to exit or if you're going to pass someone. And only stay in that lane if you continue to regularly pass people, if you have no one behind you, or if you have someone in front of you. Otherwise, move back over to the right as soon as you pass the person. It's not that the Prius C is being targeted, it's that your driving style is breaking the rules of etiquette among drivers. That doesn't make it okay for them to break the rules of etiquette and to cut you off, but it explains why they're doing it. But if its 495, then having 1-2 car lengths between your car and the car in front of you when going 65 mph is actually pretty normal. P.S. And by "if there is a car in front of you", I am referring to there being a car within 5-8 car lengths of you (depending on weather conditions, density of cars on the road, and driving speed) for which you've matched speeds. If the car in front of you is going faster than you, then it doesn't count. And if they're cutting you off when you're in the farthest right of the travel lanes, then they're being rude because of your speed, but you're not in violation of the rules of etiquette among drivers.
