I wish I had read about the tailgating before~

I've seen this idea suggested elsewhere on the site but not in this thread.
Small sedans are becoming increasingly rare in the US of A, and all versions of Prius (except the "V") are 6 to 8 inches shorter (in height) than even a small SUV. Drivers of SUVs and Pickups can easily see over and around us.
So some of those drivers may be tailgating not out of Prius-hate but simply because they think they can see what's happening ahead of us.
Many of them are just bad drivers, not haters.

 

During my Prius driving years, I was not tailgated any more than with any other car.
I always drove to keep up with traffic, which rarely was as slow as the speed limit.

Rather than noticing more tailgating because it is a Prius, I would suggest it may be because of changes in driving behavior, the difference between a hatchback, as others have mentioned, if you formerly drove something else. It may even be a bumper sticker if you added one?

 

A local phenomena: I was on the Barnet Highway westbound in the morning rush hour yesterday, it is two lane each way, with the right lane reserved for High Occupancy Vehicles only (at least 2 in the car).

Well it was just me in the car, so I tried to stick by the rules: stayed to the left lane. It was fairly full, but still all cars moving at least 10 km per hour over the limit. Meanwhile, the right (HOV) lane was virtually empty.

A couple of times while in the left lane, trying to stay reasonably close to the limit, I "reverse passed" cars coming up fast: temporarily moving into the right (HOV) lane, then back to the left lane.

This seemed absurd and bordering on hazardous; after a bit I opted to break the law: moved permanently to the right (HOV) lane, let them all fly by. Dark and raining a bit, btw.

I really wish they would rethink this setup, maybe I'll try contacting someone.

 

Is this part of a migration to drive on the left side of the road?
Sounds dangerous!

 

Yeah I'm not a fan of HOV lanes: regardless of what lane they're in, left or right, they seem to disrupt the natural order.

 

Happens to me too, I had a guy in an Elantra driving like 2 feet from my bumper. He ended up passing me in a no passing zone, I wad doing 34mph in a 30mph, he ended up reaching speeds over 50mph to pass me and kept on flying.

 

Neither do those who are being tailgated.....

 

I drive my Prius like they taught in the Motorcycle Safety Foundation class. Just over traffic speed or keeping up with traffic and in the No.2 lane unless actually in a passing maneuver. I still get some tailgaters, but as long as I stay out of the fast lane, they have some place to go.

 

Dark limo black tint on the rear window helps. What I can't see, doesn't bother me.

 

Since driving a Prius I haven't noticed a difference between it and the Geo I drove before it. Two snails that I drove equally the same; like slow people having sex: slow and steady with no sense of urgency.


I often find myself looking back at the car behind me and thinking "are my brakes better than theirs?" Often times they are.

My favorite is setting the cruise and every mile slowing down 1mph. The last time I managed to go from 62mph down to 52mph before the car passed and that was in a Civic.

 

Hmmm. Would this help?
Car to Tank Kit - $1,190.99 : KaleCoAuto.com, Your home for the rare, unusual, and hard to find auto parts.

 

While I've been a Prius driver for only a month, I've noticed less tailgating, compared to my previous vehicles. That's probably because I drive faster now because I don't get punished with wind resistance at highway speeds. And the Power mode is fun to use. Like a previous poster wrote, I believe you get better mpgs when you accelerate quickly up to speed.

In my experience, tailgaters often don't pass when it's easy to do so. At least on the highway, the problem is that they want to stay in the slow lane, when the passing lanes are wide open. That's not my problem.

The one situation where I understandably could be tailgated is when coming up to a light or stop sign. I prefer to coast to a stop, whereas some other drivers like to drive fast and hit the brakes hard at the last minute. But like another poster wrote, I'll often switch lanes where there won't be a car behind me.

 

Threatening to use a gun because of someone's driving behavior is a sign of mental instability and anyone who does that should have their gun permit and driver's license revoked.

 

It's called humor in the south- apparently not so much in California I see no threat in the sticker

 

I agree completely. But I don't think that the bumper sticker is a threat to use a gun, any more than a NRA membership sticker would be.

What I think it does do is communicate an attitude that resonates with the somewhat immature drivers who see driving a prius as making a political statement, and who tailgate Prius drivers as their response to that statement.

I think that the sticker I posted is much less threatening than the "This car protected by Smith & Wesson" sticker that seems to be quite common around here.

BTW, when I do carry a gun in my car, it is unloaded in a locked case. The ammunition is in a separate locked case. I take safety very, very seriously.

 

I'll also point out that I live in one of only five towns in the US that requires every homeowner to have and maintain a gun and ammunition. Gun ownership and gun control are seen very differently down here.

 

I would think, in GA or most of the US geographically speaking, that sticker says approximately, "I'm interested in the same sports you are. I just have more money available for them because I'm not blowing it at the gas station." Something like that, anyway.

 

Explain the part that's funny.

 

Sorry. One has to be Southern.

 

I think that there's a sense of irony in that a car generally assumed down here to be driven only by green-peace-loving, tree-hugging, latte-drinking, save-the-whales ultra-liberals who despise guns and the people who own them is instead being driven by a frugal gun nut...but maybe it is just a Southern thing, and not funny to anyone else.