Pick up trucks pushing

Are you driving in the left lane? I find that if I practice "Drive Right - Pass Left" I don't get hassled. If you are a left hand lane driver, then I have less sympathy.

 

The freeway I take to/from work is 3 lane + carpool. I stay in the middle lane doing the speed limit (65). The slow-ies + merging on/off say in the right lane. The fast-ies stay in the left lane and all i have to dodge are semi trucks passing the slow-ies.

 

When your odometer states 65mph. You are actually somewhere between 61 and 63 real mph. See Liability discussion. I target the speed limit on my prime and get passed 10 -20 mph faster in memphis,Tn. (Speed limit 55 mph on 240) But this is safer still than going faster as the ones that go fast don t like to stay behind anyone, better let them pass before they nastily cut you off and risk a hit and run with you. Also when you respect the speed limit, the law is on your side.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

hmmm sounds like road rage coming on for you, try getting some help for that.

 

The right lane is your friend, you can get excellent MPG over with the semis. (at about 2 over, near me) Feel free to pass anything the semis pass.

No one will be 'pushing' as they don't run down semis.

 

@Nallambal Go with the flow of traffic and no one is going to bother you that doesn't already bother "everyone else" going with the flow. You already get better mpg than just about everyone out the going the same speed anyway.

 

Around here, on I 495 , the three lanes seem to have there own speeds.
The posted limit is 65. The far right lane goes in the upper 60 mph, the middle lane mid to upper 70's, and the far left is for 80mph +
Anything different will cause immediate rudeness.
And the police don't care.
I stay off of it when I can.

 

Yes, we do. Most other drivers don't know what the Prime is yet since it doesn't look like a regular Prius. It's more of a small car thing that you're experiencing.

Yes, the speedometer does not show your real speed. This is on purpose due to an old agreement in the European Union. I use a Garmin GPS and can tell you that you have to go 78 mph displayed to actually maintain a real 75 mph. Slower speeds have less differential like 40 mph is a displayed 41 ish, etc. so yes, there's that, but everyone wants to go fast and seem to tailgate no matter what. Going the actual speed helps keep the nice people off your back.

If I'm in traffic, I try to forget the mpgs and just drive safe, and don't impede traffic. If you're dead, the mpgs don't matter much.

 

Literally if they're pushing your car forward your mpg would go up

 

Bob, is that you?

 

My wife calls it "Prius envy" but I don't think it happens more than to other small cars.

Usually it's the oversize pickups with supersize tires that look like they're never spent five minutes off-road in their existence. And the people who chose to drive that vehicle are simply more aggressive people. If you watch them after they pass you, they will be right up on the bumper of the next car -- even if it's driving 85 mph.

 

It is a game with some here in the Mid West. They see you as a liberal and have to pass you. Some even try to blow black smoke on the Prius. The Primes still confuse them. They are not sure what they are. Low IQ as some might say.

 

driving to florida and back, i have experienced the same thing in our hycam. everything from pick up trucks to
compact cars. every lane is doing well over the speed limit, and there's no place for law abiding citizens.
haven't seen one cop or speed trap in 2,500 miles.

 

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I understand your feeling/experience as I'm sure most of us do. It does seem clearer to me when I'm at a light or in slow traffic that some truck owners feel obliged to place their front bumper as closely as possible to my hatch - as if to say, "I'm here, in your rear-view mirror!" Clearly, some do not like the Prius and their owners. Oh well...

On a side note, I also own a Ford Super Duty pickup, which does give its driver the sense of superiority over most traffic due to its size/height. I also find when I'm in my Corvette, some people are intent to tailgate me (I'm guessing) to maintain a close distance so they can try to stay up with me if I suddenly accelerate in traffic - I don't know.

People are quirky and impossible to understand at times. I agree with others saying to go with the flow in traffic, stay out of the passing lane (except to pass), and ignore the few others who seem to have some kind of agenda. In the meantime, enjoy the wonderful automobile that you now own!

 

Wow, all you people feeling like your getting "pushed". I've experienced this sure, but when on the I-State, I drive with the flow of traffic not for mpg's. Don't want to feel pushed? Drive with the flow of traffic.

Oh, in Indiana, we have a law which forbids driving in the left lane except to pass. It was big news on national tv back when it was enacted. Has it helped? iono - still see it, but they seem to be out of staters who probably don't know. No law about cruisers in the center lanes, which are often annoying if they are sitting there going slower than the rest of the drivers. I mean if your going to do the speed limit and not with the flow of traffic, then drive in the RIGHT lane. Lest you deserve getting dirty looks & maybe flashed a bird or two.

 

what flow? all i see on i-95 is packs of cars, then empty highway, then more packs. there really is no 'flow'.
sure, you can tag onto another speeder and call it that.
most people spend there time weaving in and out of lanes, trying to pass everyone.

 

Lot of jarring thoughts here, the same old discussion, that brings the two factions out. A few thoughts:

1. It's mentioned that speedometers read a little low. So what? Is it that critical? Sadly, yeah.

2. Stay to the right lane? And when there's only one lane? Or the right lane is the HOV lane?

That's the thing. All our kids with licenses seriously look on the speed limit as the lower limit. It's a sad situation.

 

This thread has me want to ask more questions.
1. While traveling on sections of highways with more than two lanes, I get very nervous when I see a car coming about to merge. If I'm in the right lane, and that car is going to merge, but the middle lane may or may not be occupied, even if I keep up with the flow of traffic, am I really expected to change my speed or move over, even if the onramp car is just going to speed up? And then if I'm in the middle lane, I may have to deal with people in the right lane being unsure what to do themselves at the instance of onramp merging and hence moving over to my lane unexpectedly nearly causing an accident anyway. So, what would you all recommend if I just want to maintain a safe speed in the right lane and maintain consistent driving pattern and high fuel economy? (Note: I rarely travel on sections of highway where there are more than two lanes, so I felt the need to ask.)

2. Do you have any proof of a legal requirement in the United States for speedometers (in modern cars, such as Prius) to provide deliberately false readings?
3. Has anyone confirmed similar behavior about speed readings on a ScanGauge?