There is an interesting article on Washingtonpost.com about how driving a car like the Prius can change driving habits. Some work is being done to make devices that will help in monitoring eneregy use in the home as well.
Thanks for the tip JRGris but, in the future, could you please post a link to the article? It will likely generate more responses.
http://www(dot)washingtonpost(dot)com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/25/AR2008052502764.html?hpid=topnews
I know since I bought my Prius, my driving habits have definitely changed. No longer need the radar detector since I am more aware of my speed.
My habits have defintely changed and I would attribute it to the MFD keeping me in line. The whole point of getting the Prius for me was to consume less fuel. Knowing what actions attribute to furthering that goal have impacted the way I drive. I find driving to be a much more relaxing experience now, cruising along in the right lane.
I sometimes worry that all of us who actually pay attention to how we drive our Prius will give drivers of other cars a bad impression of the Prius... on the other hand.. every time I see some moron race to the next redlight, I really don't care. The other day, this woman behing me, in an SUV of course, was all freaked out that I was coasting to a red light. We were only four cars back btw. And ten miles down the road, with her driving like a madwoman (cutting back and forth, tailgating, etc) I'd pull right up next to her or behind her at every red light. Once I even honked, gave her the thumbs up and waved!! Funny.. her blood pressure up, her mileage down and she didn't get to her destination even one second before me while I got over 75mpg on that ten mile stretch.
I went away to Myrtle Beach for Memorial Day and I was surprised to see how many people would pass me 4 - 5 times each. I guess they probably all had to stop for gas, I filled up once before leaving and didn't need to stop for anything.
