Anyone Notice The Bad Driving Around You?

I've noticed bad drivers all around me from the first day I had my license, 6 years ago. But for me, "bad driver" is defined as someone who has no control over their vehicle. These are people who can't even stay in their own lane, regardless of the type of vehicle they're driving.

BTW, I'm driving a Corolla right now, but I drive it "Prius style." And I spend most of my time on local roads. Still, I get people wizzing by me and cutting in front of me. I've taken it mostly in stride, since I use to be one of them. During my first 3 years driving, I was the fastest car on the road (as in, I was never passed by anyone, ever.

But even then, I never cut anyone off such that they needed to use their brakes, and I always signaled well ahead of time. If you use your vision, constantly look around you and drive smart, its easy to go fast w/o being dangerous. Most aggressive people are just too lazy, blind, or inconsiderate to do so.

 

If you guys think driving a hybird is dangerous, try riding a motorcycle in DC traffic. I carry a Batton, Gun, and i keep spare spark plugs near by. SUVs, Trucks, and Taxi Cabs seem to like to ignore my presence and try to kill me.

I think driving the prius will be somewhat of a relife, at least I will have air bags.

 

the only aggression i see is when at a red light, some drivers floor it when it turns green, as if to challenge the prius out of a starting line. sometimes on the freeway they'd slow down beside me then zoom off. i just brush it off, just comforting myself with the mileage i'm getting at that moment. :lol: although occasionally i would surprise other drivers at how much power the prius really has. :wink:

 

Sigh. Reading this thread is just heartbreaking. I wonder if it's a sign of the times, or have people always been such narcississtic clowns?

And you wonder why some of us feel firearms carry-permits are a good thing.

 

You mean besides me?

 

No, no -- you're a funny clown. Not an evil clown.

(I'm one of those old-fashioned Ringling Bros. fumbling, pathetic clowns.)

 

At least you're not one of those scary porcelain decorative clowns that my grandmother has. Those gave me nightmares.

 

I really haven't noticed anything like this at all, in my 40 mile (round trip) daily commute.

Not that every driver on the road is great, but overall I'd say that things are better than what I'd expect. Some times people are even more courteous than I'd expect in traffic around town.

I can imagine 3 explanations for this:

1. Regional driving differences (those mellow Berkeley drivers!)
2. My driving doesn't antagonize others
3. My driving is horrible - I am one of the evil clowns and therefore don't notice all the others.

My bet is on #1 -- when I moved to Seattle for a while I definitely noticed that folks drove slower there and were more conservative/courteous. So I have seen how drastic the differences can be. Though a quick scan for bay area posts in this topic yields Henry's story -- which didn't sound like a mellow CA encounter!

Maybe I'll add explanation #4 then -- it's a guy thing???

Anyway, I do hope it's not #3 ... though there is some good comedy in the image of me happily cruising down the highway, smiling and thinking everyone is so nice, completely oblivious to the curses and hand gestures in my wake ...

 

Well, maybe Hybrids aren't as much of an oddity in Berkeley?

Plus, anyone who is going to get mad at the "Eco Hippy Freaks", and has the (mis?)fortune to be in Berkeley has probably already keeled over from an aneurism by now anyway. :mrgreen:

 

Heh. Well that's certainly true! I can hardly ever get a wave back from my non-chalant fellow Prius drivers, um, I mean "Eco Hippy Freaks", when I'm around Berkeley. However, I've been driving to L.A. a lot lately (getting my 5k oil change already, just got the car on May 1) so I'm talking even outside of our little enclave here :wink: Mainly Marin county, Alameda county, and Hwy 5.

 

Re: The ultimate ignorance in rude driving

Ya just gotta wonder about the brains in that kid. Tailgating a marked car? Well beyond stupid and clueless. Most people see a cop and slow down to under the limit, just in case their speedo is wrong or something.

 

I generally do 63mph in the 60mph zone, and 72 in the 70 zone during my commute. I stay in the right lane with my cruise control set for the above speeds. I pass cars only when absolutely necessary. This morning alone, I had three separate instances with the driver behind me creeping up close to my bumper before passing. And you know what? EACH TIME, the driver was busy yakking on a cell phone held up to their ear.

That's what I think is the main problem with driving these days. Talking hands-on with a cell phone makes the driver feel they're no longer subject to the rules of the road.

 

As I said, I didn't get better milage at 75, but rather the difference wasn't that much.

I am 100% positive that with "ALL things Equal", 63 will get better mileage, but there are SOOOO Many variables. Wind for example. A 10 MPH head wind, vs. a 10 MPH tail wind will make a HUGE difference. Over all elevation, driving with the flow of traffic, (drafting) vs. by your self in the right lane. etc.

I was simply stating what I saw on the display, and my actuall real world experience. To me, the difference was so minor, that I wouldn't worry about it. Lets say that I got an extra 2 miles per gallon, (that was about the diffence I saw) driving at 65 rather than 75, on my 2 hour trip each way. Using different driving styles. I would have saved about 4 miles of fuel, or a little over a quarters worth of fuel over the 2 hours of traveling each way. If you drove 10 MPH faster for 4 hours, would 50 cents be worth, over 40 minutes of your time you would arrive earlier?

Please note, these are estimates, but I think the figures are within reason. My point is that anyone owning a Prius, gets EXCELLENT fuel milage under NORMAL driving. I think you will spend more on a cup of coffee in one day, than the amount of money you will save in a week, by trying to up your milage by 2 MPG's.

Unless you are on that tight of a budget, and that is the only way to afford your weekly coffee fix. I say, drive it like normal. :lol:

Respectfully,
Medved

 

There can also be a safety component, especially for longer trips. Assuming you are driving with traffic, or there is no traffic, the faster speed yields less time on the road therefore less fatigue. No big deal for an hour, but (for an easy math example) a 440 mile trip @ 55 takes 8 hours, at 65 it takes 6.8. Those final 72 minutes are pretty draggy! I'm sure someone will say "then let's drive 85 mph and be there in a little over 5 hours" but that's stretching the safety issue!

 

Speed vs. savings

Bruce,

I am glad you somewhat agree with my point on saving time vs. the change you will save over a few hours.

There will always be someone who will want the most they can get out of any vehicle, wether it be speed, mpg, performance, etc.

I bought my Prius for a number of reason, SS/SE, Nav, voice activation, MPG, space to haul "stuff", quiteness, etc.

Getting back to the original post, "Bad Driving around You", I feel, the more you can do, to blend in, the better off you are. Slow starts, long drawn out stops, WILL attract attention. Peoples patients are INTANGABLE. Weather or not it takes you 5 seconds or 10 seconds to get the the red light, that person behind you FEELS like you are slowing him down. This is what everyone should be aware of.

I also think that us Pruis drivers have more feed back of what our car is doing that the "average auto", with display screens, average MPG being displayed in real time. This real-time feedback does make us drive differently than others.

What I try to do, is go with the flow. If I am alone on the road, well then I drive "Prius Style", otherwise, when in Rome . . .

 

While I detest cell phone drivers, I don't think cell phone driving (hands free or otherwise) should be outlawed. HOWEVER, if someone gets into any sort of accident while talking on a cell phone, I think it should be treated like drunk driving. That way, anyone who chooses to take the risk thinking they "can handle it" will be forced to take full responsibility for their actions.

Some people really can handle talking on the phone and driving at the same time. Most people can't.

 

Take a look at the website www.fuh2.com. Some of the photos are hilarious...not to mention the poem about H2s.

 

I was recently being tailgated by a car in the right lane on a highway. There was no one in the left lane and he was really close on my bumper. After about a minute I moved into the left lane hoping he would pass on my right. He moved over as well. So I moved back into the right lane. He quickly followed suit. Frustrated, I moved over again into the left lane. He again moved over behind me almost immediately. He then proceeded to take the next exit off the right lane soon after. It was really frustrating and I have no idea if it was a complete misunderstanding or he was just trying to be an nice person. I threw up my hands in frustration at one point so if he was paying attention he would've seen that I was annoyed.

That same trip I was tailgated by another guy who was extremely close to me and made me very nervous. He tailgated me for 10 minutes before I finally just moved over and passed the truck in front of me to get away from him. That truck took the next exit and the same car then tailgated me for another 10 minutes or so. I can't believe some people don't even realize they're tailgating.

Oh I was also passed by a huge stretch limo hummer on this same trip. It was a bad day for driving. lol

 

Nice one Henry! I bet he had to change his pants aterwards

 

my other car is a Ford F150 pickup with dual gas
tanks. last week, $20 of gas wouldnt give me half of
one tank of gas.

so i drive it much more conservatively then i drive my
Prius because i simply cant afford to drive it any
other way. because it doesnt have regenerative
braking and the traffic around here sucks, i do a lot of
coasting. there is a light in town that is always
backed up during daylight hours no matter what time
of day it is. (i avoid this area like the plague during
rush hour) so i usually start coasting 6-8 blocks
before the intersection. sometimes as much as 15
blocks before. traffic at times will take up 4-5 blocks
and i might have a few cut in front of me but not
many since the traffic is so bad on this street you
have to get in the proper lane for your turn
immediately off the freeway pretty much. in the truck
i can be coasting at 10-15 mph and not have any
problems. in the Prius, i have had several people flip
me off and the Prius doesnt realistically coast at that
slow a speed very well.

But what gets me is that stopping at the light is a
given. so i cant imagine why anyone is in a hurry to
sit at the longest red light in town.