Cloaking Device

I agree that there are more oblivions on the road (and everywhere else for that matter) than there used to be. People are so caught up in their cell phones, kids, shaving, putting on make-up, eating, etc. that they forget there are other people sharing planet earth with them. I don't believe I have had any more near misses in my Prius than with any other car. In fact, I think I had more with my RAV 4 (which was also rear-ended). I unfortunately came close to running over the neighbor's old dog while backing out of the garage yesterday. Fortunately he saw me and strolled out of the way at the last minute. The poor thing can't move very fast. I really don't think he heard me backing up. I sure as heck did not see him.

 

I have definitely noticed a difference. I think its because:

a) I AM driving slower (trying to get that mileage up)
B) I think drivers guage (not consciously) how quickly a vehicle can stop - the small ones can stop easier

I know in my landcruiser I wouldn't pull out in front of a larger SUV/truck but if it was a little car going slower I definetly did.

 

I learned long ago to drive as if everyone else on the road is an idiot. If there is something stupid they could do in the next 10 seconds to cause an accident, they will. Now, obviously, this isn't true. However, when it does happen, I was expecting it and have an escape path already in place. I know it sounds paranoid, but I went from 16 years old to 42 years old between accidents. I learned the lesson at 16, and at 42 I turned what should have been a T-bone in my Prius to a VERY minor corner-corner touch.

I know a lot of communities are writing 'no cell phone' laws, but they're only touching on part of the problem. Others have mentioned the other distractions... cigarettes, eating food, puting on makeup... if you're going to outlaw cell phones, you should outlaw all of the others, too. Will they? Of course not. So distracted drivers will continue to threaten others, and we all have to drive carefully. Paranoid even. And as the youth of today (I'm a high school teacher) becomes more and more attached to those darned cell phones, the pool of cell-phone-talking-distracted-drivers will increase in size at an alarming rate.

<sigh>

 

I think the main problem is larger blind spots in some of the newer cars combined with the fact that most people don't know how to use or adjust their side view mirrors. I was always being cut off by other vehicles when I drove my tercel and it hasn't gotten any better in the Prius.

I think it would be worth while to have PSA's on how to be a good driver or how to signal a turn because I think a lot of people don't know what they are doing. Even how to adjust the side view mirrors.

Last week I was behind someone who was making a left and turn. Had they pulled out into the intersection probably two or three people could have made the turn. Instead they waited behind the line until the light turned red and then turned left through the intersection and other people had to stop for them.

 

I think since the Prius is smaller, I get cut off by a LOT of SUVs. Like the guy in the Isuzu trooper 3 weeks ago that cut me off 3 times on a busy highway in 5 minutes despite my blowing the horn angrily at him after the first time. Maybe they just don't look hard enough. Morons...

 

I think I've got you all beat...

This past Sunday, I was cut off by a BICYCLE. Yes, he looked right at me first, too. Amazing. But I must admit, I was causing a lot more pollution than he was. :-\

 

Neighbor about four houses down uses his power wheelchair to get to the supermarket, which is about 2.5mi away. When traffic is near, he moves more towards the curb (which is usually in disrepair or covered in debris). When no traffic is near, he rides comfortably in the road. Indeed, he cannot hear my car when I am (safely) behind him, so I've had the pleasure of driving a good 1/2 mile behind him if he enters the gates of our community before I do. Can't pass the guy when cars are parked on both sides of the streets. I've taken to rolling down the windows and turning the music up so he knows I am there!
Sara

 

People drive a lot worse than they used to. Not just around Prius.

Today on my way to work I was in the only Prius around, but several cars back from a Corvette. We came up to an intersection and there was a solid line of cars coming in from the left and turning into our lane.

The Corvette just speeded up into the intersection blaring his horn at the other cars and just about rammed them. Then he stopped really quick as the cop walked over to yell at him.

 

I get cut off all the time now that I have the Prius. I had to drive on I-95 from Philadelphia to NC on Sunday and with all of the construction, everyone thought that I was THE person to get in front of when lanes were closing down. I would be 3 inches from the bumper in front of me and they would push in anyway. Maybe it was cause I was a sole person and female that they thought they could do it. I guess looks are deceiving though since I am a very aggressive driver (happens when you grow up in a major city)

 

i bought a bumper sticker that says ''jesus loves you, evryone else thinks ur an a*shole b/c ur dring a v8 then in parenthises it say (including me!)

 

I haven't noticed a difference in the way other drivers interact with me. My Prius is acctualy larger than my Civic so I've always had people on my nice person, cutting in with less than a car length and using the right turn lane to pass me through intersections. I do however miss the fact that every suped up bad-nice person car would always want to race my Civic even though it was stock and old with over 200,000 miles.

My latest dealing was just yesterday...

This lady in a Lexus was in a hurry and sped up to cut in front of me. Then she cut back to the other lane in front of another car and got caught in traffic. I punched it to get along side her. Space then grew ahead of my possition but I stayed right next to her, blocking her advancements. I could feel the anxiaty coursing her viens. As we aproached the freeway on ramp (where the 2 right lanes both could enter), she gunned it to try and get in front of me. Again I didn't give her an inch and she almost hit me. I slammed my brakes and the horn. She stopped too and as I passed her, her mouth was open with a look of both confusion and dissbelief . We then both entered the freeway side by side. She gunned it again and immediatly crossed all the way to the fast lane. I stepped on it like I was still driving my Civic (the old days of driving like the world was after me). I waved at her as I flew past and then I snapped out of it and noticed I was doing 95mph. I had prommised myself I wouldn't go over 85 ever again. I hate that chick more for getting me going like that than anything. :angry:

I'm now making a special iPod playlist for these crazy situations with nothing but Enya. I'm ashamed and need to redeem myself for being a Prius owner. Maybe it's just because my Civic is still in the garage tuanting me. "Come on, give me a crack at that bitch like the good old days. You know you want to play."

 

Wth? Someone committed the mortal sin of trying to merge in front of you so you spend the next 10 minutes purposely trying to prevent her from changing lanes again? It's scary that people like you are on the road.

 

Not as scary as people that wiz in front of you, forcing you to break. But maybe that's how you drive and you see nothing wrong with it. I personaly can't stand it but I'm trying/learning to just smile and keep breaking so everyone can take their turn ripping me a new one. It's all about who has the right of way and not by law or morals but by thinking they're better than me and so they have the power. Good for her. She's the better person even though I never changed lanes and she almost hit me twice just because she had to be in front of me because she can do what she wants and most of the time no one does anything about it. There's a big sign that shows both lanes can enter the freeway. I'm not a cop and I shouldn't have done anything either. My bad. I need professional help. You know a good shrink?

 

007- It really amazes me that we are witnessing a whole new road etiquette emerging. It shall be called the "I am the most important person on the road so F*** you" attitude.
Maintain a safe following distance? Translation: 'There's a hole I can fill'. Blinker indicating intent to merge? Translation: 'Block the fool from her exit''
Drive less-than-the-flow of traffic in the left lane? Trans: 'Let them eat cake'
Aggressive driving? Trans: I'm usually a wimp, but I have this steel cocoon"

Just keep repeating..."I am the most important person in the world"

 

Speaking of sneaking up on animals, my dog has this bad habit of getting up on the sofa and spending his day there. We usually cover the sofa cushions with pillows, and he can't do that. However, sometimes we forget before we leave for the day. When I first got my Prius, when I came home, there was the dog, sitting on the sofa, smiling at me. We've never been able to catch him at it before, and was he chagrined. It was really kind of funny.

Oh, by the way, he has a bed that's every bit as comfortable as the sofa, we just don't want the sofa smelling like the dog.

-Roger

 

Remeber:

It's not who is right, it is who is left.

 

About 15 years ago my dad was hit BY a bicyclist...and the guy took off immediately afterwards through a nearby neighborhood and was never located. A hit-and-run by the bicyclist with minor damage to the car (dented door).

My dad was turning right out of a driveway onto a major traffic street, and there was another vehicle behind him, so he couldn't reverse out of the way when he saw the bicyclist coming from the right (the wrong way, I might add) up the sidewalk. The guy on the bike was paying absolutely NO attention to where he was riding and hit my dad's Taurus smack into the passenger's side rear door. He then fled the scene as my dad was getting out to see if the he was ok...

 

I've been crept into and rammed from behind by a car, while on my bicycle.

I was stopped at a red light, one foot resting on the curb, the other on the pedal, leaned over towards the curb. Suddenly the bike was scooting away under me. I did a slow-mo sidewards slump to the pavement, landing on my bike.

I was more dumbfounded than hurt and stood right up. The car in back of me was being driven by a teenaged girl, her eyes huge, hand over her mouth. Her passenger was laughing. The driver must have been distracted and didn't have the brake fully depressed.

My first thought was for the bike. I bent to look it over (it cost over $600, back in 1986 and was a beauty of a racer) and the car took off. The chick didn't bother to ask if I was okay.

Had a nice bruise on the right inner thigh and a scraped elbow. Was on a slow burn all the way home.

The bike was okay and gave many years of great riding.

 

Myself, I think its.....

PRIUS ENVY !! (tee hee)