hybrid hater honk?

Having done a lot of driving in Europe, there are a couple of road rules that should be enforced here:

1. The left lane is for passing only, no cruising, no RVs, etc. Pull to the left, complete the pass, get back in line.

2. There is NO passing on the right at any time. I'm speaking of freeways. In the city, anything goes, left, right, two wheels on the curb, whatever works!

If you try to do that over here, you would have lots of problems, unless everyone else was enlightened to it. It does work (mostly) over there, though Americans as a group are not too rules-oriented, especially road rules. Driving in Europe is actually fun, and these two simple rules take a lot of guesswork out of dealing with traffic, but it does take discipline. I didn't see too many Honda drivers over there though.

 

I'm curious why you think it had anything to do with the type of car you drive.
I think it could be chalked up to driving the speed limit in any lane besides the far right lane, regardless of safety.

Did the passing car yell/signal something specifically about your Prius? Or did he/she seem agitated in general?

 

1. europe prices are higher than ours, duh. and i think they drive fast, just like here. no, faster.
2. my jeep gets terrible mileage, when i drive prius style, improvement is not even 10%, maybe 5%.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(subarutoo @ Apr 17 2006, 12:24 PM) [snapback]241019[/snapback]</div>

My son-in-law hates driving here even though he grew up here. He and my daughter are in Italy for 3 years and he loves driving there. They do drive fast but no one thinks they own the road, people do not have this irresistabl urge to get into someone else's way to prove a point. They just mind their business and go along with the rules....what a novel idea.

 

I drove for a month from Amsterdam to Barcelona and back again and found Europeans to drive quite sensibly. Faster than us yes, but much more respectfully.

The only crazy thing I ran into is when in-between vehicles is treated as another lane by hyper-speeding crotch-rockets. It's real disconcerting to be passed at 100 mph by a motorcycle going 140 mph between you and the car on the right that you're passing.

 

Driving 101: Don't worry about the people behind you.

If you are not going slower than the rest of traffic in the fast lane, do not pay any attention to the people behind you. There's no point.

If you're going to go the speed limit or slower, stay out of the fast lane. There's no reason in being over there if you're just going to hold things up.

If you're polite enough to not block off the fast lane, you will never, ever need to worry about what anyone is doing behind you.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Begreen @ Apr 17 2006, 09:26 AM) [snapback]240931[/snapback]</div>

Yup. I noticed you're in WA. When I lived up there, I found that people drive a bit too slow up there and do nutty things like hogging the left lane while going at or below the speed limit even w/perfect road conditions (daytime, no rain, nobody in front). It was aggravating.

At least people in California generally know to move over if people are piling up behind them. The left lane hogging at/below the speed limit in So Cal would generate even more anger than in Nor Cal.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(subarutoo @ Apr 17 2006, 02:24 PM) [snapback]241019[/snapback]</div>

I've lived in Germany for three years and Japan for six years and in both those countries, driving is a responsibility not a right. It costs lots of money to earn the privilege to drive.

They ALWAYS abide by the no passing on the right rule (except in Japan where everything is opposite), always drive on the right side except to pass, WILL tell you if they want to pass by flicking their lights (Germany) and always use directional signals.

Everyone drives the same and you can predict how they will drive and what will happen to you on the road. In America, anything goes on the road. I always comment to my wife that driving on Interstates in the US is like a NASCAR race. Everyone drafts and changes lanes on the left and right without ever using a directional signal.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusguy04 @ Apr 17 2006, 02:20 AM) [snapback]240803[/snapback]</div>

Now isn't it odd that the comment I get most often when I drive my electric car is, "Is that one of those hybrids?"

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Apr 16 2006, 10:12 PM) [snapback]240766[/snapback]</div>

I agree that offering everybody a peek at their instant MPG would go a long way toward solving many of our problems. Would likely save many lives, and many, many gallons of gasoline. The game becomes "how high can we get the mileage?" instead of "how fast can we go?" I firmly believe that people will do the smart thing if given the proper tools. At least they'll KNOW what they're doing even if they choose to ignore it.

And as not knowing that air resistance increase with the CUBE of speed (and the power to overcome that resistance increasing with the square of speed)... well, as far as I'm concerned we need to educate our drivers in this country WAY beyond what we do now. Being able to park at the curb and use the turn signal when exiting the freeway just isn't enough for a life-time license. Real driver training would include some theory as well as actual driving skills. Hell - maybe learn how to change a tire. How to correct a skid. Learn about braking and accelerating. About power consumption and resistance. I'd vote for that requirement in a heartbeat. And I'm sure I'll experience pigs flying out of my rectum before we ever see real driver education here.

Just for a data point: I don't drive the Prius any differently (beyond playing a bit with the EV mode) than I do my other cars. Until the Prius, nobody ever complained about my driving being too slow. Now people do. go figure.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Apr 18 2006, 02:39 AM) [snapback]241392[/snapback]</div>

Darell,
Everything I've seen shows that drag (and lift) both increase with the square of velocity.

D= Cd * ((p * V^2) / 2 ) * A where p=density, A= Area, Cd=coefficent of drag and V=Velocity.

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/drageq.html

Power required for steady state velocity should be equal to drag provided level terrain.

Is there some other formula you are using where you see drag increasing with the cube of velocity?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stepclimb @ Apr 18 2006, 06:10 AM) [snapback]241403[/snapback]</div>

Hi Darelldd and Stepclimb,

Actually, Darrelldd has it backward, and Stepclimb is equating a force to a power.

Power is work/unit time. Work is force times distance. So power is force times distance / unit time, or
(drag+rolling resistance force) times speed.

Ignoring rolling resistance force and using the Drag as a function of speed squared, power then is a function of speed cubed (Speed times Drag(SpeedSquared) ).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(palau @ Apr 16 2006, 11:00 PM) [snapback]240711[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Apr 18 2006, 12:39 AM) [snapback]241392[/snapback]</div>

Agree on the drivers ed. I was unable to take drivers ed in high school; my dad ended up teaching me in a VW. I learned more from him than any of my friends...my dad commuted to work (downtown Los Angeles) 80 miles a day...he had seen it all. The kids in the drivers ed class got a bunch of rules and had to look at Drivers Ed pictures, from movies to the CHP magazine (with suitably gory scenes of accidents). My dad made me change a tire on the VW before I got my license.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(palau @ Apr 16 2006, 10:00 PM) [snapback]240711[/snapback]</div>

It might be due to the local paper publishing articles about SUV vs hybrid rage. Such articles provide justification for ill behaviour. Remember, it's not you, Christine, it's the other driver.

Cameron

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Apr 18 2006, 04:20 PM) [snapback]241661[/snapback]</div>

I couldn't agree more. Well, except for the flag thing. There's actually an explanation for that one. When the cavalry or whatever is advancing up the hill or whatever, if you were to the right of the flag carrier, it would look backwards from that angle. That's why it's shown backwards on the right side of the truck or what have you.

 

Regarding the original subject:

There is no question that drivers treat you differently depending on what car you are driving.
I drive several cars and depending on the car I drive, there is a wide range of driving habits around me.
Everything from cars moving out of my way as I approach, to cars cutting me off whenever there is a few feet between me and the car in front of me.
It is alway predictable and almost always comical.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Apr 19 2006, 09:32 AM) [snapback]242029[/snapback]</div>

Ah, I see. You mean when they put it on the right side of the truck as if it was on the left, then. Do I have to ask who the chucklehead who's autographing the flag is?