I think you are on the right track. The total frontal area of a Prius is smaller than average and the streamlined shape does not give sharp corners for the "corner detectors" in the optical system to cue in on. If I still had my lab, we could use some car models and quickly set up some standard visual detection tasks to check on this. I have same problems in an old Miata which also has a small frontal area and smooth curves in its outline, so the result would not just be useful to Prius drivers. Anyone know of research on this issue?
It was likely someone who wasn't paying the necessary attention while driving. I saw someone do this two cars ahead of me the other day. Fortunately, (like you) the other driver was able to avoid the careless driver. As a long-time motorcycle rider, I've managed to stay out of nasty incidents by always paying attention, anticipating and preparing for these types of scenarios. I carry over this same strategy while operating an automobile. I live by the old adage for motorcycle riders, "ride like you're invisible."
This SUV (I believe it was a vw tiguan) tried very hard to overtake me today on the road. However, every stop light, I caught up to him and we ended up side by side for the next 15 min in the same direction. The only difference is that my car used probably a 1/5 of the amount of gas he used.
I had one just like it yesterday and I was driving a 2014 Avalon Hybrid XLE Touring. It is just the idiot drivers on the road nowadays, not the car you are driving.
In addition to how it's hard to judge closing speed, the longer someone waits to turn left the more anxious they become and the more likely they are to take a risk based on existing research. Check out the book Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt. It's an excellent book.
That's one negative of the hyper mile technique of leaving a generous gap in front: sometimes that oncoming left turner is thinking "should I stay or should I go...". And sometimes mull it over, and go when it's almost too late.
