Prius Rage- Your stories

I don't understand the reasoning behind this statement.

 

Woah there!!! First off, Brad didn't say he was riding a bike on a highway, he said "road". Don't be a hater, and please be careful when stating "facts" about certain laws. You're general statement is absolutely incorrect. Please provide us a quote and reference (from any state law) that says bicycles are not allowed on the road unless it has a bike lane. You won't because you can't. Even if you aren't familiar with specific laws, your statement doesn't pass the common sense test. If what you say was hypothetically true, then the act of cycling on non-bike-lane roads would be the most often broken transportation law in the land, and there would have been a crack-down a very long time ago.

With some exceptions, cyclists are allowed on most public roads, with or without bike lanes. Exceptions are for most Interstate Highways and certain high-traffic or high-speed roads and bridges. In those cases, you'll normally see a sign prohibiting bicycle usage. In fact, you will find laws in all states that state cyclists are not allowed to use pedestrian sidewalks, rather, they must use the road and are required to follow all rules of the road just like a car.

So, by law, cyclists DO have the right to drive on the road (except as noted above). Economically (or is it politically?), they also have the right since most cyclists on the road are adults who also own a car and pay automobile registration taxes, which go into a general fund to maintain transportation infrastructure. Cyclists have a moral right to use the roads for too many reasons to detail here (summary: promote and set an example for physical fitness, environmental awareness, financial frugality, etc). Finally, roads would become a lot less congested if more people biked to their destination.

Most roads are to be shared by both motor-driven vehicles and human-powered machines! We should be promoting cycling, certainly not stating that cyclists don't have a right to use the road where they clearly do!

 

I'm not targeting you but I too ride a bike on the road and I keep as far to the right as possible. I figure the road belongs to the cars and I'm squeezing in a bit for myself. I don't want to (as you had to - sorry you were hurt) tangle with a car...

While driving I get peeved at bike riders who think they own too much of the road and sometimes are riding two or even three abreast. If they were able to go the speed limit than more power to them. As they can't they should realize they are a hazard and keep to the right.

Bike riders are far more annoying to me than most of what has been in this thread.

 

Yesterday a guy in a pickup truck ran a red light and almost hit me. I honked at him and he flipped me off. Pretty standard stuff. Where I live if you don't own at least an F250 with a huge dog and a couple of dirty kids in the truck bed, you're considered a wimp.

 

Today when I came out of Home Depot there was a shopping cart left exactly behind my car. I didn't think much of it despite the fact that all of the parking spaces around my car were now empty. But when I went to get into my car I notice a big wad of SPIT on the driver's side door.

So now I'm thinking the cart was left intentionally, as was the spit.

I think this is more likely to happen in the Home Depot parking lot than the lots at Target or Ralph's.

 

Same situation here, before my Prius and Camry... It's 11 pm, and I'm in my Mazda MX-6 driving home. I went to pass a van at 60 mph on the left lane on I-95, notice the state trooper in front of him and slowed down to 55 mph. Someone in a passenger vehicle came roaring up behind me flashing headlights (no horn though). I slowly pick up the pace to 60 mph and moved to the right lane after passing the van. Once the left became free the offender punched but didn't get but 50 feet ahead when he noticed the state trooper. Both ended up slowing down to 50 mph for which the offender had to pick it up to 55 mph and moved ahead of the trooper. For which, the trooper did his duty, flipped on the lights and pulled the offender over. I betcha, he was MAD that night (not because of me I hope). I could have left him all the free room on the left and had him blowing by all of us at 90 mph (that would have resulted a much better ticket for the trooper).

Unfortunately for me, I'm finding out that I've stopped speeding most of the time now, versus me always going above the speed limit in my Camry. I guess the Prius changes everyone's habits most if not all the time.

 

That is so awesome!!!! Must of felt so good to say a big *Simpson's bully voice* Hehhh Ha!
You know he was embarrassed as hell once his little world opened up to the cops world!

p.s. how'd you get the sheriff # so fast? I would of been fumbling around not knowing who to call...

nice one!

 

NICE! I love the 99.9 revenge!
.

 

That would be cool as hell!!! Dangerous(and I never would) but fun to think about!

 

Dang. That's just not right. Sux man.
Makes one wish there was a vehicle-disable ray gun that would short circuit the car's electronics with one blast! he he he

 

Is this true?

 

That is so F-ing true where I live too.
I think they give the boys those hitch bull balls for a 14th birthday or something.
Damn huge dually trucks with one red-neck passenger blowing black smoke out at every shift. And they just have to have a confederate something accessorizing the car, huh?

 

I've had my Prius for almost a year and no rage (or waves). Is it because:

I'm around reasonable people?

I tend to stick to the right lane, going with the traffic flow? No bumper stickers or vanity plates. I prefer to go unnoticed in a white Prius.

I'm a 6-2, 250 lb gym-rat with a naturally stern-looking facial expression?

I'm hoping it's the first reason...

 

Hey, I have a "huge dually", that blows "black smoke out of every shift". I probably only drive it once a month when I'm pulling a toy trailer or have my Rhino in the back because I drive my Prius the rest of the time. The next time you pull up next to one of these there's a possibility he's in fact a Prius driver and is only running up to the home center to get some pool tile (like I did a couple of months ago).

 

Frankz decribed the happy ending that we all hope for.

"Living well is the best revenge" and so I smile as these losers lose all rationality in the presence of a Prius. The smile thoroughly confuses them, since they believe I ought to be as fumed up as they are.

Somehow it's all about 'power' isn't it?

But while 90% of the ragers are likley to be meek, snivvling, scaredy-cats without their 6-mpg jacked-up 4x4's, maybe 5-10% are truly dangerous wackos out on parole & running from their amber alerts ...

 

I'm surprised that this thread even exists; having owned a Prius for all of six weeks, it never occurred to me that I could be a victim of road rage because I own one.

For what it's worth, I've not suffered any abuse in the 2,200 miles I've covered so far. The Prius seems to polarise motoring opinion here in the UK, and so I think the worst that could happen is that someone feels pity towards me perhaps. Most ragers are too stupid to realise what the Prius is about.

 

but america is the land of the over-excesses. people who grew up idolizing big block chevys and fords, feeling the world owed them something, and cheap gas was one of them. that is mainly why you will find people so anti-prius over here

 

Actually, bicycles ARE allowed on most roads unless posted against (probably all Interstates and "freeways"), subject to the same rules of the road as other vehicles. May not be the best place if there is an alternative. There are shoulder bike lanes on portions of US 101 in California where there is not a nearby parallel "surface street" but further on bicycles are prohibited.

(traffic engineer)

 

I highly doubt thats the reason haha

 

OK, so people who own Suburban Assault Vehicles aren't rational to begin with, but if they ever decided to try thinking sometime, they'd come to this conclusion:

Gas prices are high for many reasons, but for the most part it boils down to supply and demand. The Prius uses less gas than most vehicles, so it has very, very little to do with said demand. Meanwhile, their mondo SUVs use lots and lots of gas, driving up demand. So if you have to spit on any vehicle because of high gas prices, spit on those Suburbans and Escalades out there, and kiss the ground the the Prius drives on and thank them for not being responsible for hiking up gas prices.