Y Do Prius drivers drive like their 80 years old?

Of all the posters here who have complained about Prius drivers going to slow, you are the first to mention the brand I was driving just as slow the last time gas was north of $4. Back then, despite seeing numerous other drivers going slow, I didn't see any Prius slowpokes. Instead, they were all driving like maniacs, rubbing their ability to afford gas in the noses of everyone else.

Where is that old post by a columnist who printed a bunch of letters complaining about Prius drivers, alternating the 'too slow' complaints with the 'too fast' complaints? The contrast was hilarious.

Don't forget that your sampling on the road is biased. Whatever your speed, you will spot very few of the people going exactly your speed, and a much higher fraction of those going much faster or slower than yourself.

 

driving slower is your perception of "hat they all drive like idiots."
what do you think other people think about those Nut cases on the road driving to fast that are real idiots.
if you are iritated about poeple driving slower then you maybe you are iritated to fast?

 

" Hi I am young and I bought the car with the misconception that it would get good gas mileage without my involvement, (what it does is allow the driver to get good gas mileage) and I am wondering why no other owner I meet drives this badly?"

Was that the question?

 

Hmmm, I'll bite. I do find that a significant number of Prii here in the UK are often driven by older (and slower) drivers. I have often come up behind a Prius driven slower than the speed limit and it usually has a queue of traffic behind it and some aged bloke in his late 60's or early 70's.

But this old stereotype doesn't seem to apply to the gen3/2010 Prius which seems to have become more 'mainstream' and thus, driven by a wider variety of people.

I will add (before I get shot down by gen2 owners) that perhaps you only notice the slow Prius because you have one and you're looking out for them, or maybe you just drive too fast? lol.

I drive my Prius like a cab driver! I'll let you interpret that as you see fit

 

I'd have to agree with the others. Driving slow does not make one an idiot as it is not reckless and laws are being obeyed. Driving like an idiot is when you see people weaving through traffic at much higher speeds than the flow of other traffic, making turns in an unsafe manner, street racing, going way too slow in a lane designated for faster traffic, passing on shoulders, texting while driving, etc. etc..

Next time you are bothered by someone driving much too slow for your tastes take a look at the drivers. Often times they are older drivers who tend to drive slow no matter what car they are in. The rest may be hypermiling or just obeying the speed limit. If you find the speed limit too slow then maybe the problem lies within.

Keep in mind that I spend nearly two decades racing high HP cars and trucks and was a complete idiot in the ways I described above. There is just something about getting older that calms you down and relaxes your driving manner. I'll admit that the Prius helps.

 

Reminds me of a phrase I remember from years ago;

"There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots"

Perhaps this could apply to cars?

 

I also will have to agree with most here I find driving my prius a joy to drive at "SLOW SPEEDS" I am within the law in all I do and am aware of my surroundings while on the road. Living in Florida I find myself getting dirty looks from many drivers for driving the speed limit from red light to red light . I also find myself chuckling when the light turns green and everyone takes off like a bat out of hell only to have me roll up next to them at the next red light.

 

Patience is what allows us to type in all the letters of a word.

 

I try to do my part to disspell the stereotype of the slow Prius driver. :madgrin:

 

I generally go at the speed limit on the slow lane. On the surface roads, I sometimes go a few mph over the limit if there are vehicles behind me, even on the slow lane. I get nervous when it is a one lane road and there are vehicles behind me. I hate to go more than 5mph over, and I never know what to do when they tailgate me in those rare situations.

 

i generally drive the speed limit, and i'm about as slow a driver as i have seen. 30 in a 45? that would aggravate me too. do you exaggerate? now, acceleration is in the mind of the beholder another thing altogether. there are no traffic laws that i know of that govern acceleration.

 

I tend to drive my new Prius II (2011, silver, less than a week old) the same as I drive my work truck, which is the speed limit or lower. Working for at&t and driving a company vehicle throughout the day makes one mindful of NOT speeding, but also driving extremely safe.

 

What I see around town is typically that the 60+ Prius drivers are slower than the younger drivers. It is funny though that when I have gotten behind the "slower" drivers they are actually running the speed limit and everyone else (me included) is running anywhere from +5 to 10 mph over the speed limit.

On the highway though it seems the Prii that I see are usually in the left lane doing the passing.

 

Sometimes I go fast, sometimes I go slow, depending on the flow. The key, for me, is to find the right pace. Life is not a race.

 

I do not drive the Prius faster than the posted speed limit...

Except once on I5 going to LA... where I got to the maximum speed of the car...

I test all my road cars on that stretch of road, where I have never received a speeding ticket... however, I will admit my last speeding ticket was in 1984, in town, doing 35 in a 30 zone, no shoulder restraints (beat that one), and exhibition of speed... That V8 T-bucket did catch some eyes...

On my commute, I generally get in the #2 lane and peg the cruise control to the sign number... there are always folks in more of a hurry behind me... I do not feel guilty about their impatience... but it is the driving of other drivers that are pushing me to get a damn train horn installed in the Prius... there was lots of room in the other cars I've owned to have em put in, this little car, not so much.

 

Lots of room if you remove the bumper. I bet you can fit the horns in behind the bumper with ease. I can help you take it apart if you're skerd.

 

Re: why Do Prius drivers drive like they're 80 years old?

I don't think you can really generalize the speed of a car based on make or model.

The slower you drive, the more you notice other people driving fast, and the faster you drive, the more you notice other people driving slowly.

 

Because I am almost 80.