The fourth time in 4 years, but still...

Massachusetts, where traffic signals are mere suggestions.

 

Pedestrians appreciate car directional signals too: I’ve lost count of the times, looking at some (non-signalling) car: is he hanging a right, left, going through? One of those options means he’ll be plowing into me; would be nice to know...

 

I love how horns get used as a polite relative positional reference.

Seems that it's only in America where sounding the horn is thought to have some warning or even anger associated with it.

 

When you are on a controlled access highway in the USA, you have the right of way. Merging traffic should yield to you. Of course they won't always, but it is important to remember which way is normal and which is the exception.

Maintain your headway at a steady rate. Much better to stay at a predictable speed, so that guy merging- who may have only seen you for half a second on a shoulder check- at least has a chance at predicting where you will be next. If you change speeds on them, you'll wind up surprising them and probably not in a good way.

Nothing wrong with moving over to the passing lane (when conditions allow) to make it easier for somebody, but it's just an occasional courtesy bonus.

 

ya may be surprised which states are more dangerous . . . . . (hind: it ain't the west coast)

StackPath

.

 

There is no such thing. It's impossible for the merging vehicles to yield when merging onto a freeway, and it may also be impossible to reach the speed limit if the ramp is short or has a steep curve. The only exception I have seen is the 110 Pasadena Freeway here, which is very old with a 55 mph speed limit, and the merging vehicles have a stop sign for them with practically no ramp provided. If you rear-end someone, in almost every case, you'll be at 100% fault.

 

that's what i thought until i drove in cali. (and nyc btw)

in the last 20 years, i have found that the entire east coast has adopted ma driving skills

 

nice stat map, but i'm not sure fatalities tell the whole story.

either way, i've driven maine to florida (16 years in orlando) cali from sandiego to napa several times, and 20 visits to nyc and dc.
they are all bad from my perspective, but i have never seen the speed i saw in norcal

 

So, Northern California is worse than Southern California?

 

in my experience, socal was pure gridlock

 

I always use my horn on blind turns and blind hairpin turns. Anywhere visibility is compromised, lets other drivers know your there

 

my friends dad from cuba would honk the horn every few seconds while driving. old habits die hard...

 

Well it looks like I hit a sore spot; my apology - that was my attempt at humor (hint: all the emojis). So this will be my last post on this subject. Straight from the DMV handbook:
Space to Merge
Enter the freeway at or near the speed of traffic. Do not stop before merging into freeway traffic, unless it is absolutely necessary. Freeway traffic has the right-of-way. When it is safe, follow the “3-second rule” (refer to the “Do not be a tailgater!” section).

• Do not try to merge into a gap that is too small.
• Watch for vehicles around you. Use your mirrors and turn signals. Turn your head to look quickly over your shoulder before changing lanes or merging in traffic. Leave 3 seconds of space between you and the vehicle ahead of you. Make sure you can stop safely, if necessary.
• If you need to cross several freeway lanes, cross them one at a time. If you wait until all of the lanes are clear, you may cause traffic delays or a collision.

IMHO - driving at a constant speed is defensive driving. Everyone on the road, whose paying attention, will know where you are.

 

It turns out that the California driver's handbook is wrong on this issue. What is written in the handbook is not found in the vehicle code, and according to the California Highway Patrol, neither driver has the right-of-way, and they both share the responsibility for a smooth merge.

California Highway Patrol Lt. Michael Soubirous had answered that neither a driver on the freeway nor the driver merging onto the freeway has right-of-way and that both parties have to “work it out” so traffic merges seamlessly into a single lane.

When merging onto the freeway, who has the right-of-way?—Press Enterprise

So, common sense prevails thanks to CHP. Merging into a freeway through lane from a freeway ramp lane is quite different than merging onto a street from a driveway.

 

My apologies, I let one of my posts stray too far there.

Getting back to your car- it sounds as if it is working exactly as designed, and you are highlighting one of the critical differences between a PHEV with an EV mode and an EV.

 

The road conditions and driver habits difference aside, as mentioned by @Tideland Prius the EU models of PP do not have the pure EV mode that exists in the US models. That is the major reason you are experiencing the engine starting when you floor the gas pedal. For US and Canada model PP, as long as there is enough juice in the traction battery and the car is in EV mode (not EV Auto like in EU model), then the engine will not start.

 

Are you still carless @Salamander_King? Will you get the 2022 Prius Prime?

 

Yap, I am still 100% homebound. Depending on when and if I have to go back to commuting for my work, I will decide what car to get. The 2022 PP may be out then, but maybe new Toyota BEVs as well. So many to choose from. That's a good thing.

 

That is only true for California. Most states give right of way to the traffic on the highway. That is how it is in Pennsylvania.

It also might be technically illegal for the car entering the highway to pass traffic on the highway, since they are on the right side with the majority of entrences.