Nooblet alert!

I have noticed that same thing also.
I think people just have the impression that it's a Prius and they are slow so I need to pull around.

 

I had a similar revelation when I bought a Prius: Suddenly people were riding my a$$ all the time. In my case, it's only indirectly because of the Prius:

Suddenly I became more attuned to the extreme wastefulness of high speed driving. I slowed down. Now when traffic permits, I go the speed limit or slower, whereas before I'd go as fast as I thought I could get away with without a ticket. I didn't only slow down in the Prius though, because high speed affects MPG's in any car. I'm a firm believer that mandating realtime/trip MPG displays in all cars would reduce the country's fuel use significantly.

Parts of I-95 around metro Boston are difficult to stay slow on, and I find that I'm lucky if I can go 10mph over the 55mph limit and not get run into.

 

Hi there.... I too am a relatively new Prius owner here at the end of the world in Eastern coastal Maine... Rel. to your mention of the speed on the interstates around Boston, I had to drive down (and out of the State of Maine for the first time in 8 years) to Marion on Buzzards Bay last week to visit an old, and dying, friend... My God, once south of Portland I was amazed that all the traffic seemed to be running 70 to 75...! (Her in Maine we drive 55 to 60.) As a Dodge Grand Caravan long-timer I became more and more nervous in my tiny new Prius.... Went thru Boston around 2 p.m. (ahead of rush hour traffic) and joined the clog on Rt. 3 headed south toward the Canal. Good God!!!! In the middle lane I was 'forced' to go 70 to 75 all the way to the Canal and from Weymouth, south, these young kids in those wasteful SUV's were literally racing down the breakdown lane at what appeared to be 80 to 90 mph!!!!!!!!! (Was advised later that the Police don't even think of trying to stop them because it would cause a 'gridlock' in Boston... What a shame.....) How do folks living in that area even begin to try to maximize the hybrid driving habits that have let me get into the mid-60/mpg range these last few weeks in Maine?? Down there in Mass. you must be damned, tailgated, and forced off the road by all!!!
In any event, I was particularly aggravated by our little car's notorious blind spots in the rear corners when driving in that frantic expressway environment and wanted to pass on to you a good thread re. the blind spots here in the PriusChat forums... Go to the "If I could change one thing..." thread and follow in to the rear mirror discussions. There's a link there that gets you to a Click & Clack article on how to adjust the Prius mirrors and the blind spots disappear (without having to add those damned little curved stick-ons to your standard mirrors). Have employed the procedure since returning thankfully to Maine and it does work VERY well on the Prius. You need to be able to see for lane changes down there in the insanity you must endure on the expressway, 128, 24, 25, 495, 3 et al......! That is my last trip across the bridge out of the State of Maine I'll ever make in my great Prius! That madhouse driving really screwed up my lifetime average mpg (when I was there) but, with now 3,000 miles on the car, the "wasted" gallons in Mass. were absorbed, to a surprising degree, by the time I was back in Winter Harbor. Given the 800 mile duration, I was still able 'save' on the way back and averaged 56.4 for the trip..... ( : >) Best of luck with the Prius... Wes Shaw (Retired full-time to Maine back in 1990 after a lifetime in Bridgewater.... Not one regret!)

 

Welcome! I live just north of you in Stafford. I haven't noticed any difference in traffic after converting to my Prius. I drive better than before but I-95 traffic in Northern VA seems to be the same. I caught one carload of people staring at my Prius the other day but there are so many Prii on this stretch of I-95 that I don't know why they stared.

I agree with a previous post asking that all cars have an in-car MPG display. It could certainly change some driving habits! I don't think the big automakers would go for that.

 

Here's a little trick which eliminates the blind spots. Adjust your mirrors according to this web pages directions: Car Talk . It takes a little getting use to but once you do you'll never understand how you didn't do this sooner.

 

Very poignant observations about Boston-environs traffic, from
someone who isn't used to it. Yup, we put up with this crap all
the time, in many cities, and talk about at length over in places
like cleanmpg.com. It's a huge problem and many of us are at
our wits' end as to what to do. Enforcement is nonexistent, and
the continued speed-n-power marketing blizzard we're all subjected
to doesn't help in the slightest. Sorry it came as an unwelcome
surprise. However, there's hope -- slightly underpacing the
headlong rush in the right lane and doing as much predictive
driving as you can is not only more relaxing, you can see some
huge MPG gains when it all begins to slow down and you steadfastly
keep maintaining that nice big gap ahead. In fact you help it
get going again by keeping that gap -- see here for much more on it.
.
_H*

 

I was thinking the very same thing. I leave more room behind large vehicles because I have no idea what's going on in front of them.

I'm north of the OP in Arlington, and I'm not experiencing any difference between the Prius and my old Camry in terms of tailgaters. Except the Prius auto-dimming mirror reduces glare better than the Camry's rear view mirror, so tailgating SUV drivers who think they are intimidating me with their headlights would be disappointed to know that I couldn't care less about them.

 

Same practice here - I get more distance between me and cars I can't see through since Northern VA I-95 is stop-and-go with very little warning. I like being able to see the brakelights of two cars ahead so I can react.

 

I also do not regret getting a Prius. Aside from the car is so fun to drive it is also less stressful driving down the highway. I always keep my distance in front just to prevent a lot of paint chips on the hood . Tailgating is not my thing, so I expect drivers to do the same.

Drive safe.

 

Bummer about the scratch.

The mirror setup is simple: lean all the way left when adjusting your left-hand mirror and lean the same distance right for the right-hand mirror, and voila! Your side mirrors now show you cars in your former blind spot, rather than cars that are a couple lengths behind you.

It applies in every car, and puts your side mirrors to much better use than if they were showing you nearly the same thing as your center mirror. But it's still a good idea to turn your head for a final safety check when maneuvering.

 

gary Here From Boston.. Just Picked Up My New Prius Yesturday And Cant Believe The Milage Already... Just Drove About 100 Miles And Got 55mpg, Combined City And Highway... What A Great Car.. I Have To Mention That Yes People Seem To Be Right Up My Rear End On The Road, More So In The City. I Do The Speed Limit But I Do Start Out On A Slower Note...it Seems Where Ever I Go People Are Always Asking Me Questions About The Car, A Real Head Turner..i Wish I Bought One Sooner!!!! Now Im Thinking Of Trading My S430 For One Of These Also... Its A Great Feeling...

 

Believe it or not, I think people are starting to get used to Prius and have begun to treat us almost like regular cars around the Portland Oregon Metro area. I actually live across the river in WA, but I drive through downtown portland every day, and although I think I noticed Prius Envy (that's what it really is) early on, I swear people seem to treat me more like any other car now, or else I am getting better at ignoring them.

It may be becuase we have so many Prius' here.

To the OP, I would say that Hummers likely go by at 90 MPH becuase they (driver or the Hummer itself) are embarrassed and are hoping you will not notice them at that speed.

 

glad to hear it, but what's with all the weird caps?
.
I think a corolla is a hoopdie *by definition* these days...
.
_H*

 

From this central Virginian I'll add a public "welcome" to the PM dialog we've had and to the greetings of others here.

Are you willing to say publicly which dealership had the jerks? If not, then by PM? I've had good experiences with both Haley and McGeorge, but it would be nice to know if one of them is giving a fellow PC member the runaround.

 

To all the NoVA guys here, I feel sorry for you all. I live just across the MD line and used to commute daily into Alexandria. Leaving that headache was the best thing I could possibly have done for fuel economy and my stress level. I took a new job in PG county approximately the same distance from home, but now my 1 1/2 - 2 hr. commute has dropped to about 20 mins. Not to mention my new hours are 7 - 4, so I get to avoid the majority of the traffic. I am soooo much more relaxed now when I get home.

BTW, I have had nothing but good experiences with Toyota of Waldorf sales and service, if some of you in VA feel up to the drive.

 

Before I moved to Northern VA people told me I would get used to the commuting. They kept telling repeating the line like some kind of mantra. I bought into the line and got used to my commute - I got used to it and now I have a great commuter car. It turns out that the people telling me I'd get used to the commute never did themselves! I think it is 95% mental -- except on Friday's in the summer when I go mental.

At least my commute gave me reason to buy my Prius!!!!