Do Priuses get into more accidents?

The reason is the Prius has very high resale, and very few owners seem willing to part with their car. Thus, wrecked cars with salvage titles, are often rebuilt, being that the market for these cars is so hot.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sl7vk @ Aug 3 2006, 01:50 PM) [snapback]297259[/snapback]</div>

ITA on that. Priuses are hot hot hot right now and anyone who can rebuild one and sell it can get a pretty penny for that car, salvage title or not.

 

My Prius is black, therefore all Prii are black.

My local dealer has two red 2007s on the lot, therefore all 2007s are red.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ucla95 @ Aug 3 2006, 04:44 PM) [snapback]297248[/snapback]</div>

If you are going to perform any sort of statistical analysis, I suggest you check the accuracy of your source of data (your "facts"). eBayMotors is certainly NOT an accurate source of information around accident statistics. There are well qualified people on here who can discuss statistics with you all day, but please base the beginning of the conversation in reality. eBayMotors is NOT reality!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ucla95 @ Aug 3 2006, 03:44 PM) [snapback]297248[/snapback]</div>

I pondered about the same question a while back(although i did not look at the ebay site). At one point of time i did try to get rate quotes from my insurance company with different models of new mid size cars to my improve my knowledge base (before i purchased the prius - not that it would have changed my decision in any way). A comprehensive policy for prius was no more expensive compared to most other popular cars, in fact in several cases it was less. I do realize that the insurance comapny uses several factors to determine the premium, but for the same driver, address etc., if there was a significant deviation in terms of the accident rate with the Prius, these people would know about it and i believe it would certainly reflect on the premium to some extent.
The best explanation for the anomaly, as others have also suggested is the high demand for this car. While other rebuilt cars can get sold in the local market at body shops and like such, chances are that a person rebuilding the Prius will profit more by auctioning his product on ebay.

 

Agreed! The only reason to part with a Prius is if it's been hit.

Nate

 

Don't know if they do or not, yet in the six or so weeks since I bought my Prius, I've had more people tailgating me than ever before. They ride my bumper for three or four minutes, then pass. It's mostly people driving SUVs and large trucks. I'm wondering if they're trying to intimidate me, or if they're fascinated by my ride. Or maybe they're sighting the computer and doing an ooh and aah thing. I don't know. Just wish they'd get off my bumper and go test-drive one if they're so curious!

 

I can prove almost anything with statistics if I ask the right questions and manipulate the data correctly.

 

Hi All,

By this time in my Prius ownership, I was hit by two poor drivers in my previous car (a Saturn). So, that is an anecdote that the Prius has less accidents.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ZenCruiser @ Aug 3 2006, 03:02 PM) [snapback]297318[/snapback]</div>

Homer voice: Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!

 

Yeah, I don't think Priuses get into a lot more accidents than other cars at all. As part of my job I scan the California Highway Patrol accident report website countless times a day. Even though not all accident reports list accurate details about the makes of cars involved in crashes, I've also NEVER seen a Prius in those listings either. It's the SUVs and pick-ups that get out there and beat up other cars!

 

I would hope that the Ebay thing is an anomaly and that Prius drivers
should actually get into *fewer* accidents, because driving one
mellows them out and creates larger following distance, smoother
driving, better predictability, etc. Being butt-sniffed by an SUV
doesn't necessarily increase accident risk, simply because the SUV
driver probably sees all that nice SPACE ahead of the Prius and can't
understand why its driver isn't racing up to close the gap and then
cram on the brakes. Duh.
.
_H*

 

The problem is, of course, that so many Prius owners drive while looking at the screen to see if they are regenerating energy, gliding with no arrows, etc.

 

I think it's less likely that Prii get into high speed accidents, but somewhat more likely that they'll get into low speed accidents, generally as the victim vs. the cause..

The reason being that while the car has great low end torque, but there's short delay between application of pedal and when the car actually starts doing something, which makes getting out of a situation where you might get hit somewhat more difficult.. On the other side of the coin, the regenerative brakes are IMO quite a bit more effective than the conventional brakes of most other vehicles and although that allows you to stop faster, it also increases the likelihood that someone will rear-end you...

I had an accident recently where I was able to stop safely for traffic in front, but a couple of seconds later, I heard the screech of the car behind me trying to stop and although I knew that car couldn't accelerate fast enough to get out of the way, I hit the accelerator anyways, and as expected, the car did nothing for two seconds and then started moving, but way too slowly, I just gave up and braced for impact, and sure enough, a split second late was hit from behind.. The accident was completely the fault of the guy who hit me, but I can't help but believe that on pretty much any other car, that I likely would have been able to accelerate enough that the guy behind would not have hit me.. As a result, I'm somewhat paranoid about any stop-and-go traffic situations now- I worry about the guys behind not being able to stop in time and hitting me again..

 

Absolutely. I bet this has an effect. Especially with all you nerds banging on about pulse and glide..

It's certainly the cause of most of MY near misses

 

Absolutely. I bet this has an effect. Especially with all you nerds banging on about pulse and glide..

It's certainly the cause of most of MY near misses
[/quote]

I've found that as i've gotten used to the car i don't need to use the MFD hardly at all to know if i'm P&Ging appropriately... you can just tell by the feel of it what the engines are doing.

 

I see a lot of old beet up cars on the roads and a lot of new cars in pristine condition, therefore the people must take better care of new cars. Other wise the new cars would look like the old ones.

When I go to the salvage yard I see a lot of wrecked Chevy’s and Ford’s therefore people who drive old Chevy’s and Ford’s must crash a lot.

Oh and don’t forget Buick and Oldsmobile.

Oh and my friend has a little 4 cylinder truck that gets about 25 mpg sssoooo a big huge lifted 4x4 F350 v8 turbo diesel must get 25 mpg. There both trucks right.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(c4 @ Aug 4 2006, 08:13 AM) [snapback]297668[/snapback]</div>

If that is the case, you need to take your car to the dealer and have them check for any problems which would cause it to take “two seconds” to move.

Even with the battery SOC at one or two bars, four adults in the car, and the A/C blasting away – it doesn't take “two seconds” for a normally functioning Prius to start moving.

From the sounds of other verbiage in your post - “the regenerative brakes are IMO quite a bit more effective than the conventional brakes of most other vehicles and although that allows you to stop faster, it also increases the likelihood that someone will rear-end you...” and “I worry about the guys behind not being able to stop in time and hitting me again..” - I think you have not changed your driving style from your Pri-Prius days. <_<

Defensive driving, especially in stop and go situations, does not just entail being able to stop in time not to hit the car in front of you, but to also leave enough lead time for the car(s) behind you to react in time not to hit you. You seem to relish in the “fact” that the Prius can stop quicker than other cars – it can't! <_<

Being hit from behind in stop and go traffic only means you were aggressively trying to keep up with the cars in front of you . . . and YES, the driver who rear ended you was at fault. But then, I too could sucker someone into rear ending me by stopping abruptly in the same situation, but that is not my mission while driving - especially in a new car. My mission is to get from point A to point B as safely as I can, and, now that I have a Prius, to see how little gas I can use doing so - Which, coincidentally, are not mutually exclusive goals.

Next time you are out on the road driving, leave ample space between you and the car in front. If there is a car tailgating you, leave even more space between you and the car in front. The jerk tailgating you will need the extra stopping distance . . . because, apparently, you can slam on your brakes quicker than they can.

Luke, be one with the Prius driving meditation force . . . and stop trying to drive it like a sports car.