Animosity towards Prius on the road???

I drive down a particular stretch of Highway 138, a state highway. This section is two lanes with a double yellow line. I drive at the posted 45 mph speed limit or slightly above. In the past month on three separate occasions I have been passed on that section of road.

This never happens when I'm in my Navigator but only when I'm in my Prius. I've also had drivers ride right on my bumper. Something about a Prius that makes everyone believe we are slow?

 

Front and rear laser canons would interest me

 

There's probably rules about displaying those. And equipment you have to carry. And probably a course you need to pass.

Your car was built in Fukushima? That might be too much of a deterrent.

Owning a Prius is infectious? I like that.

Peroxide = hairdresser. 'nuff said.

Or a t-shirt that says "Non-flammable? Challenge accepted".

Or, have a bumper sticker that says "How's my driving" including a premium rate 1900- telephone number (or whatever the equivalent is where you are) charging $5.95 per minute. The haters will pay for your petrol. Or, drive like a &$%#ing idiot and they'll pay for any fines as well!

Victoria in Australia was the first jurisdiction in the world to make seat belts mandatory back in 1970 and the first random breath testing in 1981. Well done them. But sometimes they go too far ahead of the curve such as mandating number plate stickers to signify when a car is a hybrid. The stickers cost $1.30 a pair, but you do get $100 off your annual registration.

 

Agreed.

 

I am only getting 40 miles per gallon. Is this right? I have a 2011 Prius.

 

Welcome to PriusChat! :welcome:

It is certainly possible to get that low a mileage, although rare.
As you might guess, we will need more information, so start you own Thread and answer there questions:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-answer-these-questions-esp-if-youre-new.html
That will give folks enough to start on to ask even better questions and find out answers.

I hope it goes well for you! :cheer2:

 

I have done it so often, my 5 and 7yr old girls do it as well.....

When we are going the speed limit, usually 5-7mph over, and someone passes us, the girls and I start making the "gulping" noise and wave as they pass. After they pass, we say in a loud voice, "suck that gas!!!" lol on a 2 lane highway, except once or twice, every stinking fart head that has passed me while in the prius, if they haven't turned off the road within about 2 miles, I have to slow from my normal speed to keep from kissing their rear end...

Like one person said, they are just assholes...

 

Ditto!!! I always thought they lacked power even though I own one!! One day I was making a left hand turn and didn't see a car coming, I automatically floored it. WHOA, this baby has more power than I ever imagined!!!

 

I’ve had my Prius V for nearly two years and during rush hour traffic, I’ll keep up with other cars. I mostly stay in the slow lane for the majority of my commutes. But even driving 10-15 miles over the speed limit, I still get tailgated. I rarely had that issue when I drove my Scion XB. I just give them the finger as they pass me and chuckle to myself with how much fuel they’re burning just to be an donkey and pass me.

 

OK ... So I've only been driving for so 40-odd years. I've driven numerous different types of vehicles. Whenever some idiot drives up on me I just gently take my foot off the gas. Please ... just come around me. NO problemmo.

On a different topic ... but still pertinent here ... I'm finding myself driving eco-goofy trying to get every last mpg out of every trip I make. I was getting a nice 25-mpg from my last car ... which served me very well ... but now getting 45+mpg is almost too much sunshine, lollypops, rainbows and unicorns. It ain'te easy bein' me sometimes.






Crack me up. ... I just read a post where someone used the term/phrase "commie pinko". I'm going to bed laughing tonite. Thank You.

 

I get tailgated no matter which vehicle I drive. People just tailgate - for many reasons. Either pull over and let them pass, or just forget they're behind you.

 

I have never experienced any aggression just because I am driving a Prius but then again I am in my own little world where I am safe.

 

My Prius is currently off the road (roadworthy but I need to get the compliance - WoF / MoT) done. Will do soon.
When driving my Generation 1 Honda Insight I get lots of looks and sometimes people laughing because it looks so ridiculous
When driving normal cars, I get some tailgaters.
When driving my 200SX, I get some tailgaters, but get respect from other sporty cars (my 200SX is slower than most - unmodified).

When driving my Prius, I get the worst road rage possible. I have had 18-wheelers tailgating about an inch behind in the slow lane in a 4-lane motorway when they could overtake (no laws stop them). I have a video where someone cut me off by overtaking when a double lane went to a single lane (with road cones and speed limits). I might have been breaking the speed limit, just not enough for them. They missed me by about one inch because I saw it coming and did what I could, but if there was a collision, there were 18-wheelers coming the other way, and plastic traffic cones where the only 'safety barrier'. This is in New Zealand, where aggression is much worse than the US or UK (in my driving experience).

In the UK I used to drive a Bluebird Turbo manual (petrol 1.8) and got Prius-like mileage. I took back roads, and coasted so much that I had the engine switched on maybe 33% of the time only. The speed limit was 60mph and I would drive alternating 20-30mph (low rpm, high engine load). The drivers there (Scotland) were much more considerate. On a clear long straight you could indicate and drive right to the side of the road and they would overtake without any stress and say thank you. If I was going to obstruct them (e.g. oncoming traffic), I could slowly speed up to the limit. I never had road rage in the UK.

Just my experience though; here in NZ, Priuses are used as taxis and they constantly do bad things, nearly causing accidents. The worst road rage I had was near midnight on a 3-lane motorway, empty, me doing the speed limit in the slow lane, and a car was bumper-to-bumper with me and flashing headlights, etc, out of the blue (a long road, straight for a few kms in a row). It didn't use the second or third empty lanes either (well-lit, no traffic). Turns out it was : a Prius taxi. :/

 

landspeed ... The 1st Generation Insight was the coolest eco-high milage car ever produced. The Second Generation was as beautiful as there ever was (I'm driving a 2nd Gen Prius ...LOL).

You gotta be kidding that NewZealand has more aggressive drivers than the U.S.. Come to Chicago ... I'll take you for a site-seeing tour.