How do you guys manage to drive in normal mode without getting shot

Favorable to large trucks or favorable to what you could do if you put just a little effort in?

 

Mark, I think he means that you can just drive these cars without thinking about efficiency and they still do great. For those people who drive less than the national average it could be hard to rationalize hypermiling from an economic standpoint. Saving $100/yr or less just isn't worth the stress for a lot of people. I can totally understand that so I don't force my hypermiling ideas on them just like I'd rather not hear their comments about my techniques.

With that said, I see you're catching up to me (60.9mpg vs. 61.2mpg) so I better slow down on tomorrows commute and bring this tank up from the 66mpg its sitting at.

 

About 1 year ago, a Prius driver was shot and killed on the 110 Freeway near Carson, for no apparent reason (maybe because he was driving too slow). So, you won't be the first and you definitely won't be the last. Personally, drive your car as if you can't see the screen as I think it's better to get a little less MPG rather than worry about whether you will get shot. Apparently, that's something you've been worried about. Why put yourself into that situation of worrying?

Mike

 

So all the other drivebys that occur in the Compton area are brought on by people hypermiling? Lowriders do drive kinda slow so I guess you're right.

 

Well put and correct. Also, if you regularly drive more than one vehicle, and one is not a Prius, than consciously driving to improve the mileage of that other vehicle will almost certainly save more net gallons of gasoline.

 

U can't teach dumb or stupid! Someone who kills a prius driver for going too slow is just as likely to kill for tailgating him or a thousand other asinine like reasons as it shows he has big mental issues at the very least of them being of absolutely no self control & total disregard for other lives(people).

 

Seriously? You think it likely that someone killed another human being, and risked going to prison for the rest of their life, because they were going 'too slow'? You don't think any of a myriad of more common excuses for murder are far more likely?

If there is no apparent reason, that is where the conversation should end.

 

Duplicate. please delete.

 

Hypermiling techniques have a lot in common with defensive driving techniques. Maintaining a safe following distance, scanning ahead for potential problems, being aware of surroundings, avoiding sudden unpredictable changes, etc. If the monetary savings are insufficient to motivate, perhaps increased lifespan will be.

 

An interesting thread; I have large hills to climb on a daily basis during my work commute, so I have to go into the power bar quite often. I run in ECO mode to take advantage of the increased gas pedal sensitivity and the increased efficiency of the A/C. I find that I can keep up with traffic fine for the most part when I need to and I still average over 55 mpg. Drive how you want, and don’t be afraid to use the power bar when you need to; like merging onto expressways or climbing hills, that’s what it’s there for. I also agree with F8L, as I used to drive like the world was ending, then I grew up.

 

Obviously, you don't get the new feeds coming out of Los Angeles. Believe it or not, the reasons for many of the murders that happen in Los Angeles are pretty stupid. If you think driving "too slow" is a bad reason, how about playing your music too loud, or wearing the wrong color clothes, or the person complained that you were making too much noise, or the person made a wrong turn into a dead end street (in which an entire family was shot to death). And yes, somebody gets shot and killed because of it. If you don't believe me, start reading the news coming out of Los Angeles. It happens on almost a daily basis. By the way, have you ever walked through Compton at night? Probably not.

By the way, is having "no apparent reason" worse that if the person was driving too slow? At least there'd be some possible reason. Or would you rather believe that it happened for no reason.

Mike

 

No, "no apparent reason", means that no reason is apparent. It means that there is no evidence which warrants putting a reason forward as a favored hypothesis. It means that putting forward one's own pet reason is unjustified, and should be viewed by others as faulty.

 

I've only been down to LA once, but there is a reason for the term "the asphalt jungle". It can be at any time a dangerous place, and likewise a very entertaining city. My recommendation: don't go out of your way to randomly aggravate someone on the road there.

 

And you think everything should stop there? No opinions on possibilities? Just nothing? Well, if that's how you go through life, so be it.

Mike

 

You got that right on all parts.

Mike

 

Last year 25 Cadillac owners were shot and killed in their cars so statistically the Prius is way safer.

 

Next time there is a murder, imagine that one of the cops investigating it has a pet hypothesis that DumbMike did it. No evidence, just a hunch. Imagine your life after that.
They start investigating you, announce to the press that you are a suspect, people start to shun you....

If that is that is how you want to go through life, so be it.

 

Actually, much of detective work goes on hypothesis. However, you apparently don't know that the police won't announce it to the press. That is where your position fails.

And by the way, most shootings in Los Angeles are gang related. That information is released pretty quickly, something like, "it appears to be gang related." The police will go that far. So, when I said "maybe due to slow driving," I simply meant that nobody said anything more specific, like that it appeared to be gang related. That's a very standard statement in the Los Angeles news.

Mike

 

This.

I literally couldn't get from place to place without going into the red (I use ECO all the time). Highway speed hills demand it. Don't you have hills where you are? I couldn't get up the hill in my neighborhood without going into the red.

The only time I care about where I am in that meter is when I'm on a long stretch of flattish road and pulsing and gliding. Don't even look at it while accelerating, why would you? It's 5 seconds of driving, it doesn't even effect your per-tank-average. Look at the road, and the traffic, and show some situational awareness.

I generally drive the car "normally" and have a lifetime average in the mid-40's which I'm extremely happy with here in mountainous, cold-winter, rural New England.