New Prius 2010 gets no respect on roads

Don't worry - it will only get worse as gas prices go up.

 

Some people are threatened by the existence of hybrids and the popularity of the Prius. It's their demon. Let 'em pass.

 

Please no.... I really like seeing them pay a third of there paycheck filling up there tanks. And i couldn't imagine a Prius driving like an idiot and tailgatting me lol.

 

It's really strange hearing those stories. Stuff like that doesn't happen here. Prius is just part of the crowd in Minnesota. We're rather progressive (ethanol has been standard for well over a decade) and anything that copes well with the extreme winters quickly gains acceptance.
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I currently drive a Honda Accord 2000 in San Jose and on my commute to Fremont I go a speed of 60 mph in the slow lane and no one seems to cut me off =/. Guess its different when I get the prius huh.

 

They may be assuming that all Prius owners are hypermiling to the extreme. Personally, the cars that I've been behind that accelerate SLOWLY and leave huge gaps in front of them were non-hybrids, but other people's experience may vary.

Also, there are political biases at play here.

On the one side, there are a minority of Prius owners who own a Prius to make a statement that they are "ecologically correct" and not one of the unwashed masses. They openly show disdain for anyone who drives a sports car or SUV or ... (which includes a lot of people). They poison the well for the rest of us.

On the other side, there are some talk shows who paint all hybrid owners as eco-snobs who drive ridiculous cars to flaunt their superiority, who would destroy everything to follow their eco-religion. (I've also read recently about a backlash against hybrids in HOV lanes. Some of it is pure jealousy, and some is rude hybrid owners.)

So, unfortunately, some drivers may see you as a jerk because of the car you drive, whether from experience with the bad apples or bias from the chattering class. (I drive in Northern Virginia, which has a LOT of hybrids, so it's not bad, but it may be worse in other parts of the country.)

Lastly, has the Prius changed your driving habits in such a way that you are now "the slow guy" and you weren't before? The Prius gives you a lot more information about what's going on with your car when you drive and I think this information usually influences you to go slower than you would have otherwise.

 

I seriously doubt that the 2010 Prius will cause aggressive drivers to react differently. The 2010 looks similar to the previous gen. I chalk it up to one thing. JEALOUSY!!! I tend to drive a little more aggressively than the average hybrid driver (hey I'm from NY). I keep up with the flow and pull away briskly from stop lights/signs. I've never had anyone become hostile toward me. If you are poking along and not keeping up with the flow you are going to piss people off, including me. It drives me nuts when someone accelerates away from a light as if they had a wedding cake in their back seat!!

 

Ever since I've owned my Prius (2006), I notice people cutting me off to get off the expressway. The strange thing is that when I look in the rear and side view mirrors, there is no one directly behind or in the lanes next to me in close proximaty (imagine 200 feet of empty space behind and to the side).

The the question I ask myself is - why couldnt they have gone behind me to get on the off ramp? There was no one behind me except you???? This causes me to have to hit the brakes and slow so they can then get on the off ramp. Go figure...

 

It's my observation that green vehicles and green driving strikes a nerve in those that don't do it like no other issue....why do some people get so upset about it?

I suspect we may be witnessing the decline and fall of America - what we see on the roads in just one sign, people spending money on stuff they simply could not afford until they ran out of credit last year is another big example. We simply have narcissistic people that are going to run our gas and finances until they are completely dry. Maybe enough people will come to their senses this recession - maybe.

 

Unfortunately I can see where this really might happen. The Prius is so recongizable from the rear. Coupled with "idiots" that simply make the snap judgement call that any Prius is going to be going slow. It might be jealousy, but unfortunately I suspect it's more a case of idiocy.

On the positive flip side, you might contend that the same unfair stereotype that Prius Drivers putt along, might keep a few speeding tickets out of your future. If you are driving in a pack of cars what self respecting police officer is going to pick The Prius to ticket?

 

HAHAHA! That's a good one. I'm with you. But until that's a factory option, I think I'll get the Yosemite Sam mudflaps that say "Back Off!" Think that will work?

 

i find that it takes awhile to get used to folks seeming to run right up on your rear end. this is my third prius. i think in general that the chopped off rear end that you can see out of emphasises this. i always run with headlights on. no one cuts me off nor turns in front of me. i also squeeze my brakes, let up and squeeze again. at lights i flash my talilights until guy behind me starts slowing down. also, as was stated. i car length per 10 mph distance.
fred from nashville,no accident ,ticket free 42 yrs.
ps inever drive what i think is the green way in traffic. that is, less than the flow or speed up slow down . go with the flow. and dont feel superior. feel like you want to do everything you can to help others be safe.anticipate and drive by the "what if?" rule. once in a while ill see someone do 55 in the passing lane while everyone else is doing lets day 70. who is causing the danger. my answer is the guy going a diffferent speed than the flow.you almost never have an accident when you are going the flow speed. when you are by yourself do what you want.

 

I've also noticed a sharp difference in the other drivers on the road since I traded in my old car, a 2004 Mercedes C230 Kompressor, for my 2010. With my old car, other cars would pull in behind me at red lights expecting me to drive fast, only to get an unpleasant surprise! When I was a bit younger I had a bit of a lead foot but now I'm one of the slower drivers on the road, usually going only 10km/h over the speed limit, and I like to leave a good gap between myself and the car ahead. I drive the same way in my new car. However, I've never before had my entire rear window engulfed with truck grills like I do now, the major attitudes from V8s that need to rev by me, and incessantly being cutoff by SUVs. It'll change when the gas prices changes, that's for sure. Last year with the high prices it was those same big vehicles that were holding up traffic puttering along trying to save gas!

 

Quite to the contrary of everything posted here, I've actually noticed more courtesy from other drivers,especially back in 2004 when Prius's were a relatively rare sight. When coming out of driveways into heavy traffic, people always seemed to leave a gap and 'wave me in'. The same when merging from an on-ramp into stop and go freeway traffic. While this doesn't quite happen as often today, perhaps because the Prius is now a common sight, I still think people in general respect the Prius.

 

Back in the day, I had a Ford Taurus SHO. I was saved a couple of times by the nearly-family-sedan look. Though I also foolishly endangered myself more often than that: with that Yamaha engine, it was easy to do stupid things.

So it'll be good to have a bit of an "oops, was going a little fast" insurance without the temptation to actually go (way) too fast.

 

Just the other day, I was noticing the number of Priuses around my town in Temecula (SoCal, north of San Diego). There are SO many of them. Except for trucks/SUVs, its seems that they are one of the most plentiful vehicles around my town.

My first Prius is due in tomorrow! Even though I am buying a Prius, my impression (read stereotype) of Prius drivers is that they are slow and I'd rather not be behind them, given other options. My current car is an Audi S4 (340hp V8), pretty much the complete opposite of a Prius. I am definitely the guy who picks the left lane at the stop light if it is open. Even without driving overly aggressively, I am 95% likely to leave the light faster than just about any other vehicle next to me.

I expect to be the Prius driver that is going 75-80mph and being happy with 45-50 mpg, vs the 20 I got in my Audi. I'll probably be passing all the other Priuses working to get 60mpg. I won't cut you off, though! Maybe I'll get addicted to improving my mileage and mellow out a bit during my new commute.

I still haven't seen a single 2010 on the road, though.

David
Blizzard Pearl Type V with Nav (due Monday)

 

AUTiger, the Prius has a way of changing peoples driving habits so you could be one of them. it happened to me and I drove much faster cars than the S4. Now I cruise along in the slow lanes and listen to jams. It is so much more relaxing now.

Early congrats on your new car!

 

+ 1

Drivers in general pretty bad. Up here in New England, the standard joke is that cars sold here do not have turn signals as standard equipment, as very few people actually use them (They routinely cut you off and change lanes without any warning!)

 

My driver education teachers forced us to stop far enough back to see the tire contact point to the ground. Most drivers around here did not have the same training.

In most backups, squashing the same number of cars into half the distance will not do anything to hasten its dissipation. From the behavior I've seen, I think it even helps to extend the life of the stop & go wave pattern.

 

As a relatively agressive Prius driver, I don't see the lack of respect quite as often. I don't like to tailgate excessively, but I don't leave 6 or 7 car lengths between me and the next car. I leave about 3 or 4 car lengths, and if someone tries to pass me on the right when they will then have nowhere to go, I usually try to close the gap enough to discourage all but the most overly agressive risk takers. Then, I often feel guilty for bringing out their stupidity.

Yesterday in one of the mountain passes, my wife was driving fast enough that we were not delaying any cars behind us, but a motorcycle was passing cars, comming up behind us, and when he got around us, he gave my wife the finger. Sorry to admit, I was hoping to see him plastered on the pavement further down the road, but no luck there.