1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Prius drivers don't get any respect!

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by yazyazoo, Aug 11, 2014.

  1. yazyazoo

    yazyazoo Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2014
    47
    1
    0
    Location:
    TriState
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I have had my PiP for about 6 weeks now. I previously drove a Honda Accord V6 coupe and still have a Acura MDX. I love the PiP, what it lacks in power makes it up by providing AMAZING MPG.

    I have started driving differently in that merging onto the freeway or other lanes needs more caution as the power isn't there to quickly catch up to the faster lane. Also now that I see how constant fast driving kills the MPG I have started to drop my top end speed about 5 mph. I am on the freeway usually at about 75mph to keep up with traffic.

    What I have noticed a few times now are other cars or SUV's are more aggressive or seem to be tailgaiting me more than before. I got honked at once by a SUV behind me. Also a lot of cars seem to cut right in front of me even if there isn't much space between the car in front of me. They never use their blinkers or anything. Also if I put on my blinkers to switch to a faster lane, what I notice is that the car if front of me will do the samething so they won't be following me. This never seemed to happen to me in my Accord or MDX. Maybe I just notice more as I am more cautious in the Prius.

    I feel like Prius drivers don't get any respect from other drivers. Maybe it's just me! What do you guys think?
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    i agree 100%! if you aren't an aggressive driver these days, you shouldn't be on the road, seems to be the rule. even the cops feel that way.
     
    Data Daedalus and NR427 like this.
  3. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2008
    1,639
    317
    14
    Location:
    Simi Valley, California
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Other threads have covered this problem. You are correct, and I have noticed the same thing driving different vehicles. If you are doing a consistent 75 on the freeway, you are not taking full advantage of the fuel economy the PiP offers. I tend to stay to the right lanes and drive at about 60 mph, unless traffic is heavy and I want to use the HOV lane. It seems nobody wants to follow a Prius, figuring they are slow. Once in a while I will find someone following me at a safe distance for an extended time. I figure that person has realized that driving for economy in a Prius will work if applied to other cars as well, either that or the other driver is just zoned out completely. The thing with discourteous driving, including unsafe lane changes and failing to signal seems to happen regardless of which car I'm driving. The old "me first" thing, I guess.
     
    Data Daedalus likes this.
  4. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2013
    914
    307
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles/ Orange County, CA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Karma's a bitch. I had a lady in a minivan behind me aggressively change lanes to pass me and then cut me off back into my lane getting onto the ramp from the 405S to the 105E (mind you I was going 50 mph and traffic was going 5 mph on the overpass), only to crash into the car in front of me once we got to the stopped traffic. I felt sorry for the guy she hit, but as I drove passed her I had to honk and smile.

    Moreso with my PiP than C, I've learned to drive less aggressively and smarter in the sense of efficiency, such as not speeding up when I see the entire freeway stopped a hundred feet ahead and braking a bit early. During rush hour, I do drive 68 mph in the carpool lane when possible to move that fast, but if there's someone that really wants to pass me I'll move over and get back into the carpool lane when possible. When the freeway is open, I'll hang out in the right lanes (and still get tailgated when the entire freeway is open). It comes with driving "one of them holier-than-tho hiiiighbreeeeds" (especially the Prius).
     
    Data Daedalus and rogerv like this.
  5. yazyazoo

    yazyazoo Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2014
    47
    1
    0
    Location:
    TriState
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    True driving at 75mph doesn't get the best MPG. Some habits still die hard. I go 75mph and am usually in the 2 or 3 lanes from the fast lane. It seems here in SF Bay area that if you aren't going at least 80mph in the fast lane then you are slow!! What is amazing that driving 75mph I still seem to get well over 55 MPGe. I get to charge twice on my commute and do try to save EV for the stop and go traffic. I did try and drive in slow lane at around 60mph and still got tailgaited.
     
  6. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    9,083
    5,795
    0
    Location:
    Undisclosed Location
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    This impression comes up time and time again.

    So I have to think there is some degree of truth to it.

    But I do also think it get's blown out of proportion.

    The Prius is an iconic automobile, with a shape and look that is recognizable.

    So do other drivers sometimes recognize a Prius, apply value judgments to the vehicle, and how they "imagine" it is going to be driven? Perhaps. I've been aggressively passed by drivers of Cars, Trucks and SUV's.

    But I don't want to be too paranoid. Occasionally it might have something to do with my driving a Prius, but judging from how fast some of these A-Holes are going? My guess is that they would be aggressively passing me regardless of what I was driving.

    In any case, I don't care. Anyone "stupid" enough to not respect all vehicles on the road, and drive safely with that in mind, is going to be a bad driver regardless of what I am driving.
     
    Data Daedalus and rogerv like this.
  7. Jon Hagen

    Jon Hagen Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2011
    336
    136
    0
    Location:
    North Dakota
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I have driven a Prius lift back for 5 years now. I do not get tail gated,cut off, flipped off, honked at or dirty looks, I suspect because I accelerate and run with the flow of traffic. If your being a road slug, impeding traffic at all in the search for unrealistically high mpg, your just another obstacle in the way of most bored, tired, upset drivers,, and you will be treated as such. I find that you can run with traffic and still make higher mpg than anything but another Prius, without becoming a hated Prius road slug.
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    i'm thinking of using your 'road slug' as a bumper sticker.:p
     
    Will Stewart, markabele and rogerv like this.
  9. Juan Arango

    Juan Arango Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2013
    15
    4
    0
    Location:
    Houston, TX
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    I got tired of this bulling too. Now I have been driving aggressively and bulling all those trucks outhtere .....
     
  10. CaliforniaBear

    CaliforniaBear Clearwater Blue Metallic

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2012
    1,179
    289
    0
    Location:
    Northern California
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I never did drive "aggressively" and even less so now often (but not always) with 60 mph on the highway as mentioned above. Yes, I notice the "Prius Effect". When the car zooms by and cuts in I just imagine their gas bill and wonder when their next accident will happen. There are rules about speeds and driving. I try to obey those about high speeds as well as slow speeds.
     
  11. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2013
    914
    307
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles/ Orange County, CA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    This. I honestly think people completely forget this. Also, I do wish the rules were set properly such that it actually makes sense to follow AND enforce them.
     
    CaliforniaBear likes this.
  12. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2010
    7,668
    6,483
    0
    Location:
    Redneck Riviera (Gulf South)
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I think that there is a lot of "Prius Hate" on both sides of the windshield.
    Depending on which of the dozen "TriState" areas you call home, you're probably just dealing with normal urban driving.

    Three solutions come to mind:
    1. Ride a motorcycle for a few months. If your concerns are based on an automotive Napoleonic complex, this approach will pretty much make that go away.
    2. Put duct tape over your mirrors.
    The G3 is shaped like door-stop. This means that you're not dragging three feet of trunk and bumper behind you. The cars in the RVM are probably not as close as they appear to be - despite what it says on the outside passenger mirror. 99.44 percent of "Prius Hate" that's not caused by people pulsing and gliding on the interstate in rush hour traffic is normal door dings and/or traffic following about as closely as it always does in the sloburbs.
    In other words.....WADR to what the Electric Guy posted?
    People usually don't ask themselves how many Priuses they can force into a ditch on their way to work in the morning.
    3. Look for a problem between the seat and the steering wheel. Angle your inside rear-view-mirror down a little (take the duct-tape off first) and ask the person that you see looking back at you if you're driving any differently than you were Pre-Prius.
    I am.
    I've found that MY driving is much more relaxed in a Prius, and has been over the last three and a half years, but I pretty much don't give a rats whether somebody "respects" me or not. ;)

    Just a thought.


    Good Luck!
     
  13. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2005
    2,783
    1,151
    0
    Location:
    Roseville, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    A recent Mythbusters episode compared the SF->San Jose drive down US 101, between aggressively changing lanes to get ahead, and sticking to one lane. The aggressive lane changers came in ahead by about three minutes on a trip of about hour fifteen minutes. They did not discuss the gasoline mileage between the two; they did note that the lane changer tended to end up a nervous wreck.
     
  14. yazyazoo

    yazyazoo Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2014
    47
    1
    0
    Location:
    TriState
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base

    I do drive pretty quickly with the PiP as I don't usually stay in slow lane and keep up with the flow in whatever lane I am in. 75mph here in NorCal is probably slow as the fast lane seems to always be around 80-85 mph. I accelerate quick enough to get in the lane but I know it's nowhere near my old Accord or MDX so I am a bit more cautious now merging in. But I definitely like that I can go 75mph and still get over 50MPG. No other car can probably do that.
     
  15. yazyazoo

    yazyazoo Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2014
    47
    1
    0
    Location:
    TriState
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base

    I want to see that episode. That is part of my commute on 101!
     
  16. GregP507

    GregP507 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 5, 2014
    3,002
    480
    0
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Yes, there are some Prius-haters out there, especially here in oil & gas country. But I always know I'll have the last-laugh, getting at least 2-5 times more miles per gallon than most of them.
     
  17. raimix

    raimix Member

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2012
    204
    33
    0
    Location:
    Long Island NY
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    there are always people who races to next traffic light just to slam on the breaks and wait for the green light.
    they might save few minutes here and there, but they will also spend more time pumping gas.
     
    Data Daedalus and NR427 like this.
  18. KennyGS

    KennyGS Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2014
    1,243
    1,044
    1
    Location:
    Keystone State
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    I generally agree, but occasionally I'll astound a driver riding my bumper on a road I know very well. In my opinion, my Prius handles very well, and I'm not afraid to push mine when desired.

    I'm sure I've earned the respect from a few people who never thought they'd see a Prius run away from them because they couldn't keep up.
     
    Data Daedalus likes this.
  19. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2005
    2,783
    1,151
    0
    Location:
    Roseville, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    It was Traffic Tricks -- Aug. 7, 2014. I don't know where the full episode can be found, but 2014 Episode Guide : Discovery Channel is a start.
     
  20. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 30, 2009
    5,131
    1,338
    0
    Location:
    Wilmington, NC
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    5 years with my Prius and I have never seen disrespect or unusual tailgating. No more so than other cars I have owned. Like others have said you earn respect by first giving respect.