One annoying Prius driver

condition. This lady driving a Prius before me I encountered the other day was over the edge. She kept driving at 39 to 40 mph in a busy 50MPH speed limit road. In a down hill road, it was pretty easy to go over 50MPH. With her insistence to maintain a most economic driving speed for her, she successfully made the others burn more gas and form a long line behind her. I was glad the road turned 2 lanes after 5 miles.

even I know it would use more gas.

If she were going down hill at the speed limit she would likely burn no more gas that she was at 39 to 40 or not a measurable amont. On the other side of the coin her driving that speed limit was saving gas for those following her, not making them burn more as you stated. I typically always drive right at the speed limit. I do think most drivers on the road today do need to realize that a speed limit is a maximum and not a minimum. :)

I 100% guarantee that at least 1 was burning more and not less, why you may ask? Because some people are incapable of coasting. There had to have been at least one in that wolf pack behind her that was repeatedly speeding up till they got too close then hitting their brakes to slow back down. All those behind this person would likely be affected too. I see it all the time around here.

People don't get that hitting the brakes is equivalent to dumping a little fuel on the ground and lighting it just to watch it burn.

Prius drivers SHOULD NOT try to be speed limit enforcers, let the cops do their jobs. Drive for MPG when you can, be courteous when you can't.

I don't have a Prius yet but traffic permitting I will cruise at 54-59 on the highway then about 1.5 miles before my turn I will slowly (IE without making the torque converter clutch unlock) speed up to 62-65 then coast to my turn. My current car ('97 Lumina 3.1) will only do closed throttle deceleration fuel cut mode at 53MPH or above when in 4th gear.

If there is a car close behind me I will slow down much later and leave my lane when possible to let them by me, so to the opposing lane with no cars coming or to the gravel shoulder depending on the direction of the turn. I especially do this when it is a tractor-trailer rig (Semi) as any fuel I would have saved would be used many times over by him having to slow down and speed back up, especially if it involved any gear changes.

You focus on the fact that she drives a Prius, as if somehow she's a "typical asshat Prius driver trying to save gas"--when in fact she may just be a slower driver.

You DO know that 50mph is the LIMIT, and is not the MINIMUM. If she's driving 40, so what? She's under the LIMIT. If she's driving 40 and is in the right lane, then what's the big deal?

If she was in a Prius on a downhill and was not feathering the throttle to keep the system in a neutral state, neither using nor generating power, AND she was not going 50, then she was not driving in such a way to save gas. She was just...driving in a manner that was comfortable for her.

Take the "Prius to save gas" aspect away from all of this. You just ran into a driver that drives slowly.

How do you know she was doing this to save gas? You made a HUGE assumption here.

I'm a new driver of Prius and I try my best to balance between MPG and traffic condition. This lady driving a Prius before me I encountered the other day was over the edge. She kept driving at 39 to 40 mph in a busy

In situations like this, I usually would drive at or close to the speed limit even I know it would use more gas.

What do yo think?

I think your assumption that those behind her are burning more gas is incorrect. Fuel economy is inversely proportional to speed, as you acknowledge in your second-to-last paragraph. I drive the speed limit on two lane highways but I sometimes drive below the speed limit on 4 lane highways simply because a passing lane is present for those who choose to waste their money. What makes you think she was driving slowly to maximize her fuel economy? Isn't that a stretch too?

Saturday morning, the two lane roads in Alabama will have one or more, battered pickup trucks running at 45 mph on the 55-60 mph posted roads with a line of SUVs and 'City' pickups behind them. My favorite trick is to find the pickup with a trailer full of lawn mowers and yard work equipment or a delivery truck to use as pace vehicles. The other slow vehicles have "handicap" tags.

The Prius does not force anyone to drive at any given speed. Speed is the driver's choice.

As for following vehicles burning more fuel, again, that is their choice. If someone is so silly as to tailgate and use "pulse and brake," semi-aggressive style, well they can afford it. It is their car, their gas, and their choice. If they don't want to ever follow slow cars, they should only drive between midnight and dawn . . . the roads are free of other traffic.

Bob Wilson

Now I have a question for you.

My daily commute uses about 4-5 miles of the "Parkway" in Huntsville, AL (use Google Street view to look at "4005 South Memorial Parkway, Huntsville AL".) It consists of four lanes, 50 mph, divided highway with limited access bounded on both sides with two-lane, 40 mph, access roads. In the morning and evenings, I tend to use the access roads, the slow lane, at 38 mph as this gives great Prius mileage. But what about the pickups, SUVs, and cars that ride up within 20 ft., one car-length?

Usually I'll see them approaching at a high speed and regardless of the left lane being free, they snuggle right up on my bumper and stay there. So many times, I'll turn on my left turn signal, change lanes, and to my amusement, they will accelerate down that lane . . . often to take a turn half-way down the block in front.

So I'm following the rules of the road including staying in the right, slow lane. I'm at actually at 40 mph due to the larger diameter tires I'm using. Yet still, these jerks instead of 'passing the slow traffic' prefer to tailgate my Prius.

Do you approve of such driving behavior by these drivers?

FACTS:

As an experiment, I've slipped the car into "N" to let the car coast to slower speeds just to find out at what speed they would 'get a clue' and pass me. I've been as slow as 30 mph before they finally turned on their blinker and passed.

Bob Wilson

traffic condition. This lady driving a Prius . . .

You're suggesting they should have jinked left, passed, then cut you off to make the exit? The example being from the US South, I would have expected the ever-present bull-bars to be involved. Make way...

. . .

As they pass me and change lanes, we "scissor" as I check my left and change into the now free lane at the same time . . . often without losing any speed. As soon as I pass them, I change back since their turn blocks the right lane. A thing of beauty, it takes skill and is quite enjoyable. Good drivers monitor the rear view mirrors nearly as much as the front.

Bob Wilson

If the exit is so close that someone will have to cut you off after passing you to take it, there is no reason for them to pass you in the first place. The freeways have become grade school playgrounds, I'm afraid.

...populated by self-styled eco-terrorists driving at unproductive low speeds.

I drive 5MPH *over* the posted limit, in the center (if there are ramps around) or right lane. It isn't enough for the little boys and girls with their race cars. VROOM! VROOM!

What's so productive about not planning, getting up late, leaving late, and then having to wrecklessly drive to a destination?

"Wrecklessly" implies success. Well done.

Since your value of time apparently and asymptotically approaches zero, you wouldn't understand productivity.

This takes the cake. Rarely have I heard brokers in BMWs, tradesmen in F150s, soccer moms in Suburbans, and Coulter-wannabes in Mazdas and their ilk termed "little boys and girls with their race cars. VROOM! VROOM!"

. . .

There will always be fools who prefer to burn-up their money at the pump and no reason to join them in their folly. After all, "there is a sucker born every minute."

Bob Wilson

. . .

Brokers as in "credit default swap" and the mortgage frauds? As for 'tradesmen in F150s', they happen to be very handy when towing a trailer or with a full load in the bed. They tend to drive 5-10 mph under the speed limit and I can follow without any problem at all. The 'soccer moms' are also sensible drivers, nothing like following them as they too seem to want their children to survive. As for 'Coulter- wannabes', they should drive fast . . . before they can breed. In fact, they should be encouraged to remove their seat-belts and air- bags.

Bob Wilson

Maybe they do in Slowville, but not in the real world.

Some of whom hide behind their Prii.

. . .

I've always been amazed at the alternate reality of schizophrenics and the self-deluded. Another common characteristic is blaming their own problems on 'eco terrorists' or 'one annoying Prius driver.' Blissfully unaware of their foolishness, they waste their lives playing the blame game. But taking responsibility for one's life, one's choices, now that would be "news."

Bob Wilson