Question for Prius Drivers (Page 3): I never had problem with a Prius driver only with drivers who drive large pickup truck and SUV and think that they are driving a sport car. I never...

BebuLamar

burkphoto wrote:

It can be. There is a certain stereotype falsely a... (show quote)

I never had problem with a Prius driver only with drivers who drive large pickup truck and SUV and think that they are driving a sport car. I never had problem with true sport car drivers (like the Ferrari, Posche etc..) either.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

My Prius has a 3-level setting for how close it will follow the car in front when in adaptive cruise control. It does adjust for speed. The closest setting still a reasonable distance (IMHO).

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

I think in general it’s become much more common now. People here in California tailgate quite a bit. I recently came back from visiting friends in Florida for a couple of weeks and couldn’t believe how aggressive the drivers are there. Tailgating and horn blowing seems like a way of life there. On a positive note, though, I’ve never seen roads more beautiful than in Florida! I don’t ever remember hitting one bump.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Fredrick wrote:

I think in general it’s become much more common now. People here in California tailgate quite a bit. I recently came back from visiting friends in Florida for a couple of weeks and couldn’t believe how aggressive the drivers are there. Tailgating and horn blowing seems like a way of life there. On a positive note, though, I’ve never seen roads more beautiful than in Florida! I don’t ever remember hitting one bump.

Bumps are not allowed by nature in Florida. I did some work there a while back that required the use of topographic maps. The contours were at 1 foot intervals and there were not many of them. Kansas has a reputation for flatness, but it's really rolling hills compared to other places (I'm looking at you, Saskatchewan).

clint f. Loc: Priest Lake Idaho, Spokane Wa

jerryc41 wrote:

A tailgating LEO is the worst! What should you do, speed up?!

I wonder if a driver has ever gotten a ticket for "following too close"? I maintain three seconds spacing.

People get “following too close” tickets all the time. However it’s usually after the crash. There are very few situations where a rear end collision isn’t the fault of the following driver.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

DirtFarmer wrote:

Bumps are not allowed by nature in Florida. I did some work there a while back that required the use of topographic maps. The contours were at 1 foot intervals and there were not many of them. Kansas has a reputation for flatness, but it's really rolling hills compared to other places (I'm looking at you, Saskatchewan).

letmedance Loc: Walnut, Ca.

jerryc41 wrote:

A tailgating LEO is the worst! What should you do, speed up?!

I wonder if a driver has ever gotten a ticket for "following too close"? I maintain three seconds spacing.

3 seconds is to close at 80.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

clint f. wrote:

... There are very few situations where a rear end collision isn’t the fault of the following driver.

I don't have statistics but I suspect that the most common rear end collision that isn't the fault of the following driver happened to me.

I was tooling along at the speed limit (30) when a driver going the other way suddenly fell asleep and veered into my lane. I did not have time to get my foot onto the brake when she hit me. The driver behind me was not tailgating but hit me from behind. My brake lights came on after the collision (probably by about 0.1 second). The following driver had no more time to react than I had.

No injuries. Seat belts and air bags. But my car was totaled.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

DirtFarmer wrote:

I don't have statistics but I suspect that the mos... (show quote)

To me that means the driver following you didn't leave enough space to stop in an emergency, even though he didn't seem to be tailgating.

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

lindmike wrote:

CHP (California Highway Patrop) and AAA recommend 15 feet for every 10 MPH

I almost ALWAYS use my Adaptive Cruise Control on my Subarus. Keeps me just the right distance from the car in front.

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

My son-in-law is on his 2nd Prius. He drives from Long Island to the Bronx to teach a class daily so I can understand where he's coming from.

I noticed a badge(?) he had on the back of his car. It said, "INTERCEPTOR." I asked him if his model was an Interceptor. He said he just put the badge on himself. I did have a good laugh about that one.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

JohnSwanda wrote:

To me that means the driver following you didn't leave enough space to stop in an emergency, even though he didn't seem to be tailgating.

Someone mentioned that CA recommends 15 feet per 10 MPH (1.5 feet/MPH). At 30mph you are going 44 ft/second. And using the CA number, you're 45 feet back.

A collision between two cars of similar mass going at the same speed in opposite directions will result in a pile of cars stopped. It happens in probably 0.1 second. Most drivers' reaction time to something like that is probably less than 0.25 second and another 0.1 second to get your foot onto the brake. Can you stop a car going 30 mph in 0.65 seconds?

If not, 1.5 feet/MPH is insufficient.

(If I recall something from 65 years ago, we were taught 1 car length per 10 MPH).

Hereford Loc: Palm Coast, FL

[quote=Indi]
One last observation. This has nothing to do with driving. I at many vans & pickups, even new ones, have something wrong with the vehicle’s geometry. Seems like a good percentage appear to be driving down the road a little sideways as if they were in an accident and have bent chassis.

Many rear drive vehicles having solid rear axles are equipped with a set of ox cart leaf springs. These spring leaves are bolted together with a so called "tie bolt". If that bolt breaks the leaves can shift and move the axle out of alignment making it travel down the road in a crab. That is likely what you are observing.

MosheR Loc: New York City

Hi Jerry.

Just to let you know, I always enjoy your pithy comments along with the wide variety of your interests.

I bought my first Prius last year: a Prius Prime plug in hybrid. (I get about thirty or so miles on pure electricity depending on how I drive, then it switches over to hybrid mode.) Among all the other more obvious reasons, one of the main ones was that it is a very recognizable car. This way, when I ride the HOV lane by myself, the police know enough not to pull me over.

I have not been tailgated in this vehicle any more than I had been with all my previous cars. There are lots of idiots out there who have no understanding on Newton's First Law of Motion, so they ride right on my ass ... even when we're going 75mph. When I see them right on top of me in the rear view mirror, I flash them. If this doesn't work, I use my windshield washer along with my wipers at high speed to splash their fronts.

The first usually does the trick. If they don't I just put up with it and pray that I don't have to stop suddenly.

nervous2 Loc: Provo, Utah

Busbum wrote:

Jerry, br Funny you should ask??? br I was travel... (show quote)

. . . apparently too hard to make a U turn on the bridge.