I can understand peopel being upset at slow drivers in the carpool lane-- there is no excuse for driving slower than the flow, as in carpool lanes it's not possible to pass, it's similar to driving in a one-lane road, so if you're in there, out of courtesy one shouldn't block the way.
I also tend to agree that allowing hybrid cars into the carpool lane does somewhat go against the original purpose of the lanes -- to encourage carpooling in order to alleviate congestion. So I can understand why carpoolers woudl be even more upset upset at single-occupant vehicle driving in the carpool lane slow, especially if they don't allow peopel to pass (ie speed up when peopel try to pass by),
that is definitely smugness.
I have never noticed the problem though (although I'm not sure if people even realize my car is a hybrid... though luckily I haven't been pulled over for that
)I see lots of hybrid drivers in the carpool lane (and occasionally use it myself) and never once have I seen one slowing down the flow of traffic. I've even pulled out of the carpool lane to allow faster hybrid drivers to pass me.
I've only seen (and been with) the slower hybrid drivers toward the right in the slow lanes, anyway.
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The haters tend to forget that there are other reasons to drive the limit besides fuel economy, such as getting busted by our beloved staties who just love to practice with their new LIDAR equipment. Not everyone wants to take that risk, and not everyone is attentive enough to chose the lane that they ought to.
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While that's true, such peopel should not drive slower than the flow in a carpool lane which in essence is like a single lane without passing. Also, in most of the situations where traffic is congested enough to
need to use the carpool lane, (ie when traffic is congested in general) the carpool lane is usually filled up enough so that it's at least steady, but still fairly slow (<55) -- perfect for mileage compared to the fairly poor mielage conditions on the rest of the road.