Do any of you HyperMilers cause road-rage via slow take-offs or substandard accellerations? I am not trying to be abrasive in my question. I have a Prius, and the only way I can see getting the kind of milage I read some of you tout would be to accellerate very slowly (using only the battery) and then somehow maintaining that "sweet-spot" in speed where the battery does the majority of the workload. This would mean often-times driving at a rate that would more than likely irritate everyone else on the road. In short, I need to find out your secrets...

 

First of all accelerating slowly is not the best way to achieve good mileage. It uses up a fair level of charge propelling the car to speed. You're better off moderately accelerating using the ICE, taking your foot off the accelerator to allow the ICE to turn off and then gently reapply pressure to maintain your speed. No road rage there.

To answer your general question - I have no problem with driving at or slightly above the speed limit if someone is behind me on a two lane road. However, I won't drive more than a couple of miles under the speed limit as I don't want to be inconsiderate. On the highway there's generally no problem doing the limit if I keep it in the right lane. And if no one's behind me on a two lane road I drive as I please and accelerate to a reasonable speed if someone comes up behind me.

 

Thank you for the fast response. One thing I have noticed (and have been doing as of late) is that if I accellerate to just above the desired speed I want, then I take my foot off the accellerator untilt he battery takes over, then reapply slight pressure (just enough that the engine does NOT kick back in) and maintain the sweet spot. But even at that, I get 40mpg TOPs from my Prius in town. I think one of the pitfalls to my milage is that I live pretty close to work (5 mi) and my engine never really gets a chance to warm up... I am guessing though.

 

The thumbnail answer is try to avoid times of heavy traffic, take the rightmost lane on freeways, accomodating those that wish to pass, occasionally taking the access lane (instead of the HOV) when stop lights can be avoided.

 

A 5 mile commute makes it tough to get excellent mileage. Your Prius should be warm after only a mile or so. They really do warm up quickly. Try to conserve momentum. Coasting up to lights helps, avoiding full stops also helps. If I approach a red light or stop sign, I lightly brake until I'm on battery. I also brake earlier, trying both to let the light turn green, and to avoid hard braking at the last moment. Check your tire pressures. Prius drivers have found 42 front, 40 rear to improve tire life, handling and mpg.

 

I've been hypermiling since Jan 2004 and the only time I ever saw road rage was the two days of SHEER HELL that I went through when I put a sticker on my rear bumper that said "I get 65MPG...You?" I removed that sticker and instantly back to normal.

Hypermiling and getting the most MPG out of a vehicle is a skill which needs to be developed out of application and time.
It's like a musical skill: A guitar performer has years upon years of practice and plays beautifully...while a novice picks up the same instrument and bangs out pure noise.

Start with the basics and use it moderately at first until you get used to it. All situations are different and takes experience to know what can be applied and where.
-Steve

 

Hah, funny! Defininely get rid of the "smug" stickers!

I'm not a hypermiler (yet) but I think part of what you need to do is to try to "communicate" what you are doing to the drivers behind you. I think part of the problem is that the other drivers are not used to people driving for MPG.

Additionally, try to let people pass you. Often, you can let people drive the way that they want to without (significantly) changing how you drive.

Personally, I haven't seen any road rage (maybe a bit of impatience) but then again I'm not driving a car that is as "loaded" as the Prius!

Your question is reasonable and interesting (and it's not abrasive).

 

In my case (non-hybrid) slow acceleration is key. I can honestly say that I have only "caused" (and that is the wrong term) road rage because of that once in six months of doing this. There have been a few other instances of road rage behind me because of my refusal to drive more than 5mph over the speed limit, or in some cases below the speed limit which I do only in such conditions where there is plenty of room to pass. So it does happen.

But honestly, a person who decides to make me the target of their abuse was going to do it to somebody else if not me. Their desire to operate their vehicle outside the bounds of the law (which is generally what initiates this kind of incident...I get in the way of their doing 10-15mph over the limit for all of ten seconds) that's not my problem. There's always a way around, or if they're truly stuck behind me I'll always drive at an even, more "normal" pace. I've even taken to pulling over for a few seconds at one particular point on the afternoon commute to let traffic by so that I can go my merry way without affecting them.

The biggest problem IMO is that road rage is contagious. He abuses me, I want to "get back," and that's the instinct that absolutely must be mastered. Otherwise it'll ruin your day. Control your emotions and you will see the situation for what it really is: you were the first guy (or gal) to get in the way, and you won't be the last to take the abuse. Not your fault. Just be courteous and moderate your hypermiling techniques when necessary, and take full advantage when the rear view is empty. Like Hot Georgia said, make the transition slowly and you will learn to manage your environment just fine.

If any good comes out of high gas prices, I hope it will be that folks learn to chill out and drive for fuel economy rather than hassling others for sport.

 

First of all, thanks to all who have added to this post. I am soaking it in like a sponge. Im not one to wish disparity upon others, but quite frankly, I wish gas would go to $8.00 a gallon. I know I know, it would be harsh on us all (hybrid owners less than others) however it is the ONLY THING that will EVER ween this world from their poison-spewing-freedom-machines. I take global warming very seriously, and that aside, I take the air I breath just as serious. If any of you have ever driven through Riverside Ca on a hot summer day, you KNOW exactly what Im talking about. The traffic is so extremely thick and very slow, the air is like breathing a brown powder, and... well... it just aint right. We MUST find a way to convince folks to drive less, or at very least cleaner. They say that even though folks are driving less, that our gasoline consumption is actually rising (there are MORE OF US on the road every day...) So... the hybrids are a start. It could/SHOULD be better... we should be on all electric by now... but it is all that we can get for now. On behalf of my family and I, Thank all of you who bought hybrids.

 

$8 a gallon gas would not do much to keep wealthy people from wasting it. It would, though, be a serious pain in the rear for poor people who can't really afford to go out and buy new (or expensive) hybrids.

I agree it should be better (ie, there should be more more efficient cars).