Driving home yesterday I found myself in South San Francisco going South on 101. Speed Limit 55. I was on cruise control in the 2nd lane of 4, and traffic was not heavy so I was at the limit, with people passing me on the left and right. All of a sudden I see the front end of a Cadillac Escalade in my rearview mirror, and he was maybe 3 feet from my bumper. He sat there for a couple seconds, then sped past me on the right. We gave each other disapproving looks and shook our heads in disgust at the other.

Today, I was on 880 going north past the 280 interchange. I was in the far right lane, and I had to change to the 2nd lane to stay on 880. A black sedan was a couple hundred feet back and slowly came up to within a couple car lengths of me, staying there for quite a long time. She wasn't so close that I thought there was any problem. Again, I was on cruise control at 55mph. Next exit was Bascom, a couple miles from my turnoff, and all of a sudden she accelerated past me, honking all the way by, pulled in front of me with less than a car length of space, and put on her brakes, still honking at me. About a quarter mile later she pulled off at Bascom.

I followed her, figuring on giving her a lecture and a perhaps a bit of a scare. I was more PO'd than I have been in a couple of years. She made it through a light that turned red on me, but I wasn't PO'd enough to run the red to make a point. I kept my eye on her, and tried to catch up on the green, but then another red stopped me and I lost her.

It turns out the experience taught me that Bascom Ave turns into Lafayette, which goes very close to my house. I had been looking for a good surface street path to the Whole Foods Market on Bascom in Campbell, and hadn't realized that I had virtually a straight shot there with good hypermiling potential.

So now I need to know if the problem is that all people who drive black cars are evil Hybrid Haters, or did I just cross paths with a bad cross section of the Bay Area population this weekend?

RayP

 

I got passd once by somebody using the left turn lane. I was in the right lane and got passed on the right at a overpass as it had concrete on the right side. I've been given the finger a few times also. I don't drive a Hybrid either and usaually drive a bit over the speed limit! It has nothing to do with what you drive.

 

I expect some level of idiocy from the other drivers having lived here for 10+ years. But since I got the FEH I have an encounter nearly every time I drive. The two I quoted were just the worst offenders of this weekend.

Now, I have changed my driving habits since getting the FEH, and of course blame the other driver's evilness on a reaction to my going either under or at the speed limit. It seems that the drivers here are misinterpreting the speed limit signs as being the minimum speed, not maximum.

RayP

 

Ray -

Sorry to hear about your lousy experiences this weekend.

But Bill is on to something. Your description of your driving is not necessarily hybrid specific. I would recommend you lessen your use of CC when in multiple lane, high traffic, merging on/off areas as you have described.....in those instances it may be best to use the accelerater to "keep up with traffic".....and then go back to CC and hypermiling when appropriate.

 

Yes, I realize it may not be 100% Hybrid-specific, but I've driven 55 on 880 before in a regular sedan and never had this kind of trouble. I've had at least double the trouble lately, so I think it might be 50% anti-hybrid sentiment.

I have no intention of keeping up with traffic to appease these idiots. I just hope a CHP sees one of them do it sometime and puts them in jail overnight for reckless driving and/or road rage.

RayP

 

"..people passing me on the left and the right.."

Move right.....get out of the way...

Just because you were strictly obeying the speed limit doesn't mean what you doing was "right".

The "standard" is move along with the traffic, within reason, of get the hell out of the way.

Sad to say, but you are handicapped as the result of the way many owners drive their hybrids.

 

The "standard" in CA is to pass on the left OR right. In both cases this weekend I was in the farthest right lane I could be in other than an exit lane. The guy in SF passed me in an exit lane. The woman on 880 stayed behind me for a couple miles when there were two open lanes to the left and none to the right.

And to say that what I was doing was not "right" is not right. You know truck speed limit on 880 is 55. Do you see people going road rage on trucks? Not and living through it.

At least no one has defended the reckless driver, yet. sheesh.

RayP

 

Same thing happened to me Thursday headed East on Montague near 880. Gal in a black car came up behind me as I am doing 45 in the right (exit) lane, then layed on her horn as she lane hopped three lanes to the fast lane. I'm a new feh owner and am learning how to maximize gas mileage, but one view I did not count on was seeing just how impatient other drivers are. Everyone is in such a hurry. I get passed a lot but usually they just end up waiting at the same traffic lights that I do, as I EV along.

-Dave

 

If your merging on to a Xway, don't use any gas saving techiques as that's about the worst time to do so, it crates a bottleneck of traffic trying to merge with you. Once on, slower traffic stays to the right.

I have to admit that people that take several minutes to slowly accelerate to the speed limit annoy me but not to the point you have described.

 

Never said I merged slowly, because I don't. I like to get up to speed quickly, and usually accelerate faster than the other cars. Best for ICE efficiency to get up to freeway speed quickly, at around 75% of engine capacity, using as little battery power as possible. And once I was on I stayed as far right as possible to still stay on the freeway. There was an exit lane in both instances when I merged, but that went away on the 880 experience.

No, this situation is not due to any fault of mine. I did it all "right". There are just a lot of very high-strung people living in the Bay Area and they should calm down a bit before getting behind the wheel.

RayP