Prius Drivers Still Suck

Apparently the gas pedals on Priuses (Priusen? Prius? What is the plural anyway?) can get stuck, as can happen on many other Toyotas as well. You wish. If this were true in Priuses, they might actually get up to the speed limit while blocking the fast lane on the freeway. Then again, their brakes don't work either, so maybe that explains why Prius drivers suck - they are afraid to go because they won't be able to stop.

Slacker

OK, I'm a slacker. No posts for a while now. What can I say? I'm finally back at work, but I'm taking the bus. My days of commuting by motorcycle are over. Stupid ho who hit me made sure of that. So, I expect that I will still have incidents with hybridiots, just not as many as I did in the past. Should I be happy or sad about that? Probably happy...

No News...

Well, since I can't walk and can't drive, I have no new experiences to share. This sucks.

Not a Prius, not even a Hybrid

This post is about the ultimate dumbass. But it was a dumbass in a Dodge Caliber. This bitch took me out on the Bay Bridge on my way to work. I was riding my Moto Guzzi in the fast lane, when this white Caliber started coming into my lane. I grabbed a handful of brakes and skidded, but maintained control. Then she swerved back into her lane. So I went to pass her, and as I was passing, she swerved all the way into my lane, right into me. I went down at about 50 mph. My bike was partially on top of me as I slid down the fast lane. Fortunately, I had on my full face helmet, my ballistic nylon jacket with armor and my leather gloves. But even with this protection, my hand was pinned under the bars and the asphalt wore through my glove and partly through my hand. Ouch. The bike crushed my left leg (it weighs about 500 lbs) and broke my fibula. My first broken bone ever! On the right side, I ended up with a fractured ankle, a fractured toe, and two dislocated toes. So now I can't walk. I can't even use crutches. The only way I can get around right now is by wheelchair.

Thanks a lot, moron!!!

Not a Prius

For once, a dumb ass in a hybrid that was not a Prius, so there is no excuse. Sitting in the right lane of three at a stoplight in San Francisco. I assumed that since there was no turn signal, the dill hole was going straight. But alas, no. Light turns green, I'm ready to go, S.H.D. moves 10 feet and stops, then turns on his turn signal. Dumb ass. Is it really that hard to communicate your intentions by using your signals before you are making a turn? Jeeeez, I thought it was pretty self explanatory. Just goes to show you can never underestimate stupidity. It's running rampant these days I tell ya. Dang.

Prius Alternatives

There are better options than Prius for saving gas and the planet. So why buy one of these ugly cars and become a crappy driver? The most obvious alternative is to get a different hybrid. Duh. There are many options available now.

But then there is hotly debated issue of the actual environmental impact of hybrids. And there is the fact that real world mileage doesn't even come close to the advertised mileage.

Data from independent product-testing organization Consumer Reports indicates that hybrid cars get less than 60 percent of EPA estimates while navigating city streets. In Consumer Reports' real-world driving test, the Civic Hybrid averaged 26 mpg in the city, while the Toyota Prius averaged 35 mpg, much less than their respective EPA estimates of 47 and 60 mpg. Hybrid cars performed much closer to EPA estimates in Consumer Reports' highway tests.

You could get better mileage with a clean diesel! Although it's not available here (yet), the Volkswagen Polo gets 60-70 mpg!!! And you wouldn't look like a total tool driving it, like you would in a Prius.

If you bought a diesel, then you would be one step closer to running your car on used vegetable oil. My brother in law does it. He drives his Mercedes 300D everywhere for FREE. It takes some effort, but jeez, how could it not be worth it? You don't even have to get your hands dirty to run veggie oil. Bring your diesel to my friends at VegRev and they will do the conversion for you and can provide you with filtered veggie oil for $2 per gallon. You can't go wrong. You'll be helping the environment a lot more than you would in a Prius, saving money, giving OPEC the middle finger and look cool doing it.

Come on Toyota, start bringing your diesel HiLux trucks to the US! I want to go to VegRev! And stop selling Priuses. They make drivers suck.

Hybridiot Definitions

I guess I wasn't the first:

http://dougtionary.com/blog/2008/01/22/fake-word-of-the-day-hybridiot/

Dang. I thought I was soooo original.

2fer

I got a 2fer today. 2 fer the price o' one, that is.

First
Getting on the Bay Bridge heading to San Francisco on my motorcycle, a Prius was in the far left lane, blocking traffic. It was moving, but there was about a quarter mile of open space in front of it. And it was just puttering along, in the fast lane, holding up everyone else as if there was no on else on the road.

Second
I came upon this old hippie dude (literally!) in his craptastic Prius. He even had one of those ultra lame pink bumper stickers that says something about senseless acts of beauty, or whatever. I've always hated those bumper stickers. They just don't make any sense (nor are they beautiful). So I'm about to pass this guy on his right. For some stupid reason he was in the fast lane. Oh, right, that stupid reason is that he was driving a Prius. As I'm about to overtake him, he simultaneously flips on his turn signal as he swerves into the next lane. Right in front of me. Probably 12 inches in front of me. Fortunately for me, I know Prius Drivers Suck, so I was expecting this type of behavior, and was able to avoid plowing into him. He never saw me. As I blew by him on his left side, I looked at him (that's how I know he was an old hippie) and saw that he was oblivious to the fact that I existed.

Second and a Half
This only gets a half, but is worth a mention. A Prius driver actually did something sensible this afternoon. This particular driver actually had an awareness of those around him, and politely moved out of the way when faster traffic approached him from behind. To him I say Bravo! Now if the rest of them would just follow his lead...

Yesterday's Hybridiot

Haha, I just came up with that term. Hybridiot. I think it works pretty well.

So yesterday morning during commute hours, We were driving towards San Francisco from Novato on 101 South. Inevitably, we hit some traffic. Or so it seemed. It turns out it was NOT inevitable at all. In fact, the cause of the backup was some dill hole in a Prius who had run out of gas. This particular section of 101 is under construction, so there is no shoulder. So the moron is entirely blocking the right lane. Nice.

Prius Drivers Suck

There. I said it. Prius drivers are the worst drivers on the road. Other hybrids are bad too, but Prius drivers are the worst. I even came up with an acronym for these people: S.H.D. Which is either Stupid Hybrid Driver, or Sh**ty Hybrid Driver, depending on how bad they are. It's pronounced like a combination of shid and should. Maybe shud?

Now I know you are thinking that I'm a fuel-guzzling SUV-driving W.-loving war-for-oil-supporting redneck. Not true! I'm all for biodiesel, veggie oil power, hydrogen power and hybrid technology (if the batteries can be made less toxic). I'm anxiously awaiting for Toyota to start importing diesel Tacomas so I can buy one and convert it to run on veggie oil.

So what is my problem with Prius drivers?

• Driving too slowly (the most common offense)
• Driving slowly in the fast lane
• Inability to realize that "Slower Traffic Keep Right" means you, dill hole
  
• Oblivious to people behind them trying to get around them
• Oblivious to everything around them
• Attempt to merge onto the freeway at 35 mph

That's all that comes to mind right now. I'll add more later. In the meantime, feel free to chime in.