Beware the Hypermilers !!!

[vwaggs]

Guys there is a new plague on the highway and you'll probably be experiencing it soon.
All these idiots that want to give themselves a pat on the back and buy hybrids (even though most waste more electricity and natural resources than most of us do), have started a new game called hypermiling. They pull deep up your six and draft or even worse pull in to lane to your left and sit just off your rear left corner "under" the rooster tail. This means you get cut off when approaching slower traffic, can't adapt to ramp traffic safely and don't have the option for a left lane escape route in an emergency.
Here is a link explaining it. Beating the EPA - The Why’s and how to Hypermile. - CleanMPG Forums
I have experienced it on the Ohio Turnpike and expect it to become a widespread safety issue soon. I'm going to send the link to the Ohio State Patrol and suggest you send it to your State Police agency also. An ounce of prevention can save alot of lives.

[lowman188]

A Prius owner reflects:

Driving home from NY after Thanksgiving, pointed out to my wife the pickup who was no more than 20' behind the trailer that was passing me.

My solution when I see that in my rearview: Slow down. They might like the mileage gain, but people have no patience for driving slow. They'll get off your bumper.

Oh yeah, BTW: I averaged 53 mpg over 700 mi round trip for Thanksgiving. But then, you'll find me tying up traffic driving the speed limit in the Granny Lane!!! Don't hate me because I'm saving gas...

"Osama Bin Laden hates my car"

[vwaggs]

Hmmmm, So the wisdom of the hybrid driver is for everyone in Big Rigs to keep slowing down. Might make sense if the game player wasn't adjusting his speed as he watches his MPG guage. Then we can have a highway full of truckers speeding up and slowing down to add to the hybrid driver problems. There is one thing you said which is common among hybrid owners. You don't care what the speed limit is or if you obstruct traffic, you just want to brag to your friends what your fuel mileage was. Though you don't carry it to a very large extreme, obviously, hypermiling sites w/people bragging about their mileage wouldn't be there except for the nut jobs that do. Bottom line is try to drive safe and be aware. If you get into a situation where you have to choose who dies, pick the hybrid driver over yourself or other drivers.

[vwaggs]

BTY, I have was driving 45 mpg non hybrid cars until they stopped making them. My current non hybrid car gets 38 mpg. None have required I interfere with or otherwise obstruct other traffic on the highway. Come see me in 8 or 10 years when you've saved as much gasoline as I've saved all that time.

[brtecson]

I was reading that thread from the bottom up, and I noticed a trend that those people had in common:

Vehicles: 92 Civic CX, 97 Ford F-150 4WD
Vehicles: Accord, Ranger, and anything else ;)
Vehicles: Honda CRX, Porsche 914
Vehicles: 1999 Jeep Cherokee, 1995 F150 pickup
Vehicles: 1996 Toyota Carina 1.8 GLi
Vehicles: 1999 Ford Explorer XLT-6cyl. & 1991 Ford Ranger XLT- 4cyl.
Vehicles: Lexus LX 400H

What the hell is the point of spending $20k+ on a fuel efficient vehicle when your other car is a SUV or a pickup truck?? Idiots.

And as far as the environment goes, do they have any idea how much natural resources are consumed in making the household's "second" vehicle? Or how much pollution is emitted when manufacturing that automobile? What about those hybrid vehicle batteries when they get old.... that toxic battery acid isn't gonna disappear. Its going right back into the earth. If they want to be environmentalists, they should just buy a compact car, or even a passenger car, and drive it until it's too old to drive.

[Horsepow3r]

Give those bastards a little wiggle when they are blocking that left lane. When someone is blocking the left lane (my 'out') I let them know by either giving the steering wheel a slight jerk towards their lane or by gradually creeping the truck onto the dividing line towards them. I almost always try to slow down first to see if they will pass. Most times they slow down along with you so more drastic measures are needed. If you run over the 4 wheeler, you get experience points.