Those CA drivers are nasty............
California carpools put the squeeze on hybrid drivers
By Amanda Covarrubias
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — When California allowed solo occupants of hybrid cars to use carpool lanes last year, many thought they were merging onto a narrow strip of car-culture heaven.
But increasingly, hybrid owners say they feel like the victims of road rage.
Carpoolers accuse them of driving too slowly to maximize their fuel efficiency and of clogging lanes that were once clear.
Hybrid motorists have a term for the ill will: "Prius backlash."
"There's a mentality out there that we're a bunch of liberal hippies or we're trying to make some statement on the environment," said Travis Ruff, a real-estate agent who drives a Toyota Prius. "People are a lot less friendly than when I drove a Mercedes."
The California Department of Transportation, which has issued carpool-lane stickers for about 50,000 hybrid cars, plans to study the effect of hybrids on carpool lanes in Southern California.
"There's not enough excess capacity to absorb the hybrids," said James Moore, director of the University of Southern California's transportation-engineering program. "I think the foreseeable outcome here is that the congestion advantage we traditionally attribute to [carpool] lanes will disappear."
A debate over carpool-lane congestion also is occurring in Virginia, which like California allows solo hybrid drivers to use the lanes. Last month, the Virginia legislature placed restrictions on hybrid drivers using the lanes in peak hours.
The California Legislature approved the hybrids in carpool lanes to encourage the use of the low-emission, high-fuel-economy vehicles.
The law grants carpool-lane access to hybrids that get at least 45 mpg. So far, only the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic and Honda Insight qualify.
The vehicles use small internal-combustion engines in combination with electric motors to increase gas mileage and reduce air pollution. Larger hybrid SUVs and luxury sedans with solo drivers are not allowed in carpool lanes.
From the beginning, the law has prompted complaints from carpoolers. But in recent months, the criticism has grown as carpoolers accuse hybrid drivers of clogging the lanes, also known as high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lanes.
"Prius drivers tend to drive slower, and it makes the HOV lanes slower," said Theresa Poprac, who commutes on Interstate 405 every morning from her home near Los Angeles International Airport to her job at an educational software company in Costa Mesa.
The chatter is more biting on Internet car-chat rooms, where some carpoolers have declared themselves "hybrid haters."
"These [drivers] barely go 65 mph," fumed one driver on the Edmunds.com car town hall. "Talk about road rage!"
"Go with the flow, or get the heck outta the way!!!," wrote another in support.
The maximum speed limit on most California highways is 65 mph, but 70 mph is allowed.
Toyota Prius driver
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