Posted on 07/08/2005 8:30:36 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
ARLINGTON, Va. – Instead of crawling out of bed at 4 a.m. to beat the morning rush, Frank Murphy sleeps late these days. He says he owes it all to his hybrid car – and a law that has some of his fellow commuters upset. Drivers of the environmentally friendly cars are allowed to cruise solo in Virginia's car pool lanes, slicing Murphy's daily two-hour commute in half. And since buying a hybrid 18 months ago, Murphy is leaving his home as much as three hours later.
"The quality of life has gone up tremendously," he said.
But Murphy's joy is a source of irritation for his co-worker, Kristine Johnson, who does not own a hybrid. To travel in the car pool lane, she lingers at a commuter lot until two strangers agree to ride with her.
The inconvenience pays off less than it used to: Johnson complains that hybrids are making car pool lanes as congested as regular lanes.
"It's not fair," Johnson said. "In the afternoon it's all hybrids around me. I used to be able to go home in 30 minutes. Now it takes 45."
So goes the debate between Virginia's car-poolers and hybrid owners. Lawmakers say the hybrid rule wasn't meant to clog the car pool lanes, but to encourage people to buy the cars, which run on a low-polluting combination of electricity and gasoline.
Normally, the federal government would withdraw highway money from a state that gave hybrids commuter-lane privileges. But Virginia has a special waiver while Congress considers allowing the states to make their own rules for hybrids. Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia and Florida are poised to move ahead with similar incentives if the Senate passes a long-delayed highway bill.
California Assemblywoman Fran Pavley wrote legislation to open her state's car pool lanes to single-occupant hybrids. She said the bill contains "numerous safeguards" to avoid replicating Virginia's woes.
For example, California's Department of Motor Vehicles would limit the number of hybrids in the commuter lanes by issuing only 75,000 special decals. State transportation officials would review the law periodically, and it would only apply to hybrids that get at least 45 miles per gallon.
Brian D. Taylor, director of UCLA's Institute of Transportation Studies, argues against linking hybrids with car pool lanes, which he says exist for an unrelated purpose: taking cars off the road.
"It would be sort of like saying you should allow nurses and school teachers to exceed the speed limit because they contribute positive things to society," Taylor said.
Joe Waldman, general manager of northern Virginia's Landmark Honda, said officials should not be so quick to blame crowded car pool lanes on hybrids. He noted that solo drivers in regular vehicles continue to violate the rules, despite stepped-up enforcement and a new state law doubling some fines to as much as $1,000 for a fourth offense.
But Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Joan Morris said, "Even if we got rid of all the violators tomorrow, we'd still have a capacity problem."
In April 2003, about 2,500 hybrid drivers in Virginia registered their cars and asked for "clean fuel" license plates, allowing them to use the car pool lanes, Morris said. By May of this year, the number had more than tripled – to about 9,000.
Meanwhile, Murphy, the Virginia hybrid owner, continues to sleep late, while Virginia transportation officials consider compromises such as letting hybrids use the lanes only at times when traffic is less congested.
Murphy said it would be ridiculous to end the hybrid exemption altogether, but agrees something's got to give.
"I do have to admit, there are a lot of (hybrids) out there," he said.
The early Prius was a terrible seller. Only with the new design did they start moving off the showroom floor.
My mother is dead.
My cars a hybrid born in 1965 it will run on leaded or unleaded where do i get my permit?
which is useless in the real world. You just point out yet another flaw of FMVSS 218. They are designed to pass a set series of tests which have no resemblance to the real world. For examle a WWII steal army helmet will pass the FMVSS 218 tests promulgated by NHTSA and yet they don't call it an a valid helmet for FMVSS218 purposes.
In the real world forward momentum is a real impact issue. To say otherwise only invites liability.
Thankfully there are numerous lawsuits with jackpot results against helmet makers which fund many lawyers summer homes.
IOW if you are RICH you get to buy da fancy car and pay for da fancy sticker.
So it is a rich person lane.
How do the CF democrats allow this. Oh wait Democrat politicians have insiders that give them their own sticker and then order the police to not give them tickets anyways.
Ah the first Animal Farm reference!!!
I am really enjoying my Prius. I drove a VW Passat (4 cyl. turbo) before this. The Prius is just as roomy inside (except the hatch is not nearly as big as the Passat's trunk). I am averaging just over 48 mpg since I bought my Prius in November. I have about 21K miles on it. The Passat got about 24 mpg, and used premium gas. The car is really cool and fun to drive. The touch screen monitor controls the stereo and climate control, as well as shows current gas mileage and other consumption information. The neatest thing about the car in everyday use is the smart key system. When the car is locked, it senses when you have the key near the car, and you don't have to use a key or press a button to unlock the doors, just grab the handle and it unlocks. Once in the car, leave the key in your pocket. The car "knows" you are there. Just push the power button and the car turns on. The car is very quiet. Once warmed up, it is completely silent at stop lights, and when driving slowly (up to about 35 mph for me). This can be fun in parking lots, where you can sneak up on people. There are lots of innovations in the Prius. A thermos-like container holds some of the warmed up coolant when you turn the car off, so the gas engine warms up faster when needed, and also provides immediate heat in the winter. The braking system recovers the energy lost during braking and uses it to charge the batteries, which also reduces wear on the brakes.
The only downside to the Prius is that you have to defend your conservative credentials because people think you are lib if you drive one. I am not big on bumper stickers, but I am thinking of putting a GOP or W sticker on the car somewhere, so people won't think I am a dem or greenie. I highly recommend the Prius.
You said: The design life of these batteries is in the 4-5 year range...
The Prius batteries are warranted for 8 years or 100K miles....
I am not ready to get a Prius, I don't even know what they look like, unless they are that boxy little car that I see occasionally. Thanks for you very thoughtful reply.
Panasonic's end of service criterion is degradation to 80% of rated capacity.
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