let me begin by saying i ride a motorcycle to work every day. here in california, that means that i have the legal right to drive between the cars, especially when traffic is quite literally bumper to bumper. the only stipulation about driving in such a manner is that i do so "safely" according to the driver's manual (yes, i did actually read that thing )

when the prius first came out, the state allowed some 80,000 or so to apply for and receive a special tag so that they could drive solo in the car pool lanes. earlier this year, the state rescinded that right, so only actual car pools (and motorcycles) are allowed to use the carpool lane since then.

there is a certain class of driver who thinks it is fun to try to prevent me from going past them when i am splitting the lane on my bike. a select few are driving large pickup trucks, but the vast majority seem to be priuses (prii? prius'?). i'm not sure if taking away their carpool rights pissed them off or maybe it's the prius "smug factor" at work. either way, prius drivers should have a special level of hell reserved just for them where they don't get better than 16mpg no matter how slow they drive, and the only things on the road with them are big rigs and gas guzzling SUVs