Minivan Drivers

[jcwade]

I have noticed this phenomenon many time in the past but have much more time, due to the shutdown, to ponder the imponderables.

I was driving yesterday on the 405, doing about 5-10 mph over the posted.
In two separate instances, minivans went screaming by me.

Usually, when I notice, they are male drivers. So this begs the question, why do minivan drivers seem to drive so fast?

Could be that they are heading to the hospital with their pregnant wife in labor.

My pet theory is the male drivers are so ashamed of having to drive a minivan that they try to reclaim their man card by going faster than everyone else.

[vash]

i saw a black honda odyseey with a bumper sticker that said, "i used to be cool". pretty funny.

[flipper35]

Maybe because the police pay no heed and they get away with it?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by jcwade

I have noticed this phenomenon many time in the past but have much more time, due to the shutdown, to ponder the imponderables.

I was driving yesterday on the 405, doing about 5-10 mph over the posted.
In two separate instances, minivans went screaming by me.

Usually, when I notice, they are male drivers. So this begs the question, why do minivan drivers seem to drive so fast?

Could be that they are heading to the hospital with their pregnant wife in labor.

My pet theory is the male drivers are so ashamed of having to drive a minivan that they try to reclaim their man card by going faster than everyone else.

I've been passed by Priuses that were hauling which seems much more odd to me than a minivan.

[imaircooled]

Girl I went to high school with told me a long time ago that minivans are the root of all evil.

[Otter74]

Minivans are awesome. Maybe their drivers are trying to outrace the awesome?

[dlockhart]

Originally Posted by flipper35

Maybe because the police pay no heed and they get away with it?

A few years back my brother got a decked out Chrysler mini van for his company car.
That thing was awesome for comfy high speed road trips. Sometimes hiding in plane sight works.

[stevej37]

Same around here..mini-vans fly. Never see one pulled over...don't know why.
99% of them here are women drivers. When biking, invariably they are the ones that scream past within a foot or two of hitting me.

[Tidybuoy]

My guess is because they are comfortable they give the illusion that they are safe and can stop on a dime. Last year I took a Greyhound bus up to SF and I was very surprised how comfortable it was and was really impressed how fast that dam thing was going; we passed every car on the road. I suspect minivans are similar.

[wilnj]

Originally Posted by flipper35

Maybe because the police pay no heed and they get away with it?

Not entirely true. Got stopped by a NYS trooper with all 7 seats full doing 80 in what I thought was a 65, it was evidently 55 through that section.

He came on the passenger side, took note of my Mother in Law literally knitting in the second row, he took my license and registration and said he'll see what he could do. He wrote me for 68.

Originally Posted by dlockhart

A few years back my brother got a decked out Chrysler mini van for his company car.
That thing was awesome for comfy high speed road trips. Sometimes hiding in plane sight works.

We've done NJ to FLA a couple of times with 7 passengers and I couldn't imagine doing it anything else short of a Suburban. The advantage the Chrysler products have is the floor well storage which allows for 3-4 duffel bags, along with a soft-side roof pack, there was no need for luggage in the passenger compartment other than what passengers want to have on hand for entertainment.

We've rented a Tahoe before and tried to load it with a similar number of passengers and luggage and it doesn't do as well without a roof box which is difficult to access.

With respect to the OP, I've actually found that I often have to deal with people who don't want to ride behind a minivan, maybe perceiving that they'll be slow. They'll accelerate to get in front of me and then slow down once in front. It's not a sight line thing because I don't get the same treatment in my Jeep GC which is a similar size and shape.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Otter74

Minivans are awesome. Maybe their drivers are trying to outrace the awesome?

That wasn't me...the ability to drive, own, a minivan requires a sense of style and nuance that transcends cool.

Be the van.

We had a Mazda 4x4 MPV...if awesome was viscous, that thing oozed it.

For the time and place, the most useful vehicle I have ever owned.

[GG Allin]

I drove a truck, local Chicagoland area pretty much all through the 90's. I noticed the same thing quite a bit back then.

[Adrian Thompson]

Because they were invisible. 20 odd years ago I had a Mustang, a Miata and en epic brown and gold Econoline conversion van for towing the race car. It was the fastest thing I owned as it was invisible to the police. I once passed a cop at 85 and thought I was busted as a min later he was coming up on me with lights and sirens on. Nope, he was after the Corvette I was about to pass doing 10mph slower than me.

[SiberianDVM]

I made a run to Atlanta and back yesterday in my Cayenne Turbo S. I have never seen so many cops on I20. Gwinnett County was the worst. My Escort and Waze saved me.

I cruise at 80, and I was passed several times by Priuses and Santa Fes. I did pass a couple of Odesseys who must have been having off days.

[Nickshu]

This one:

https://youtu.be/tLIauaJ4H-w

[stevej37]

^^^ I want that.

[aschen]

I love our minivan. Drive it most of the weekend with the fam. Cant say I drive it any faster or slower than other vehicles. Awsome for road trips and home depot runs.

I give up on trying to keep track of what is cool, but I don't think a mini van is any cooler or less cool than any suv really. An appliance, boring but useful.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Toyota Sienna
Mazda MPV
Nissan Quest
Mazda5

That’s our list over the years. Three kids, SUVs are for people with no self confidence that care what other people think. There is no more practical tool for hauling around little animals than a minivan. Now my oldest has a car, so my wife’s minivan turned into an E63 AMG.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by jcwade

My pet theory is the male drivers are so ashamed of having to drive a minivan that they try to reclaim their man card by going faster than everyone else.

Keep telling yourself that now that you have a p car (I can only assume?). Most people don't care what they drive and DO NOT care who's looking at them. There are fast drivers and there are slow ones. Doesn't matter what they drive, they are gonna go fast. I drive fast in my wife's van, and go super fast in my truck too. That's just socal driving. When the roads open up, GO.

[jcwade]

Originally Posted by look 171

Keep telling yourself that now that you have a p car (I can only assume?).

No p car for years though a few back in the day.
I'm not making any judgement just floating a theory that I could have stated more diplomatically.
Plenty of cars pass me here in SoCal. I don't go slow, I just go as fast as I want to and enjoy the ride. If someone wants to pass, I let them.

Number 1 lane is for passing. Everything else is for driving.
I really hate people who hunker down in the fast lane and refuse to move over. But that's another topic.