The "Slugs" and the Toyota Prius

I live in the DC area and have been watching the HOV Exemption issue.

The most amazing part is that none of the combatants seem to know the true reason for HOV lanes. They all seem to believe HOV lanes exist to reduce the number of cars on the road. This is not the goal but, it was expected to be the means to achieve the true goal.

So what is the true goal? It helps to understand the proposal to create HOV lanes came from the EPA (EnvironMental Protection Agency). The goal is to reduce pollution--primarily air pollution.

As the Prius (but, not necessarily all hybrids) is a VERY LOW EMISSION VECHICLE, it should qualify for use of the HOV lanes. If every driver was in a Prius, even by themselves, the amount of air pollution from commuters would plummet. A side benefit would be a greatly reduced consumption of petroleum.

I would have no problem allowing an HOV exemption for all vehicles which are proven to exhaust pollutants at or below that of the Prius.

If all public funds spent to fight pollution from automobiles was, instead used to buy new, low emission cars for people with old/high-polluting vehicles, it would cost the taxpayers less money and, be a more effective method to reduce air pollution. (Was that a long enough sentence for you?)

P.S. I actually believe the HOV concept was a terrible idea to start with but, that is a discussion for a different tread.

jrohland
Arlington, Virginia, USA

 

I live in DC as well, and pretty much...what jrohland said.

 

Moderately popular. I'm guessing thousands do it. Traffic in DC is second worst in the country, so people do whatever they can to minimize traffic times. It's mostly for people who work in big government agencies, like DoD at the Pengtagon or Crystal City (which is about ½ mile south of the Pentagon, and serves as "overflow" less secure office space for DoD), who know someone will be slugging both up and back to where they want to go.

It definitely does work. My mother in law and father in law used it for years. But it may be the unique circumstances of VERY large agencies that take up entire buildings that is the DC job market that makes it work. I've never heard of it in any other city.

 

It's very successful--there are thousands of slugs per day. The state provide parking lots. Part of shopping centers' parking lots are set aside for carpooling. Does Boston have HOV lanes? That is the main incentive. That's the main reason I own a Prius!

 

I just picked up my Prius on Tuesday, and I love it!

I'm in the DC area as well, and I've got co-workers who use the slug lanes. It sounds like it SHOULD be really dangerous, but somehow it is not, and from what I've heard it is extremely popular.

I commute in the mornings with my wife, and therefore use the HOV lanes. I LOVE that I'm taking a car off the road with the HOV with multiple passengers. I LOVE that I'm driving a fuel efficient car. Finally, I absolutely HATE tailgaters. If 70 mph in a 55 is not fast enough for you, then you need to go around me, rather than me move out of your way.

 

One would think they could build mass transportation for the more popular slugging routes.

So, it's a modern, mostly safe? form of hitchhiking?

 

Here in the East Bay (east of San Francisco-Berkeley and Oakland specifically) they have the same program called 'Casual Carpoolers.' THere are designated places where you stand in line, and drivers pick them up. You need 3 people to use the toll-free HOV lane to cross the bay bridge into San Francisco. When I worked in SF, it was awesome. I loved the #1 rule, NO TALKING, so you didn't have to make small talk. Here's an interesting article about it:

SFgate

 

I love it. I use it to get out of town on Fridays by picking up a couple strangers at the Pentagon, and away we go.

It seems to work best where there is a highly concentrated job market (Pentagon) and shuttle buses (bus to my office park) or mass transit (Metro) to link other people from there.

Guys I work with use it all the time, but their lot fills up before 7am. Might be more popular with larger lots. Also it is free to ride, so it beats mass transit for the riders everytime!

 

I can't imagine that system working in LA. Too many people carry guns. This is why hitchhiking is illegal. Also why we have traffic problems. everyone (with money) has thier own car.

"No body walks in LA"
- Missing Persons

 

i was out in new mexico for a few weeks, in a little hippie/ski town. i was *shocked* at how many people hitchiked. we took a lot of hikes, and would never end back up quite where we left the road, and would have to walk back towards our rooms. we were constantly being asked if we needed rides =)

on the actual topic, i think it's a great idea

 

That's fine... as long as you're in the right lane. Just don't block the passing lane! Traffic in the D.C. area would improve dramatically if people would only use the passing lane to pass.

OB

 

And safety would improve dramatically if idiots would observe the speed limit. I'd like to see automated citations for speeders, similar to the systems used to catch people who run red lights.

 

It does sound like glorified, organized hitchhiking.
Hmm, mayby I need to rethink my stance on picking up hitchhikers. I'm originally from New York City, and you don't generally pick up hitchhikers there.
One problem I could see is the possiblility of being ripped off, especially if the driver is male, and the hitcher is female. If she cried rape, it would be your word against hers. Before you all gang up on me, I understand the reverse could be true, but probably not as likely.

 

Safety would improve even more dramatically if we lowered the speed limit to 15 mph, or just banned cars completely.

But that's a completely different topic from using the passing lane only for passing.

 

http://www.slug-lines.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=11

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Wow, a whole lot of hybrid-haters on that forum. I pick up hitchhikers as much as I can, but I hope any hybrid-hating slugs that come along have the integrity to turn down any ride offers from me. It sucks not to have your own car, but there is no reason for that kind of hostility

 

Yes, 15 mph would enhance safety, yet it's a tad slow for my taste. Your remark is off the mark, however, whereas mine was not. The "passing lane" is not unrelated to the speed limit, and it just won't do to pretend the "passing lane" is also the legalized speeding lane: it's not, unless you're driving an emergency vehicle.

The speed limit does two things to enhance safety: 1) it sets a safe speed given optimum road conditions and typical traffic conditions for the area, 2) it sets a traffic flow speed which reduces the motion of the vehicles relative to each other. Speeders often drive much faster than road and traffic condtions safely permit, and speeders introduce more relative motion into the traffic flow, endangering everyone.

So I say f*ck the sons of bitches. If they want to play NASCAR, they can go to the local track. In light traffic I'm generally in the #3 or #4 lane anyway because I don't want to pose a hazard to the people going a bit faster than me. But in Southern California you frequently find that all 4 lanes are pretty much full, and I'll be damned if I'm going to move over in heavy traffic just because some a$$hole in his Civic with a kazoo taped to the muffler wants exclusive use of the #1 lane because he's "passing."

 

I don't think you should be expected to switch to a slower lane just because the guy behind you wants to go faster. But in most circumstances, rather than forcing faster-moving traffic to weave around and pass you on the right, practicing "lane courtesy" eases traffic congestion for everyone and when traffic moves at a steadier pace, there is less braking and acceleration and as a result air pollution is reduced. Lane courtesy, like using your turn signals, also reduces the incidence of road rage, stress, and accidents.