Drivers....why do you pick up slugs?

Sponge, I only talked about convenience because that was one of the main reasons people chose to use slugging (according to this informal thread)....regardless of how much money they could be saving if they carpooled/vanpooled.

KC-I find your statement about "paying for convenince" to be wholly inaccurate, at least from my experience. Read my first post on this thread, where I pointed out that my expenses were such that I was not paying any more for any "convenience". If I weren't picking up slugs, I would be in the main lanes using up MORE gasoline. I have to service my car once a year anyway, so the wear and tear is not that visible. Sure, it may age my vehicle faster, but that is from the nature of my commute, and not because I have two additional people with me. Additionally, as previously stated, I am very fortunate to have company paid parking, so that that's no expense to me; just a bennie from working for a pretty cool company. My philosophy is - I'm headed that way anyway, why not grab a couple people and head up there faster. Train won't work, it costs more a month than they gas that I use (well, at least that was true last year, I may need to reassess...haha). So, your theory is not exactly universal. I believe that picking up slugs may actually save me some money in some areas.

Also, while we are discussing selfishness, I'd like to point out that EVERYONE is selfish. Yes, that's right. EVERYONE. We're all looking out for our own best interests. There's a big "Duh." Those who slug/drive slugs don't want Hybrids or HOT lanes. Those with Hybrids could give a crap less about slugging (unless you pick up slugs, which makes you Uber Cool), don't want to see their exemption expire, and certainly don't want HOT lanes. All of the jealous souls that watch us whiz past us them in the main lanes would probably pay a king's ransom to travel like that, so they're ALL about the HOT lanes and to hell with slugs and hybrids alike!! See my point? Of course we are all out for our own interests...we're human, aren't we? The most reasonable thing to do would be do, which I think is what we're ALL trying to do is to come up with a solution that works for everyone, or at least a good majority (you can never please everyone).

The frustrating part about all of this is that we, the commuting society, do not seem to have the support from our respective legislative bodies. These parties seem to be in it for "themselves" (by that, I mean the jurisdiction) in order to receive a profit. There is no municipal control or involvement in slugging, so what do they care? In fact, I heard rumblings a while ago about restricting which commuter parking lot you can park in based on your residence. So if I lived in the city of Fredericksburg and tried to park in a Stafford County lot, I would either be fined, or I would have to pay some toll to use that lot because I didn't live there. Let's all hope that it doesn't get THAT far.

Slugging is a very cool system. Allowing hybrids into the HOV lanes because of their environmental friendliness also seems reasonable in theory, despite claims that the hybrids do not actually save gas on the highway (let's not go into that on this thread). HOT lanes seem reasonable as well. You can argue all sides, pro and cons, to all methods and solutions, but the main problem, the one that REALLY needs tackling is just the capacity in general. There's a bazillion people trying to get to work, how do we make it better for everyone, instead of just thinking self-centrically. I wish I could come up with some solutions, but there are many reasons why I am NOT a civil engineer...LOL. Maybe the rest of you "super smart professionals" could put some brainpower into it.

Just some food for thought.

NoSB - buy a hybrid, then your words have credibility.

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Originally posted by N_or_S_bound
[br]There ARE people sitting in the mainlines who COULD go out of their way a little bit to pick up slugs AND get some of the diminishing benefits of HOV. A large majority are just unwilling to turn loose of some of their own self-driven interests.

Hybrids do better (in MORE aspects) when operating on battery power. Put them back in the mainline if they're < HOV +. Then they can enjoy the increased fuel efficiency and help reduce emissions by running on batteries.

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Same old (tired) arguement. As KC puts it so well, it's all about selfishness, it's just the degree. It would be a FAR, FAR better planet if the HOV lanes were changed to hybrid only lanes, don't you think? Eventually we'd get rid of those less efficient vehicles and be able to go back to HOV.

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Originally posted by EnufisEnuf
[br] Hopefully the hybrid exemption will end as there are just too many on the roads right now. Things are perfect but they work right now. No sense arguing about pointless things.

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Actually, not so. Things are FAR less than perfect for the regular lanes and the folks trying to commute there. VDOT needs to come up with an overall transportation plan, and HOV the way it is now is obviously not the answer. Hybrid exemption is clearly a step in the right direction to balance the congestion, but when that goes, the only short term solution is the HOT.