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   Why does every train of thought turn to "I hate Hybrids"?  Hybrids DO save on gas -- maybe not as much as the sticker but have you actually figured out what your actual gas mileage is for your SUV????  If the Hybrids were tested following the same method as the other cars on the road, you might be shocked at how poorly your cars actually do!  I was a little upset with my regular CIVIC -- never got about 240 mi. to the tank.  So now I'm filling up every other week -- hey that's great.

	610-Slug, don't be so judgmental and hateful.  I have been picking up slugs when I'm able!  Found it quite easy.  And yes traffic is piling up every where - HOV is not exempt from the increase in traffic.  I also figure that traffic will pick up on the roads with the new hike in Metro fares.

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Stuck2 Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 22 Apr 2004 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Stuck2 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jun 2004 at 9:32am
	Why does every train of thought turn to "I hate Hybrids"? Hybrids DO save on gas -- maybe not as much as the sticker but have you actually figured out what your actual gas mileage is for your SUV???? If the Hybrids were tested following the same method as the other cars on the road, you might be shocked at how poorly your cars actually do! I was a little upset with my regular CIVIC -- never got about 240 mi. to the tank. So now I'm filling up every other week -- hey that's great. 610-Slug, don't be so judgmental and hateful. I have been picking up slugs when I'm able! Found it quite easy. And yes traffic is piling up every where - HOV is not exempt from the increase in traffic. I also figure that traffic will pick up on the roads with the new hike in Metro fares.

mfassler Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Location: Virginia Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote mfassler Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jun 2004 at 9:49am
	But if you're driving alone on the HOV, either violating or in a Hybrid (same as violating to me), then you are not doing anything to promote carpooling. Just about every person I slug with has commented that we wish the "freeloaders" (ie Hybrid drivers) would pick up at LEAST 2 slugs each way, so that they are on a level playing field...otherwise they ARE being selfish by not sharing with others and HELPING to allieviate traffic. I understand very well how bad traffic is getting, even on the HOV...but Hybrid's driving ALONE just make it worse... quote: Originally posted by ScarletLSG [br]610-Slug, Comments like yours do nothing to promote carpooling. Calling someone selfish, without knowing or caring about their personal circumstances just makes them thankful that they aren't carpooling or slugging with YOU! ScarletLSG

ScarletLSG Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 27 May 2004 Location: HI Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote ScarletLSG Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jun 2004 at 10:16am
	610-Slug, I'm sure you've read my previous posts and know at least minimally of my situation. I live ON Quantico and commute almost to the Dulles Airport. I DO pick up slugs when my schedule allows -- read that to mean ... when I go to work early enough and come home early enough to get them at Potomac Mills and Pentagon. VERY often I go to work after the 9:00 a.m. opening to all traffic and come home well past 10:00 p.m. That is THREE days per week. The other two days, I telecommute from home ... eliminating my presence on ANY road completely. My point? Pointing the "selfish" finger at all hybrid owners is inciteful ... just makes them THAT MUCH MORE likely to NOT pick up slugs, carpool and continue their effort to maintain their HOV privileges. While 20,000 people slug in and out of DC every day ... how many of them actually sit down and write their congress member? I could put down a large percentage of DC commuters for not investigating a telecommuting proposal or for driving a ridiculous gas-guzzling SUV. But I don't know their personal circumstances ... they may not have the facilities to work from home, or need the SUV to haul 6 kids on the weekends. Bottom line is that you judge indiscriminately. I'm thankful that our stay here is temporary and that we'll be taking our selfish military serving selves out of the DC Metro area. ScarletLSG quote: Originally posted by mfassler [br]But if you're driving alone on the HOV, either violating or in a Hybrid (same as violating to me), then you are not doing anything to promote carpooling. Just about every person I slug with has commented that we wish the "freeloaders" (ie Hybrid drivers) would pick up at LEAST 2 slugs each way, so that they are on a level playing field...otherwise they ARE being selfish by not sharing with others and HELPING to allieviate traffic. I understand very well how bad traffic is getting, even on the HOV...but Hybrid's driving ALONE just make it worse... quote: Originally posted by ScarletLSG [br]610-Slug, Comments like yours do nothing to promote carpooling. Calling someone selfish, without knowing or caring about their personal circumstances just makes them thankful that they aren't carpooling or slugging with YOU! ScarletLSG

Geezehead Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 14 Nov 2002 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Geezehead Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jun 2004 at 10:54am
	Wow - what a firecracker. Yes LSG your commute is an exception in my book and I would think most everyone else. 610 was echoing what I posted on the CX plate thread. Clearly it is selfish to drive from the south all the way into town alone. Legal yes, which I painfully admitted before, but that is where the societal arguments enter referring to acting like a citizen and helping other folks into town thereby reducing congestion. Bottom line to all of these hybrid 'bashing' posts: Those of you that can, pick up some riders!

ScarletLSG Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 27 May 2004 Location: HI Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote ScarletLSG Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jun 2004 at 7:30pm
	Thanks Geezehead. I ABSOLUTELY agree that a Hybrid owner that is driving from close to ANY slug lot to the Pentagon or DC SHOULD pick up slugs. It is good for the environment AND reduces traffic. I actually do, about once per week. Funny story ... my oldest daughter is seen by docs at Walter Reed about once a month. Generally, my husband takes her ... drives a regular ole non-Hybrid car. Hubby tried to convince her that it was safe to pick up a slug at Potomac Mills, but being 12, she was just wary of the whole "stranger" thing. It's a fine line to walk -- strangers are dangerous ... unless they are slugs!! End result, he ends up taking youngest daughter. She whines INCESSANTLY ... "Why do I always have to be the slug?" Of course that whining subsided when she realized it was a ticket out of a half day of school. ScarletLSG

Slug15 Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 29 Oct 2003 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Slug15 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jun 2004 at 10:43pm
	I have to agree with 610-Slug, he is absolutely right (HOV lanes on I-95 was created to alleviate congestion; if they were created for conservation, then why would they allow those stinky, smelly Metro buses to still operate? Okay, maybe there a FEW "clean fuel" buses, but I see them few and far between). Anyway, 610-Slug has saved me countless times by picking me up in the mornings and the afternoons and I truly appreciate it. I will always be a willing slug to 610-Slug. BTW, I own a nice, big SUV and my husband owns a BIG 4X4 V8 pickup truck; and when I'm stuck in traffic, I set my temperature control to just the right temperature and crack up my XM radio. We will give up our gas-guzzling vehicles when they pry it from our cold hands!

carleric Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 22 Apr 2004 Location: va Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote carleric Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 Jun 2004 at 9:08am
	You had me for awhile. I was agreeing with you about how hybrids should pick people up - it's the neighborly thing to do, after all - and keeping traffic down is in ALL of our best interests, but then you go and say that stuff about how you're "proud" to own not one but two enormous gas guzzling machines. And that's unfortunate. Because we'd all be better off if there were fewer of those around, too. No offense. Eric Tackett's Mill to Rosslyn and back I slug.

mfassler Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Location: Virginia Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote mfassler Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 Jun 2004 at 10:21am
	Look--sorry that you're stuck living on a military base instead of getting a house near the Dulles airport, or that you can't seem to find a job in the I-95 corridor. However, this is NO excuse for breaking Virginia Department of Transportation law and driving a GASOLINE car (even if it uses SOME battery power at SLOW speeds and LOW gears) taking up the same amount of space on the road as a car that holds THREE or more people. I am a STRICT advocate that there is NO EXCUSE to drive alone in the HOV-lanes. I don't care what kind of car you're driving or how high a toll or fee you're willing to pay. If you're not a part of the solution, you're part of the problem. You are taking up room on the HOV instead of sitting in the traffic of the regular lanes where you belong. Again--HOV lanes have ONE (not two or three) purpose--to alliviate traffic for those who are willing to share their rides. If you feel that because you paid some amount of money in purchasing a GASOLINE-hybrid vehicle (which is NOT CLEAN FUEL) that you can clog up _OUR_ road, then you are sorely mistaken. Either start a carpool, a vanpool, pick up slugs, or get a job closer to home. Otherwise, I wish you well and hope that your military career (or that of your spouse) takes you away from this area where people won't deem you selfish and rude for STEALING space on _OUR_ roads just because you have a certain TYPE of car. Not only should the HOV times be extended to 10am in the morning, and through 7:30pm in the afternoon, but they should be made HOV-4 and there needs to be a MUCH higher enforcement of these laws. At least the fines and DMV points will double starting tomorrow (July 1, 2004), and hopefully that will get some of the violators off of the road. At least those violators are "honest" about their cheating...as opposed to CF vehicles that believe that they are better than everyone else and therefore don't have to follow the rules that VDOT set up when it constructed the lanes...before the Congress decided to step in because of all of the money that the automakers gave them when they lobbied for the exemption. Some nerve! Hope you and your Hybrid-denfending pals get transferred somewhere else soon! I assure you that all of the slugs that see Hybrids on the road curse at them everytime...honking and cursing that they should get over in the regular lanes where they belong. If hybrid drivers TRUELY feel that they are being ecological and saving the planet, that's great...more power to 'em...but they should find 2 (or more) additional riders to go with them, or else stay off the HOV! PERIOD. I see no exceptions...unless there is a medical or police emergency, they can sit in trafic or get a new job or new house near where they work. End of story. Ask any non-hybrid driver in the DC area, and they all seem to agree...I don't think I'm being harsh by thinking that people should follow the LAW as it was intended, not push Congress to allow them to break it, and nullify the ONLY reason that the roads were built in the first place. --Mike (610-SLUG) quote: Originally posted by ScarletLSG [br]Thanks Geezehead. I ABSOLUTELY agree that a Hybrid owner that is driving from close to ANY slug lot to the Pentagon or DC SHOULD pick up slugs. It is good for the environment AND reduces traffic. I actually do, about once per week. Funny story ... my oldest daughter is seen by docs at Walter Reed about once a month. Generally, my husband takes her ... drives a regular ole non-Hybrid car. Hubby tried to convince her that it was safe to pick up a slug at Potomac Mills, but being 12, she was just wary of the whole "stranger" thing. It's a fine line to walk -- strangers are dangerous ... unless they are slugs!! End result, he ends up taking youngest daughter. She whines INCESSANTLY ... "Why do I always have to be the slug?" Of course that whining subsided when she realized it was a ticket out of a half day of school. ScarletLSG

Stuck2 Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 22 Apr 2004 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Stuck2 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 Jun 2004 at 11:04am
	No, 610-slug, I think you got it wrong and are being very judgmental of others. You don't say anything about motocycles (yes, they take up space and like to drive down the center line and create their own set of issues) or off-duty police men (who think THEY are better the rest of us just because they CHOOSE to become policemen. They violate more laws: they speed, they tailgate). The Virginia Lawmakers gave Hybrid owners the HOV exemption -- so, no, hybrids are not violating HOV. When the exemption is taken away, we will comply and either violate HOV or choose to carpool. I think YOU need to write some letters and focus your frustrations about the overall increased traffic congestion appropriately. By the way, when I'm on the lanes I do have at least 1-3 others (not always slugs, but when I'm able I stop by the lines). I have found the people who slug to be pleasant, and I bet if you are offered a ride by a hybrid owner, you won't turn your nose up in the air. Or will you? Will you wait for the next ride? Don't ever slam military families. They put up with enough grief and hardship. And they belong and contribute to whatever community they set down in -- even for the short period of time they are allowed to stay.

mfassler Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Location: Virginia Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote mfassler Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 Jun 2004 at 11:09am
	Well, you're right--I have a problem with motorcycles taking up space on the HOV and not having 3 or more people on their vehicle just as much as hybrids. So, you're right--they are just as bad. I am only a slug-driver, so I have never ridden with a hybrid vehicle...but even if I DID slug, I have nothing against hybrids, or their drivers, as long as they comply and have three people, just like every other car out there...so I most certainly WOULD get into a hybrid (or other CF) vehicle in a slug (or other carpool) line. As far as military people go..I think they are wonderful and I'm glad that they are defending our country...this was NOT a slam against military families. But neither should anyone go and think that because of where one lives (be it a military base or any other home) gives them the right to take a job far away and then complain that because of that, they should be allowed to violate the VDOT rules for which the HOV lanes were created! Mike (610-SLUG) quote: Originally posted by Stuck2 [br]No, 610-slug, I think you got it wrong and are being very judgmental of others. You don't say anything about motocycles (yes, they take up space and like to drive down the center line and create their own set of issues) or off-duty police men (who think THEY are better the rest of us just because they CHOOSE to become policemen. They violate more laws: they speed, they tailgate). The Virginia Lawmakers gave Hybrid owners the HOV exemption -- so, no, hybrids are not violating HOV. When the exemption is taken away, we will comply and either violate HOV or choose to carpool. I think YOU need to write some letters and focus your frustrations about the overall increased traffic congestion appropriately. By the way, when I'm on the lanes I do have at least 1-3 others (not always slugs, but when I'm able I stop by the lines). I have found the people who slug to be pleasant, and I bet if you are offered a ride by a hybrid owner, you won't turn your nose up in the air. Or will you? Will you wait for the next ride? Don't ever slam military families. They put up with enough grief and hardship. And they belong and contribute to whatever community they set down in -- even for the short period of time they are allowed to stay.