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Forum LockedWashington Post reporter seeks help on hybrids

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emancilla View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote emancilla Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Apr 2004 at 2:46pm
It's unfortunate for you guys, who live in Fredericksburg, that the HOV lanes don't extend upthere. It should be. Maybe we see that in 10 years.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pb1974 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Apr 2004 at 4:29pm
I'd love to see the HOV out there, or at least have a more reliable slugging system to/from Routes 3 and 17. But I'm sure I'll be long gone from this area before HOV makes it out there.[:)]
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sluDgE Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Apr 2004 at 7:09am
"The times, they are a-changin'" ... guess what... could hardly believe my eyes ... I saw saw two hybrids on I-395 this morning and each car had THREE occupants! Could this be a new trend of hybrids actually hauling slugs? My goodness! [:)]
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tdar20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Apr 2004 at 11:50am
All this talk about Hybrid vehicles and nothing about the dramatic growth in our area? How can we forget about how fast Stafford county is expanding and the stress that it puts on all the reaffic lanes. I would be willing to bet the growth rate far exceeds the hybrid rate. SOmethign needs to be done about expanding the HOV lanes and not just with a tax increase!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Stuck2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Apr 2004 at 1:49pm
I really don't think Hybrids are the cause of all problems. I own a hybrid. I have commuted from Warrenton, Fairfax, Alexandria and now Springfield into the city (18 years). I just think this area has grown horrendously in the past 10 yrs and the roads just aren't keeping up with the growth rate. The clog in the traffic is caused by the fact that the HOV lanes are opened to everyone at the Pentagon in the morning and Edsall Road in the evening. There's no clear flow of traffic. If you can't clear the road of cars, it doesn't matter how many cars are on the road -- there will be a traffic jam.

Also please note, off-duty policemen are allowed on the HOV and so are motorcycles -- they need as much space as a car.

Since I have joined the HOV crowd, I have never seen such aggressive driving! The speeds at which people travel are insane.
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emancilla View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote emancilla Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Apr 2004 at 11:22pm
I think Hybrid cars are part of the problem. It's a combination of many things. HOV lanes open to all at the Pentagon in the morning and not only Edsall Rd in the evening but all cheaters that jump in near Springfield area. A police officer that pull over a car at the Springfield entrance cannot stop 20+cars behind. As this area keeps growing this rate, we'll be in trouble. We need the metro to extend up to Woodbridge at least.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sluDgE Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Apr 2004 at 7:22am
Hybrid report for Friday, April 23rd .... we spotted 5 hybrids on I-395 between Rt 644 and the P'gon this morning.
Occupant totals:
4 hybrids had only ONE occupant, and one hybrid had TWO occupants. Zero hybrids were HOV-3. What a shame ... those things get about 50 mpg and with 3 people on board, that would be 150 passenger miles per gallon (a better cost per commuter now that gasoline prices are almost $2 a gallon!) "Slug a hybrid!" [;)]
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LisaDeanna Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Apr 2004 at 11:58am
I'm really surprised at how much hostility there is on this board towards hybrid drivers.

I don't have one, but I plan to get one as soon as I can afford one and my present car can't take any more miles. And yes, I will be doing it for the environment, but I will use the HOV lanes without an ounce of guilt on the days taking the bus or metro isn't a good alternative.

I think use of HOV lanes by Hybrid is a GREAT incentive to get more of those cars on the road. Clearly, since responsibility for the environment is not enough for some people, than a faster commute may lure drivers. So what if they are in it for the better commute? The result is reduced consuption of foreign oil: something that we all should feel patriotic and proud about.

Yes, congestion relief is definitely an aim of the HOV lanes, but so is reduced greenhouse gas emissions. I don't think people would realisticly expect the Hybrid-exception to the HOV requirement to last forever. But for now, I don't believe its adding that much to the HOV traffic.

Lisa
Loudoun-to-DC, formerly Germantown-to-DC.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Stuck2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Apr 2004 at 12:16pm
The hostility is there. HOV drivers are very hostile. They are hostile to anyone driving under 70 mph. I have been almost run off the road; someone in a Toyota mocked shooting me (I commute with my daughter to her special school and that's the reason why I have a hybrid).

There's also another issue that hasn't been bounced around here. Why does I-66 have a longer HOV? I know that the traffic is horrendous out there and the HOV restriction is just 2. Haven't you all noticed it takes at least 20 minutes just to get out of the city? So if you leave your work at 5:30 you can BARELY catch the HOV. A lot of the hostility would diminish if everyone wasn't freaking out to get past Springfield by 6:00 pm.

Also, why not have a compromise of HOV 2 (like I-66) for hybrids.

Case in point to the volume of traffic on HOV: I left my house in Springfield at 8:10 am and was on the Hill by 8:25 am. Hey where's the traffic? Oh, it was right at the Pentagon over the 14th St. Bridge. Left the Hill at 5:20 pm; was on HOV by 5:45 pm; hit traffic at Edsall Road, but was home by 6:15. The times that traffic was backed up was when there was an earlier accident on the HOV lanes or on the bridge or the weather was awful or construction.

The real solution to traffic is to cut down on the total number of cars period through trains and other forms of public transportation.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sluDgE Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Apr 2004 at 12:42pm
Lisa D,
I really like hybrids and, like you, I'm considering getting one as our next car for the obvious environmental and fuel economy reasons. I see hybrids as the most fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly option available now for HOV commuting; but I, like many, would like to see all cars in the HOV lanes carry 3 or 4 passengers. (1 gas guzzler with 3 souls on board causes less congestion and less pollution than 3 gas guzzlers with only ONE person aboard ... likewise 1 hybrid with 3 souls on board is better for the same reasons than 3 hybrids with just ONE person aboard). My point is if we want to cut down the congestion, delays, and long back-ups on the I-95/I-395 HOV lanes, let's reduce the total number of cars by trying to put at least 3(or 4) people in each HOV car. Probably a mission impossible. [;)]
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