Have you ever found yourself burning with envy as you sit bumper to bumper while you watch other's gleefully cruise down the carpool lane? Find your self inching into the next lane because it appears to be creeping along a 1 inch per hour faster than your lane all the while that diamond clad lane is as open as a high range prairie? There is a simple solution... pick up a total stranger on the side of the road or in a parking lot, and enjoy the the life in the fast lane.
The impromptu carpooling is called slugging, and it has evolved to a pretty streamlined system in some places, like DC for example. Because High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes require 1 or more passengers, lonely commuters have had to be creative to access the coveted HOV lane. Around the greater DC area 25 "Slug Lines" have formed in parking & commuter lots, serving 6,500 slugs/slug drivers a day.
Here's how it works:
- People and cars line up in one of the designated areas.
- The cars pull up to the line and hold out a sign with the destination or shouts it out to the first person in line
- If that person isn't heading to that destination, he/she shouts it out to the rest of the line and the first two people going that way jump in the car.
The system works because of there's mutual benefit...
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This doesn’t seem like a very safe thing to do to me! It’s the same as picking up hitch-hikers, isn’t it…and you KNOW what mom always said about THAT!
This is a great idea, but I’ve always liked the idea of hitch hiking and if you end up getting to know the people ‘slugging’ at the same place as you do then at least someone will know you’ve gone missing! And if you don’t end up knowing the people to see every day then you should get out of yourself more frequently.
Anyone see the episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry picks up the hooker to use the HOV lane to make it to the Dodger game on time? Well it results in his friend Harvey Funkhauser (formerly “Super Dave”) getting caught with weed and Larry’s dad getting high with the whore.
If this much hilarity ensues as a result of slugging, I’m GAME! (Awesome post, by the way!)
I love that episode, and that entire show!
@Susan S
I see where you are coming from but slugging’s been going on for 30 years and thousand of people do it everyday in the DC area (which isn’t the safest place in the US btw) and it’s been safe so far, knock on FSC certified wood!
@Greenpointer
I’ve seen it, it’s a classic!
Sluggin? Death to your concept!!! This has been going on forever in DC and in the SFBay and probably elsewhere. The name is “Casual Carpool”. Slugging is for parro-mong dongs. Behold thine truth.
Shokotto is crazy but correct. This phenomenon is called “Casual Carpooling”. Slugging sound’s like a baseball term to me.
@SHOKOTTO, did you read the article? It’s not our concept and we acknowledge that it’s over 30 years old.
@TERRY DUNN, we should have included the term “Casual Carpooling” too.
@TERRY DUNN
Oh, I forgot to mention, this is what I think of when I hear “Casual Carpooling”…
http://images.loqu.com/photos/308/810/is-this-car-pooling.jpg
This is not a great idea….unless you re HEAVILY ARMED!