problems i have with the HOV lane.

[Rallispec]

okay.. well first-- my main problem is that i dont get to use it. I hate driving to work in the morning, being stuck in the slow lanes becuase i dont have anybody to carpool to work with. i bet i could cut like 10 minutes off my commute if i got to use the HOV lane.

anyways... today while going to work i made this observation-- on the ten mile stretch of highway between exits 44 and 53 on I-66 in northern virginia, I started keeping track of the cars i saw in the hov lanes. On that ten mile stretch of highway.. i only saw ONE suv. the rest was entirely small cars and 2 motorcycles.
while over in the normal lanes-- probably 50% of the vehicles were suv's and minivans.

does anybody else see a problem with that--- doesnt it seem odd that a majority of the high occupancy vehicles were made up of smaller 4 door sedans.. while a vast number of vehicles with only 1 passenger were the largest suv's and minivans?

i dunno.. maybe its just me, but i think thats kinda dumb. Just another reason to not like suvs some SUV drivers.. they get these big trucks that seat 28 and then wont even share them.

 

[Lucky]

I think that just reflects the kind of people that take the effort to carpool.

 

[iamwiz82]

first off, what would saving 10 minutes get you? Thats how i look at rush hour now. Its no big deal. 10 minutes isnt a ton of time, so i just shrug it off.

 

[wyvrn]

HOV lanes reward car poolers, so I have no problem with it. Less polution benefits everyone. The thing I dislike about using the HOV lane is that single passenger cars abuse it as a fast lane, which negates the benefit for those cars that actually have 2 or more people. But I think the fine for those who get caught is $200 :Q

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
first off, what would saving 10 minutes get you? Thats how i look at rush hour now. Its no big deal. 10 minutes isnt a ton of time, so i just shrug it off.

yeah, but 10 minutes can translate into whether or not i have time to eat breakfast in the morning.

 

[iamwiz82]

i just take 2 nutrigrain bars to work. Breakfast of champions

 

[Linflas]

HOV on 66 is a joke at best. Where else but the DC area would they build an interstate highway that gets narrower the closer it gets to the city? Virginia has used HOV as a way to evade their infrastructure planning responsibilities for 30 years now. The majority of the people that are able to take advantage of HOV work for the government. Try being a contractor on a federal contract sometime and when 5:00 PM rolls around leave the server/workstation down and announce you have to leave now because your car pool is leaving. As far as I am concerned the HOV lanes are nothing more than our local version of the infamous "Kremlin lanes" they used to have in the former Soviet Union.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: Rallispec
yeah, but 10 minutes can translate into whether or not i have time to eat breakfast in the morning.

1. Set alarm for 10 minutes earlier in the morning.
2. Go to bed 10 minutes earlier at night.

Voilà! Breakfast every day, and no lost sleep!

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: Linflas
HOV on 66 is a joke at best. Where else but the DC area would they build an interstate highway that gets narrower the closer it gets to the city? Virginia has used HOV as a way to evade their infrastructure planning responsibilities for 30 years now. The majority of the people that are able to take advantage of HOV work for the government. Try being a contractor on a federal contract sometime and when 5:00 PM rolls around leave the server/workstation down and announce you have to leave now because your car pool is leaving. As far as I am concerned the HOV lanes are nothing more than our local version of the infamous "Kremlin lanes" they used to have in the former Soviet Union.

i agree completely.. traffic in the metro area is terrible. it takes me an HOUR to get to work in the morning and nearly an hour and a half to get home everday.. and i'm only going 20 miles! this whole area is a joke when it comes to things like that.

Originally posted by: kranky

Originally posted by: Rallispec
yeah, but 10 minutes can translate into whether or not i have time to eat breakfast in the morning.

1. Set alarm for 10 minutes earlier in the morning.
2. Go to bed 10 minutes earlier at night.

Voilà! Breakfast every day, and no lost sleep!

you make it sound so easy.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: Linflas
HOV on 66 is a joke at best. Where else but the DC area would they build an interstate highway that gets narrower the closer it gets to the city? Virginia has used HOV as a way to evade their infrastructure planning responsibilities for 30 years now. The majority of the people that are able to take advantage of HOV work for the government. Try being a contractor on a federal contract sometime and when 5:00 PM rolls around leave the server/workstation down and announce you have to leave now because your car pool is leaving. As far as I am concerned the HOV lanes are nothing more than our local version of the infamous "Kremlin lanes" they used to have in the former Soviet Union.

i agree completely.. traffic in the metro area is terrible. it takes me an HOUR to get to work in the morning and nearly an hour and a half to get home everday.. and i'm only going 20 miles! this whole area is a joke when it comes to things like that.

Originally posted by: kranky

Originally posted by: Rallispec
yeah, but 10 minutes can translate into whether or not i have time to eat breakfast in the morning.

1. Set alarm for 10 minutes earlier in the morning.
2. Go to bed 10 minutes earlier at night.

Voilà! Breakfast every day, and no lost sleep!

you make it sound so easy.

Having tried this before I can tell you the end result is getting up at 4:30 AM. Amazing how quick you can get there just 10 minutes at a time. I am now nibbling at the fringes by leaving at 5:30 AM but don't know what I will do after Labor Day when traffic volume traditionally goes through the roof.

 

[Que-TiP]

is there any public transportation in this area that would work? subway? trolley? etc? If its only 20 miles.

 

[yakko]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
first off, what would saving 10 minutes get you? Thats how i look at rush hour now. Its no big deal. 10 minutes isnt a ton of time, so i just shrug it off.

10 minutes is a very long time. It is half of my drive to work.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: yakko

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
first off, what would saving 10 minutes get you? Thats how i look at rush hour now. Its no big deal. 10 minutes isnt a ton of time, so i just shrug it off.

10 minutes is a very long time. It is half of my drive to work.

It's one-third of my bike ride to work.

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: yakko

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
first off, what would saving 10 minutes get you? Thats how i look at rush hour now. Its no big deal. 10 minutes isnt a ton of time, so i just shrug it off.

10 minutes is a very long time. It is half of my drive to work.

last summer it was my entire drive to work.. god, i miss working in town 5 miles away. having to commute an hour to work blows.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: yakko

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
first off, what would saving 10 minutes get you? Thats how i look at rush hour now. Its no big deal. 10 minutes isnt a ton of time, so i just shrug it off.

10 minutes is a very long time. It is half of my drive to work.

i doubt you would save 10 minutes by driving in a HOV lane, then.

 

[hoihtah]

i donno about your HOV lanes down in Virginia...
but up in Boston, it's like a death trap.

few times a month, someone would have a break down in the HOV lane.
and there's a lil' divider that separates HOV lanes from others...
so once you commit to HOV, then you'll be travelling only as fast as the person in front of you.

if that person breaks down... so will you.

i hate getting stuck there.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Lucky
I think that just reflects the kind of people that take the effort to carpool.

good example of selection bias.

 

[The Stigenator]

if you have a UULEV car like a Toyota Prius you can ride the HOV lanes with one person. Check your local state laws. If you drive a zero emmision vehicel (rav4ev or something like that) you can definately do that.. again check your local state law. In CA you can do that if you run a battery operated vehicel.

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: The_good_guy
if you have a UULEV car like a Toyota Prius you can ride the HOV lanes with one person. Check your local state laws. If you drive a zero emmision vehicel (rav4ev or something like that) you can definately do that.. again check your local state law. In CA you can do that if you run a battery operated vehicel.

For CA it's electric or natural gas (I have a natual gas car). Saves me about 30 minutes a day. I figure I go to work 4 days a week (telecommute one), and show up 48 weeks out of the year. That saves we a total of 2 hours a week or 96 hours a year. Makes it worth it to me.

One comment for railspec, first he mentions that he doesn't have anyone to carpool with. Then slams SUV drivers for not carpooling. I guess his theory is the more open seats you have the more people should dislike you. To me he's not contributing (his choice) just as the SUV drivers he mentions aren't.

Bill

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: bsobel
One comment for railspec, first he mentions that he doesn't have anyone to carpool with. Then slams SUV drivers for not carpooling. I guess his theory is the more open seats you have the more people should dislike you. To me he's not contributing (his choice) just as the SUV drivers he mentions aren't.

Bill

i was just saying how its ironic that the vehicles that are meant to hold the most passengers are holding the least.. while the smaller cars are the ones packed with people.

 

[brtspears2]

Motorcycles count too, right ?

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: Que-TiP
is there any public transportation in this area that would work? subway? trolley? etc? If its only 20 miles.

The Metro is good for getting to and from DC and that is it. The problem is that less than 25% of the workforce works in downtown DC these days. Most people commuting in this area live in the suburbs and drive to another location in the suburbs and Metro is worthless for that purpose.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: brtspears2
Motorcycles count too, right ?

Yes along with mothers with infants, hybrid vehicles, and pretty much any government official that can stick a blue light on their dashboard irregardless of whether they have any authority in VA.

 

[Ultima]

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: Linflas
HOV on 66 is a joke at best. Where else but the DC area would they build an interstate highway that gets narrower the closer it gets to the city? Virginia has used HOV as a way to evade their infrastructure planning responsibilities for 30 years now. The majority of the people that are able to take advantage of HOV work for the government. Try being a contractor on a federal contract sometime and when 5:00 PM rolls around leave the server/workstation down and announce you have to leave now because your car pool is leaving. As far as I am concerned the HOV lanes are nothing more than our local version of the infamous "Kremlin lanes" they used to have in the former Soviet Union.

i agree completely.. traffic in the metro area is terrible. it takes me an HOUR to get to work in the morning and nearly an hour and a half to get home everday.. and i'm only going 20 miles! this whole area is a joke when it comes to things like that.

Originally posted by: kranky

Originally posted by: Rallispec
yeah, but 10 minutes can translate into whether or not i have time to eat breakfast in the morning.

1. Set alarm for 10 minutes earlier in the morning.
2. Go to bed 10 minutes earlier at night.

Voilà! Breakfast every day, and no lost sleep!

you make it sound so easy.

Doesn't DC have a subway? How much time would you save/lose if you drove to a station and took the subway for the rest of the way?

 

[Ultima]

Originally posted by: Linflas

Originally posted by: Que-TiP
is there any public transportation in this area that would work? subway? trolley? etc? If its only 20 miles.

The Metro is good for getting to and from DC and that is it. The problem is that less than 25% of the workforce works in downtown DC these days. Most people commuting in this area live in the suburbs and drive to another location in the suburbs and Metro is worthless for that purpose.

Sounds like the subway/bus system here. If your trip starts near downtown and ends near downtown its faster than driving usually. However, if either the start or end is not near downtown then it can be slower than driving. Going downtown from here takes about half an hour, doing the same driving (including finding parking) will take 30 - 45 mins. Going to college takes an hour, doing the same with a car takes about 30 mins, and going to where I work right now takes 2 hours (!!!) with transit, but only 15 minutes by car. I agree, if you're not going downtown transit can suck.