Is Slugging Safe? How Do You Slug in Northern Virginia? What are the Rules of Slugging?

Slugging?

Slugging is a term to describe a unique way of carpooling in the Northern Virginia and DC area. Essentially, it’s where strangers—yes, total strangers—will get into each other's car. It's kind of like picking up a kid and carpooling to school, only you don't know the kid, or the mom, or the rules for that matter.

When I first moved to Northern Virginia, I came from the New York City environment. When someone told me to get into someone else's car, I thought they were crazy. However, it's super normal here and is a great way to commute.

Not only is it a unique way of commuting but it’s also free. Of course, it is a little bit opposite of what Mama told you when you were growing up: don't get into a car with a stranger. The neat thing about slugging is it's probably a faster option than catching the bus, train, or the metro. It might be a great option for you to consider.

How It Works

No one knows exactly when slugging started in Northern Virginia. From doing a little bit of research, it seems to have started somewhere about 1975, so it's pretty common in the area. The DC and Northern Virginia area is not the only place that slugging happens. It also happens in San Francisco and Houston. So you see, we're not the only crazy people around here.

Most people pick up slugs, and that's what you're called: a slug. They do it as a way to get extra riders in the car so that they can hit the HOT lanes, or the high occupancy travel lanes. They're a lot like HOV lanes here in Northern Virginia. However, the lane only goes north or south, not north and south at the same time. So it depends on the time of day.

If you have three or more riders, including the driver, you can actually drive in the HOT lane for free (with an EZ-Pass Flex). This helps you bypass sitting in all that rush hour traffic that someone with only one or two people in the car will be sitting in. Remember, no money is exchanged when you slug. It's beneficial to both the driver and the slug.

Finding A Slug Line

In the morning, there are about 20 different slug lines in different locations around Northern Virginia. The largest and most popular slug lines will have several individual lines. Believe me when I tell you that I know this all sounds a little bit crazy. However, it's actually pretty systematic in its approach.

These individual lines are formed based on the destination of where you want to go. It’s kind of like a taxi line or calling an Uber, but you just get into the line. For example, if you're going to the Pentagon from Stafford, there's actually a line or two just to the Pentagon. That means you know you're hopping in the right car.

Lines form from such destinations as the White House, the Pentagon, the Navy Yard, or 14th and Newark. And yes, you can slip from south to north in the morning and from north to south in the afternoon. The slug line starts at about 4:30 in the morning and goes until about 7:00 am. So you need to get yourself up in the morning, have your breakfast, brush your teeth, get your clothes on, get in your car, and drive over to the slug lot.

Park your car and then get in the line. If you're not sure which line, check the car; most of the time they're going to flash the sign up for where their final destination is that morning. Jump in the car and go. It's that easy. If you’re not sure which car to jump into and they don't have a sign, they're going to yell their destination out the window until they have at least two people that have jumped in the car.

Slugging Rules

The driver will usually have three to four people in a car. They don't cram each other, so you don't have to worry about being a sardine. It's usually a pretty comfortable ride, and the minimum requirement is three.

There are a few rules to slugging, and they’re usually they're set by the driver. When you hop in the car, the radio might be on and it might be on pretty low. Do not ask the driver to change the radio station. If the driver says it's okay to have small talk, then it's okay to talk. But other than that, it's usually a pretty quiet ride. That means no cell phone answering, no eating, and no smoking in the car either.

One of the nice things is that they never will leave a woman standing alone in the line. So if you are leaving in the morning and there's only one person left in line, that last driver won't leave until she's in another vehicle safely on her way. The same rule goes for coming home at night. No female is left standing alone for safety; it’s an unwritten rule.

Remember that slugging is completely free. There's no exchange of money or tokens. The only thing that's required is a thank you. You also don’t need to ask to be dropped off anywhere specifically, because the destination is set. For example, if the destination is Rosalyn, it means the metro station in Roslyn—not anywhere else along the way. If it’s the Pentagon, that means you're probably going to get dropped right along the curb on Fern Street, not at the north parking lot.

Slugging Post-COVID

Pre-COVID, thousands of people would slug in a given day. When COVID happened, that was obviously not recommended. Rumor has it that people are still slugging today. However, with so many people working from home, the numbers are not the same as they were back in 2019.

A lot of people are actually taking the option of going to Facebook message boards to see who's commuting, what time they're going, and what their final destination is. This way, they can plan their commute a little bit easier.

An Easy Commute

I hope this gave you some insight into what slugging is, and yes: it is a real term and a real thing. It’s definitely a great option for commuting. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask.

To view slug lots, click here.