Tacketts (New Lot) etiquette in AM

Not only is it a hazard from that point of view, but this AM was very disturbing to me for another reason. As I walked past the line-cutters, the lead car honked at me from about 3 feet away. (Which, needless to say, startled me.) The driver asked what I was doing and when I told him I was going to use the correct line, he got irate. At first I was going to patiently explain the situation, but he was clearly hot under the collar. When he started to step out of his car , I walked away. (And found a Rosslyn ride just two cars farther down the line, thus proving, once again, that the "second line" is, in fact, based upon stealing riders.)

So, not only was this guy not satisfied with breaching the rule about stealing riders, but he also thinks he can tell a slug which car he/she can or cannot get into! And then to get to the point of getting out of his car!?

I think I'm going to start carrying a pad & pen in my hands. If I ever have a run-in like that, I can at least alert others. I'd guess that, regardless of most people's feelings about how the New Lot should run, NOBODY wants to ride with a hot-head like that.

- Eric.

Newbie,

I have no idea why you were told such misinformation. A quick check of both the existing slugging websites shows that the established convention is to run ONE line and the non-Pentagon slugs walk the line with signs. It has been that way for YEARS. It works better for drivers that way, as the Rosslyn/Crystal City driver gets the option of doing the Pentagon if nobody shows up for their destination (or doing one Pentagon and one to their destination). Unless you'd rather wait a possibly long time for that second rider. For slugs it also works better, since you don't risk getting stuck in a car that's sitting there waiting on a second slug. Anyway, all the logic of why one line is better has been covered earlier in this topic.

Additionally, as someone new to the slugging phenomenon, I hope you've read the various discussions of slugging etiquette. One of the biggest rules is "Thou shalt not steal slugs". Which is what the second line has been doing since day one (though, I'm sure not everyone in that line has thought about it). On a typical morning I'll walk right past the second line and within a few cars find someone headed to my destination. Any slugs to that destination that were taken by the second line were, quite obviously, stolen from someone in the REAL line, in direct violation of slugging etiquette.

Another argument against that line is that it totally changes the traffic pattern at that spot and significantly increases the danger to pedestrians (as well as motorists). A number of incidents of this type have been noted in this topic.

As further proof of the line-cutting/slug-stealing, I submit what I saw this morning. The lead car in the second line was holding up a *PENTAGON* sign. If that isn't an attempt to steal slugs, I don't know what is. It's also quite silly, since it is very unlikely a Pentagon slug would've ever reached him.

Unfortunately, this is a case where the people who are doing the right thing suffer. For some reason, I see many slugs who just walk right up to the second line and completely ignore the folks who are in the proper line. I'm just glad that I still find drivers that are still willing to stick it out and do what's right.

And to all that read this, let me just urge that you not patronize the line-cutting 'line' and further, you should point this out to others. Slugging works well when everyone adheres to the long-standing rules of etiquette. When these rules are broken, slugging stops working as well.

- Eric.

There is only one line for everyone at Tacketts. That "other" line you see is for cars that are trying to form their own line and thus get ahead of the other cars.

While it's a nice concept - two lines - works great at Potomac Mills (my favorite lot) - there isn't enough space for it at Tackett's AND the public is not informed (thus not fair to those who wait patiently in the main line).

Best etiquette - check the cars in the main line first before stopping at the "other" line. If people get rude, ignore them. I've found that those are the drivers you want to avoid anyway. And, yes, I know how rude they can be but I also realize it's frustration over the system, not knowing that they really are in the wrong.

I think one of the biggest problems with slugging is that people (drivers and riders) don't realize that slugging is based on rules and etiquette. They want to form their own "rules" without getting the say so from the slugging community AND VDOT. While many might feel it would be nice to have two lines at Tackett's, no one has gotten the approval from VDOT for two lines, thus it's still one line.

Tackett's is a nice location to slug out of (my favorite "late" lot), let's keep it that way.

I've been slugging out of the Tacketts lot for the last few months going to Crystal City. For the first few days I "Walked The Line" and found it to be a terrible experience as nearly EVERYBODY was going to the Pentagon and very few of the had signs, so I had to have them roll down the window, etc. Each day since then I have simply walked to the second line formed for Rosslyn and Crystal City, and hopped right into a car. If all of the drivers had Crystal City / Pentagon signs, it would be one thing, but over half don't.

Having a second line is the best way to go for all parties concerned... It's just the traffic logistics that are the problem. But this is not going to change by screaming on this board. The two line concept is now the standard at Tacketts Mill and will be until there are official looking signs stating otherwise. Anybody thinking otherwise is kidding themselves (and waiting in the wrong line).

Mike