AMERICA:STROLL DOWNTOWN in Washington DC during the evening rush hour and you'll see lines of people standing at corners as if they are waiting for a bus or a taxi. Every few minutes, a car will roll up and two or three passengers will climb in and drive out to the Virginia suburbs with a complete stranger.
During the morning rush hour, similar scenes are played out at parking lots throughout northern Virginia, as thousands of commuters become what Washingtonians call "slugs". Slugs get a free ride to and from work but their drivers benefit too, cutting up to an hour off the daily commute by using high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes that are reserved for cars carrying at least three passengers.
Slugging has been a feature of Washington life since the early 1970s, when HOV lanes were introduced to encourage fuel saving during that decade's oil crisis. If a driver did not have enough passengers for the HOV, he would pull up to a line of commuters waiting for the bus and offer a lift to anybody who was going his way.
Word started to spread throughout the suburbs and more commuters began waiting at bus stops in the hope of a lift, often stepping back when the bus arrived. Bus drivers, frustrated as they drew up to stops and no passengers boarded, started referring to "fake passengers" or slugs, slang for counterfeit coins.
Over the years, snooty slugs have experimented with more dignified handles such as "instant car-pooler", "hitchhike commuter" and "casual car-pooler", but none has caught on.
Soaring fuel prices have seen slugging numbers grow in recent months as more commuters leave the car at home and rely on the kindness - and self-interest - of strangers to get to work.
Slugging is entirely unregulated by the government and has grown organically, but unofficial "slug lines" link specific suburbs with certain drop-off points in the city.
Drivers approaching a line of sluggers will often show a small card with a destination written on it or call out a destination, but most slug lines are like bus routes with just one starting point and a single destination. Rookie slugs can consult a website slug-lines.com for a current list of slug lines and tips on correct behaviour, but most commuters are already familiar with the etiquette of slugging.
The first rule is: don't speak until you're spoken to. Slugging home is not a cocktail party and nobody but the driver is expected to start a conversation. Nobody slugs to make friends and most commuters just want a quiet journey without having to keep a conversation going for half an hour.
If you do get talking, avoid politics, religion and sex, and stick to local news or harmless observations about traffic and the weather. Slugs should, of course, say "thank you" as they get into the car and when they leave.
Don't offer the driver money and don't give gifts. The driver needs slugs as much as they need the ride home and part of the joy of slugging lies in the knowledge that it is mutually beneficial.
Neither slugs nor drivers should eat, drink or smoke in the car and you should avoid using the phone except for very short calls to say you're on your way to your destination. Don't comb your hair or do your make-up in the car and slugs should not change the radio channel, adjust the air conditioning or open and close windows.
Slugs don't have to get into the first car that stops and slug chivalry demands that a woman should not be left standing alone in the line, especially at night. So if there are three people in line and a driver only needs two passengers, a male slug will give up his place rather than leave a woman standing alone.
There are no recorded cases of a slug coming to any harm, but women sometimes decline lifts if a car drives up with two men already inside. Drivers are expected to operate on a first-come, first-served basis and are discouraged from "body-snatching" - picking up stray passengers if there are too many cars waiting for slugs ahead of them.
Drivers have other obligations, notably to avoid strong scent, keep the music down and drive everyone to the designated drop-off point, rather than just stopping at home and expecting slugs to walk the rest of the way.
