Wash DC: Is it really THAT bad to drive in?
 

I'm about to move to DC in June to start a new job. Friends/family have been saying it's even worse than NYC to drive a car there and that I should sell my car. I've had my 8 for less than a year now, and I'd prefer to keep it around because it's an awesome car. I wouldn't be using it for commuting, just whatever excuse I could come up with to take it out on weekends.
Does anyone have experience driving in that area? Enthusiast perspective: Is it worth it to pay extra for parking to keep a car that I can only take out on weekends?

I lived in Maryland just outside of DC for a couple years. Traffic in the city isnt too bad. Much like Boston if you are used to it. The Beltway is a nightmare though. People drive like maniacs. A lot if it has no shoulder from what i remember. It can get hairy if you brake down or have to deal with someone else who has broken down.

On the plus side though. Northern Virginia has a lot of nice roads for going out on a sunday drive.

Are you going to live and work in DC itself? Work in DC and live in the adjacent burbs?

I live in Northern Virginia, work in Crystal City (right across the river from DC) and for a few months actually worked in DC. I grew up in NYC and lived in Boston for a while. Traffic in DC depends on where you live and where you have to drive. If you live south and commute up I-95 it's a nightmare - almost as bad as taking the LIE and BQE across the Kosciusko bridge. Urban traffic does not rival NYC. I think most of the "DC is the worst" comes from malcontents stuck on I-95, I-270 and the beltway. Owning a car in DC itself can be a pain because you're dealing with a third world local government.

Outside of DC itself the area is mostly suburbia, so if you don't live downtown it would be hard to get along without a car.

Ken

Yeah ^ Where you live vs where you work plus WHEN you work can change your experience HUGELY. I grew up in MD just north of DC, and in the last ~6 years before moving up to RI, I had different jobs all over the DC area, mostly suburbs, but plenty of time in the city itself. Driving in DC is similar to driving in Boston. But driving through the suburbs, be it beltway or not, is WAY worse than anything Boston can throw at you. Or rather, the worst Boston can give you is about average for DC. It's not that there are some major highways that clog up, it's EVERYTHING that clogs up. There are not "Fast ways" or "surface street short cuts". Everyone knows them all. As soon as the traffic starts clogging up the beltway, every surface street becomes clogged as well from people hoping they can get through one of those before it clogs. And the traffic isn't only during "rush hour". It starts clogging around 5am, and won't "free up" till around 10am, where it is only "thick". It re-clogs around 2-2:30, and frees up around 6:30-7, at which point all the construction zones open and it clogs back up again till around 3-4am. The number of times I sat in dead stop traffic headed to one job at midnight for the 3rd shift.... bleh. My last office there was in Arlington and I was living in Bowie, 17 miles. 90 minutes is the fastest I ever got home, 2 hours was typical, 3 hours happened frequently.

And it's not just the clogging. You have 3 different sets of road laws (DC, VA, and MD), plus a significant immigrant or foreign dignitary population that follow the laws from their own country. NYC is aggressive, but I don't find it hostile. You be aggressive as well, and people accept you easily and things run smoothly. Boston is similar. LA is just thick, but everyone is in their own world. Vegas is just a bit nutty, but not really congested. Chicago badly managed, but alternate routes seem to be always open. Houston is clogged frequently, but their highways are essentially 8+ lanes in any direction, so things clear up easy enough if you pay attention to jump on alternate routes. Miami has snow birds, but like any grid city, it seems easy to bypass the trouble. Etc... Having driven in nearly every major city in the US on a weekday, hands down DC is the worst traffic (RI is the worst drivers). You are always in traffic, and you don't have any options to avoid it. The people you are int raffic with are also out of their minds with anger, and people are literally trying to get you. Be aggressive and they will take it as a challenge. Be docile and you will be run over. Be "safe" by driving slow and you will cause a wreck behind you. Let people know what you are going to do and they will block you out of spite. The safest way to drive is like everyone is trying to kill you. Enough assertion to make it clear that you know what you are doing and where you are going, enough aggression to keep from being run over, but not enough to piss people off more than they already are, and don't put yourself in a position where someone can choose to take action against you.


If you live in the city and work in the city, it will probably be cheaper to use public transit, though the system was fairly bad at last check. If you live in the suburbs and work in the city ... figure something else out :)

Maybe on the Maryland side, but not in Virginia. Lots of brain-dead bureaucrats. They stick to the main roads. People do get off onto the local streets, but they tend to be the smarter more competent ones so you can do better running with them.

The mix of drivers from different countries and cities you mention does make it interesting. There's no cohesive single culture on how to drive. Aggressive driving in NYC or Boston works because everyone plays by the same rules in each of those cities. Rules of the road in this area can be like a Middle East peace conference.

Ken

Am from Dallas, have dealt with various big city traffic on multiple road trips. Spent about a week in D.C. a year and a half ago. Is the only city I will not drive in/thru again unless absolutely necessary. I think the quote below is very wise. Someone ripped the spoiler off my 8. Earlier that day I wasn't aggressive enough getting out of the parking garage. Someone floored it behind me, jumped the sidewalk, nearly hit group of pedestrians, and just missed tboning another car to get around me. My guess is same guy found my car later. Was the hotel parking garage.

That was you in front of me?

Thanks so much guys!

I will be living in DC and commuting by bus to work. I don't plan on using the car for commuting, because of EXACTLY the reasons you all (y'all?) were saying. The thing is, I love my 8 and I really don't want to sell it because the one I finally found was really well taken care of and in amazing condition.

If I can only take the car out for pleasure drives maybe once or twice a month, and the occasional grocery run, should I keep or sell the car? Does anyone have experience owning a car they had no practical use for just because they liked it a lot?

Also, RIWWP, you are SO right about New York. Just drive a little aggressively and you are totally fine.

:lol:

That is most of us. :)

Haha, I knew I was in the right place. I feel like most people here with "for fun" cars can just throw them in the driveway or garage. I guess in my particular situation, it isn't an additional car, it's either a car or nothing. Also, I won't have a house so I'll have to buy a spot in my apartment building.