Slug Tales: Driver Hates Sleepers

By LAURA CIRILLO

When it comes to the rules of slugging, it really depends on who’s in the driver’s seat.

While some Slug drivers prefer to drive in complete silence – sometimes without even turning on the radio – others would rather engage with their passengers, asking where they work and how their day is going. Some drivers encourage their slugs to use the visor to block the afternoon sun, while others would be appalled if a slug were to make any adjustments in the passenger seat.

Personally, I’m pretty easy to please when it comes to slugging. Once I get in the car it’s lights out for me until we arrive at my commuter lot. In fact, I very much look forward to my afternoon power naps during the drive home so I happen to prefer a nice, quiet ride. I’ve come to depend on these naps so much that missing one makes me feel like a cranky toddler by the time I get back to my car. Some days, a good nap is what helps get me through the rest of my evening, giving me enough energy to go to the gym, make dinner, and do whatever I need to do before crashing for the night.

One afternoon, a coworker and I waited in the Slug line destined for the Horner Road commuter lot in Woodbridge, and an older gentleman picked us up. I should have known from the moment I got into the backseat that my power nap was not going to happen that day.

This driver was definitely a talker. He immediately began a pretty friendly conversation with us, asking the usual questions about what we do, how long we’ve been commuting and so on. He had been driving Slugs for years, although he actually worked somewhere in Maryland – he would pick up and drop off Slugs, in order to access Interstate 95’s High Occupancy Vehicle lanes each day. And then we discovered that this was no ordinary Slug driver. This man was very, particular, shall we say, about his “rules.”

Just as I started to get comfortable, with my sunglasses covering my closed eyes, the driver informed us, “One thing I hate is for slugs to be sleeping in my car.”

My eyes opened and I responded immediately, hoping not to look guilty of this clearly inexcusable offense.

As the conversation continued, the driver explained that he didn’t think it was fair he should have to stay awake to drive home, while his passengers were sleeping soundly.

He added, “If I gotta stay awake all the way home, so do you!”

I hoped he couldn’t see me rolling my eyes behind him. I mean, really, weren’t we both doing each other a favor? Isn’t that the point of slugging? Without the two of us in his car, he wouldn’t even be able to drive the HOV lanes to get home so quickly, at least not without a ticket. As long as we weren’t bothering or distracting him from driving, why should it matter what we were doing?

Throughout the ride home, my friend and I texted each other back and forth.

“Y do we always get the crazy ones?” she asked.

“LOL… IDK! Just lucky I guess,” I replied.

Besides not letting us sleep, our driver was fairly pleasant, and of course we appreciated the ride. But ever since then, I have always wondered if I’m offending the person I’m riding with by sleeping along the way.

Hopefully, most slug drivers don’t notice my shut eyes behind my dark sunglasses, but if they do, I hope they don’t mind. I certainly don’t mean to be rude; I just need my power nap.

It could always be worse – at least I don’t snore.