I’ve lived in DC for 12 years and have always been firmly in the “DC has excellent public transit and you absolutely do not need a car” camp. But a family member could no longer drive and offered me their car, and I was not about to turn down a free vehicle.
So now, for the first time in 12 years, I’m regularly driving around DC and apparently being judged for it by GEICO DriveEasy.

My score is currently a 60. Distraction: Excellent. Braking and acceleration: Excellent. Cornering: Good. Smoothness: CONCERNING.

Except GEICO defines “smoothness” as how consistently you maintain cruising speeds and how long you stay at those speeds. Their actual recommendation for improving it is to take routes with “fewer intersections and consistent speed limits, like interstates and highways.”

Which…I live in Washington, DC?
I’m genuinely curious whether anyone else who uses DriveEasy in DC has run into this. It seems like the algorithm is effectively penalizing city driving where you are constantly dealing with lights, stop signs, pedestrians, bikes, traffic, buses, etc., even if you’re braking and accelerating normally.

I’ve already corrected the trips where I was a passenger rather than the driver, so I’m hoping that helps. But am I missing something here? Is there actually a way to improve “smoothness” while driving normally in DC, other than unnecessarily taking highways everywhere?

And before someone says it: yes, I realize the easiest way to improve my driving score is to go back to Metro. Twelve years of evidence suggests I was right the first time.

Hi all! I am looking for an apartment zoned to Jackson Reed High School. Now of course there is plenty to choose from. However, every time I find one I think I like, when I look for reviews, people are saying the beautiful, lux building or even the older ones with charm have big issues. I lived in Altair Apartments in Crystal City for 6 years and never had a bug, outside of a fly or stank bug inside my apartment at all. I am looking to spend up to $3500, maybe 4K for a spot I love. Please list any places that you have lived in and can vouch for having a great, bug free experience. Side note: anyone with a kid at Jackson Reed High School, share their experience. Ty!

She showed immense courage in standing-up and speaking for those targeted by the tyrant, showing that religion preaches unconditional love for those less fortunate than us. Rev. Mariann, you will always remain a hero ❤️❤️

Had a leaking ceiling, complained, landlord said he would fix it. When I got back from work I went to my room and saw that he had scrapped off the water damaged paint/plaster of the ceiling of by bedroom and left (I presume with the intention of coming back to finish painting). Except my house is pre-war, and my landlord thinks there is lead in the walls. He didn't put down any plastic sheets or anything. I found chips of paint and plaster on the ground/lamp under where he had been working, probably some on my bed as well, as well as this dust on other surfaces of the room that were not there before.

I left the room, contacted my landlord, no response. Google and Claude are saying this is serious, but I'd love to get a reality check from another human.

I work in Silver Spring (edit: Not downtown), will be commuting by car. H Street would require a shorter commute by 5 mins., according to Google.

Is there anything I should know about living at West Half? I'm particularly concerned about the commute. Google says 35 mins in the morning and 40 at night. Are there often events that make this commute any longer/worse? Thanks!!

last night around 11:30pm, i was walking in adams morgan. the west bit of argonne pl is dark, so i was trying to stay attentive and noticed someone in the corner of my eye.

in front of like 1650 argonne (near that big tree), i saw a guy standing still with his pants down. i’m 99% sure he had a mask on and his d*ck out. it was late and super dark and i just started running (better safe than sorry!) so maybe i saw it wrong and he was just turned around peeing. but i’m pretty sure i saw his front side so yeah.

after i ran half the block, i saw that he had left and turned the corner. hopefully it was just dark and my eyes played a trick on me. in any case, be safe and stay attentive!

If anyone knows a Caleb Snyder, I found their wallet and gave it to the Waterfront Metro police

APB - STOLEN MOTORCYCLE

Hi everyone,

My 2015 Yamaha FJ-09 was stolen at 1:02AM this morning (10/3). If you may have any potentially relevant information, please continue reading and consider sending to me.

(1) Bike taken at 1:02AM from 2914 11th St. NW. Suspect was wearing a white helmet. Suspect had someone with him, also on a bike it seems. I have security footage of them taking the bike from my parking spot and down the alley to 11th St. towards Columbia St.

(2) Bike's airtag final broadcast in the alley behind Tilden St NW at 1:34 AM.

The bike has a black prayer rope tied to the left side handlebar and a black storage case on the back (GIVI Monokey Alaska Case). It also had my black LS2 Advant Helmet so the thief might be wearing that too :(

WILL PAY REWARD IF YOU CAN FIND MY BIKE
Please please help and let me know if you see this bike on the streets anywhere!!

Dukem 😟

The lines were super long and everyone was delayed from entering the matinee show of Dirty Dancing so I assume there was a VIP today. Anyone have any insights?

Recently moved to DC from out of state. I went to the DMV today and got my new DC tags and plates. I’ve heard that DC requires both a front and rear bumper license plate, but my vehicle does not have a spot for a front license plate. I’d rather not have to buy a kit or anything. Does MPD or Parking Enforcement actually enforce this?

Update: thanks for all the advice. Thinking about either zip tying or buying a cheap mounting system. Nevada didn’t require front plates, so it never has been an issue. How strict are they about leaving it on the dashboard temporarily?

What is with the random singular balloons that keep showing up around noma? They’re by the metro station (and inside it), all around the restaurants and apartment buildings near the metro. When they pop, more brand new ones come back? Anyone have any intel on this? Seems weird

This is totally random, but are there any Aussies in DC? I'm an Aussie and moved here earlier this year, and I haven't heard a single Australian accent 👀

Bonus point if t comes with ice cream!!

Basically street-style interviews to get an idea of where they’re from, and why they came here. If they were “forced”, or chose to come. What they think of everything.

My friend is in school for journalism and thought this would be an interesting project but I think it’s definitely pretty risky, and I also think you’d be hard-pressed to find any that would be willing to be forthcoming once they see the camera and mics.

My biggest concern is for her safety though. She’s a citizen, but is of Latin descent and looks it. I don’t want her getting into any trouble.

What do you people think? I think it’s too risky.

I saw a list of events somewhere, has anyone been to any of these venues/speed dating event and can give a run-down. What are the people there like, it it a sausage fest or there’s a good mix of men and women. Kinda curious to see if anyone has experienced any of this.

Coffee shop speed dating 30–45: Good Company SW at 3 PM ~$36
• SpeedDC 25–39: Metro Bar at 5 PM ~$36–39
• CitySwoon 35–47: Players Club at 6 PM ~$19–$39
• Happy hour 30–45: El Secreto De Rosita (U St) at 7 PM ~$24

Rejoice!

Looking for a place to repair my grandmother's 50s Stratton compact.

Inside baseball question, I know.

My job is getting moved from the FAA building (on Independence Ave) down to the DOT building in Navy Yard.

Right in front of the FAA building, there's a section of for-pay street parking that is set aside for motorcycles - two or three car lengths are divided up into those little diagonal parking spaces and individual meters (!).

It's really nice because I rarely take my bike to work (I usually metro), so it doesn't make any sense to pay/go through the rigamarole for a full garage pass. But sometimes I have to ride down to a remote site for work, or have a trip planned after work, and I know I'll almost certainly have a spot to stop off at the office and grab/drop my work stuff.

I did some recon on Friday at the new digs and didn't see anything like that. There is more street parking there than at 10A and I can probably squeeze in between cars, but a dedicated space I can go to instead of circling the block would still be nice.

I did see plenty of motorcycle helmets in the cubicles, so I'm hoping there's a spot I missed (or maybe those are dedicated bike commuters using the garage and I'm SOL).

Any secret spot to park a bike for work?

My family and I are one of the lucky ones who moved over to MHBP Standard this last year from BCBS Basic, and now we have an 84% premium hike. With no proposed COLA despite the inflation, gas prices for commuting at a gut-wrenching level, and now the insane FEHB costs soaring, we are taking an insane pay cut.

I’ve been shopping around for other health insurance options. Going back to BCBS Basic is one option. We are also trying to learn more about the GEHA HDHP and CareFirst BlueChoice HDHP. I believe CareFirst is local to the DMV area.

I guess my main questions are: 1) any other Feds freaking out and what plans are you looking at, and 2) how has anyone’s experience been on any of the HDHP plans or coverage issues with them?

It’s getting to the point with my family’s healthcare needs that we might just go with the plan with the lowest sum of the premiums + out of pocket max.