To Tay, the Real Cost of Cheap Street Parking in DC is the Risk of Getting Your Car Stolen
Tay has been driving in DC, Maryland and Virginia—collectively known as ‘the DMV’—for about half a decade now. But, he is still sometimes confounded by the ridiculous parking fees, money-hungry speed cameras, and drivers who seem very keen on running him off the road. Yet, he wouldn’t trade the DMV’s roads for Jersey City’s road rage or Abuja’s aggressiveness. Oh and while he’d rather pay cheap street parking fees than premiums on garages, he’s also fully aware that there is a good chance of his car getting broken into or stolen on the street. Seems like it’s a risk he’s willing to take.
Describe your first driving experience.
I think I was 18 or maybe 17. I took classes at a driving school in Abuja and afterwards, I would practise what I’d learnt using a Honda CRV. My mom would be in the car with me.
So when you moved to the US, did you learn how to drive again?
So, I had to get an international driver’s licence in 2019, 3 years after I moved to the US. Because Nigeria is not part of the countries that have a treaty with the US, but that allowed me to drive for a year. And thankfully I got a lot of driving experience. When I got my international driver’s licence, I went on a road trip with my friend in the US, so we were driving for like a month and a half. I feel like that was basically a learning experience for me as well, to just understand the differences.
Does that mean you didn’t need to do any driving test over there?
No, you don’t have to. But, after some time, you need to get a US licence if you want to own a car and have a competitive insurance package—because insurance companies use your driver’s licence. So, yes, when I did that, all I had to do was take a driving test. I can’t remember, but I don’t think I wrote an actual exam. It was just a practical driving test.
It differs from state to state though, because I know every state has their own law. But, I’m pretty sure if you’re just driving and it’s not your car, your international driver’s permit works. It’s just very difficult for you to own a car with an international driver’s permit. I got my US licence in 2021, when I wanted to get a car. I did the test in the state of Virginia, which is just like 15 minutes across the bridge from DC where I live.
What did you find it difficult to adjust to when you started driving in Virginia/DC?
I would say the biggest adjustment was unlearning aggressive driving. And it’s still a struggle today; just not being aggressive and competing on the road. But also, there’s the aspect of people actually using traffic signs, aside from the traffic lights, here. The last thing was definitely the speed. So going 120 km an hour is pretty normal because there’s a lot of highways in America compared to Abuja, which is a smaller city.
What car do you drive and what were the things that were most important to you when you were getting it?
I drive a 2005 Honda Accord. To be honest, I wasn’t really looking at the specifications. I was more concerned with questions like: Is this something I can afford? Is this something that’s reliable and I wouldn’t need to do repairs every time?
There are definitely changes now that I’m using my car and because I’ve rented cars in other places, I’ve come across some nice features I’d like to have in a car. Some of that would just be for longer distances, maybe a significantly more comfortable car would be great. So now, if I were to get a car, I’d still look out for things like affordability, reliability and comfort, but just taking it a bit to the next level. I’d also look out for guided navigation.
Is having a car a necessity in DC?
I think yes and no. You can get around without a car. But the question is how efficient will it be? Probably not very efficient, but you can definitely get around. For context, it’s like a 15-minute trip could take you an hour or more using public transportation. Taking public transport is typically a mix of the buses, trains and walking because there are holes in the public transport network in DC and Virginia. And then after you leave a certain perimeter, you 1,000% need a car.
What are some things to look out for when driving in DC?
The speed cameras. There are a lot of them and there’s a whole controversy about how the district makes money off of that.
Have you ever gotten a traffic fine?
Yes, I’ve never been pulled over, but I’ve got some speed tickets. So they get your details and then they have your address and they send you a bill and tell you to pay. Sometimes, the fines can be appealed if you have a good case. Once, I appealed mine because there was another car in the picture and I was like, how do you know this is my car and not the other person’s car? So they waived the fine for me.
I have one hour to drive in DC, where do I go?
I would say driving from Dupont Circle to—and this is where it gets tricky because again, like I said, DC and Virginia are very connected. But, driving from Dupont Circle to Crystal City in Virginia would be a scenic drive. You drive by some monuments on your way out, but also you drive by a park that is known for plane-watching, so you can see planes landing. And then you cross the bridge from DC to Arlington County in Virginia. I think it’s a scenic drive for someone who’s not from the area.
What’s the best place to drive at night?
Okay, again, this goes into Virginia. So there’s a county in Virginia called Loudoun County. I like the drive from Loudoun county to DC or the other way around a lot, because there are a lot of windy roads. But also in the daytime, I like it because you can see some cool houses with animals like horses in them. I have fond memories of driving by the windy roads and seeing a beautiful horse jumping by the roadside.
What’s the most difficult city you’ve driven in?
Off the top of my head, I’d say New York and Jersey City. Jersey City, because people are just aggressive, very aggressive. I mean, I guess maybe the same as Nigerians, where someone will tell you ‘waka’ or something. But yeah, like you’re going at the speed limit and it’s not even like I’m a slow driver, but people will still tell you, fuck you. I just don’t get it. New York, just because there are too many people, traffic could really spiral out of control. That is why I would say New York, but it’s not always that bad to drive in. It’s just that it could really get extreme.
What’s the longest you’ve ever been stuck in traffic in New York?
Actually recently I was what should’ve been a 10-minute drive and I was stuck in it for about 50 minutes. And I think it’s because that part of the city was closed off for a marathon. And I just happened to be stuck in traffic because of that.
What about the traffic in DC?
DC is also known for having some of the worst traffic in the country, I think. Yeah, it’s pretty bad. You have to be really strategic about when you’re going out. So if you’re going into D.C. around 8:00 AM, you’re probably going to be stuck in significantly longer traffic. This is because a lot of people who are in DC are not from DC, so they’re just going to work in DC. And they also leave around 5PM, so you’re going to get stuck in traffic again.
What does road rage look like in DC?
So, it’s called DMV: DC, Maryland, Virginia. And I would say the DMV area just has a lot of immigrants with different driving cultures. So there’s definitely a lot of road rage. D.C. is kind of bad. Maryland is very bad. Virginia is all right. It’s just that people don’t know how to drive.
What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you while driving in the DMV?
So right outside of DC, in Maryland, I think this guy was probably going at about 180 km/hr, and he almost took me out of the road. And that’s happened to me in Virginia as well. So I was driving in the middle lane and someone in the left lane tried to overtake me and also cross into the extreme end, that’s the right lane. So it’s like they’re speeding but also driving to the right. And I was merging into the right lane when they did that, so I literally swerved off the road. Thankfully, I was able to stop and actually swerve, but it was still crazy.
What’s the biggest challenge of parking in DC and how do you deal with it?
I would say most of the parking is probably garages because there’s just not enough space for the number of people in the city. Garages charge about $25 for a day and maybe $18 for an hour. I ‘m not sure. I’m a cheap man, so I’m not going to pay $20 to park. Okay, maybe cheap is not the word, but it just doesn’t make sense to me.
I try to find street parking, which is just significantly hard. A lot of the street parking is also reserved for people who live in the city, so that is very difficult. Another thing, which I think is probably the most important is, people break into cars a lot in DC, probably more than anywhere else. So it’s like every time you park in DC, there’s just this high amount of risk that someone will break into your car. I know about 10 people who have had their cars broken into, stolen, whatever. People have to put air tags in their car and all of that.
What would you say is the real cost of owning a car in DC?
In a year, you’re probably spending like $600 on parking. If you want to get a garage, which is kind of necessary after realising that having to find street parking every day sucks, it’s $600 for a garage. You could pay $100 if you want to do street parking. Maintenance, I’ll say just budget about $1,000 a year. But again, it could really go extreme. It just depends on the health of your car. Insurance for me costs about $1,200 a year and it’s split into two payments, so I pay every 6 months. You could opt for the monthly version, but that’s more expensive in the long run. There’s also the property tax you pay on your car which is about 3%.
If you could change one thing about driving in DC, what would it be?
I mean, there’s a lot of problems, but definitely the speed cameras which are sometimes just ridiculous. It’s not just about the speed cameras, but also the stop sign cameras that mark you when you don’t come to a full stop. Everyone I know complains about DC traffic fines.
If you had an unlimited budget to rent a car for a day, what car would you pick and where would you drive it?
Probably a Tesla if you could not worry about the charging issues. The sound system is great, there’s a lot of comfort and there’s assisted driving. I’d drive it on a DC highway.
