- A California driver used a jacket to fake a carpool passenger.
- CHP officer quickly caught the decoy during enforcement on I-10.
- Carpool lane violation fines in California can start near $500.
The carpool lane is tempting because it offers the potential for a much quicker commute. That said, it’s off-limits for those without passengers in the vehicle. That doesn’t stop some from trying to use it anyway. One driver in California went a step further, though. He didn’t just travel in the HOV lane; he set up a decoy to slide through as though he had a passenger.
According to the California Highway Patrol, a driver in Los Angeles County was pulled over after an officer noticed something unusual about the supposed passenger riding shotgun. At first glance, the vehicle appeared to meet carpool requirements, but a closer look revealed the truth. The “person” in the front seat was actually just a jacket wrapped up and strapped in with a seatbelt.
More: California EV Drivers Now Risk A $490 Fine Under New Carpool Lane Rules
The stop happened on Interstate 10 near West Covina during peak traffic hours, when HOV lane rules are actively enforced. Officers assigned to carpool enforcement are trained to look for violations, but even they admitted this one showed some next-level imagination. “Nice try — but jackets don’t count toward carpool lane requirements,” CHP said in a social media post.
It’s easy to see why someone might try to get access to the lane. Last year, the state ended its program that allowed “clean air” vehicles in the lane even when the driver was alone. Thus, now, the HOV lanes are more wide open than ever before. That said, doing what this driver did is illegal, and the fines for HOV violations aren’t cheap.
Using props, mannequins, or other objects to fake occupancy is considered the same as driving alone, and the penalties aren’t cheap. As we’ve reported before, the minimum fine for an HOV lane violation in California is about $490 once fees are added, which means the driver likely spent far more on the ticket than they saved in time.
Law enforcement says cases like this pop up more often than you might think, with officers previously catching drivers using mannequins, dolls, and even inflatable figures to try to beat traffic. Still, as this stop proves, fooling other drivers is easy. Fooling a trained motor officer is a lot harder.
Photos CHP