Driver gets creative using carpool lane. But this ‘body’ doesn’t fool Washington cop
A solo driver got creative using the carpool lane in Washington.
But their ploy didn’t fool a trooper who easily spotted the “body” in their vehicle as a mannequin buckled into the passenger seat, Washington State Patrol Trooper Rick Johnson posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The driver was headed northbound in the high occupancy vehicle lane on Interstate 405 in Bellevue at about 9:45 a.m. Jan. 31, Johnson told McClatchy News.
A trooper stopped the driver when they noticed the passenger didn’t look real.
“It was very evident this was not real when the vehicle went by his patrol car,” Johnson said in an email.
The driver scrambled to hide the mannequin from the trooper when they were pulled over, he said.
The mannequin was dressed in a white hooded sweatshirt with a black purse, a photo shows.
Drivers ticketed for HOV violations
They were ticketed $195 for the violation.
In Washington, HOV lanes are “reserved for carpools, vanpools, buses, and/or other vehicles carrying multiple people,” according to the state transportation department.
Typically, a vehicle must have two occupants to drive in the lane, but three occupants may be required depending on the area, officials said.
The lane is designed to give vehicles with multiple people inside an advantage on roadways.
If a driver uses the lane incorrectly for the first time, they get a $186 fine, transportation officials said. But an extra $200 can be added to the ticket if a driver uses a dummy or mannequin as a passenger.
Other drivers have also been caught trying to trick authorities on roadways.
On Feb. 14, 2022, a driver on Interstate 405 in Washington dressed up a fake skeleton in a neon sweatshirt and buckled it into the passenger seat, McClatchy news previously reported.
Another driver tried to count a “grumpy green guy” as a passenger when they were driving in the carpool lane in Tolleson, Arizona, McClatchy News reported in 2022.
They were also cited.
