:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(739x281:741x283)/driver-caught-using-dummy-for-carpool-lane-050825-0613f7e9429d47d582bf243f1f1a980a.jpg "Drivers in Seattle Are Getting Caught Using Dummies in Failed Attempts to Use the Carpool Lane")
NEED TO KNOW
- Two separate drivers in Seattle were caught one day apart attempting to use dummies in order to drive in the carpool lane
- One of the dummies was dressed as a woman in a button-up shirt, while the other was positioned in a neon jacket
- The fine for misusing the HOV lane in Washington is $186 — and that number can go up if it’s determined that the driver was intentionally attempting to deceive authorities with a dummy or prop
Two separate drivers in Seattle were caught one day apart attempting to use dummies in order to drive in the carpool lane
One of the dummies was dressed as a woman in a button-up shirt, while the other was positioned in a neon jacket
Trooper Rick Johson, Public Information Officer for the Washington State Patrol, shared details of the first incident in an X post on April 29, stating that a driver had been stopped in the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane that morning on Interstate 5.
He included a photo of the “passenger, ” which was merely a mannequin in a long brown wig and a plaid button-up. He jokingly noted that the driver had not “named” her.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Officer Johnson explained that the trooper stationed on that specific section of highway noticed something wasn’t quite right with the “passenger” during slow-moving traffic.
On May 1, Johnson shared news of a similar incident.
“Here’s another one!!” he wrote in a post on X, adding that the driver had been going 92 in a 60-mile-per-hour zone.
This time, the “non human companion” was positioned in the back seat in a neon sweatshirt and baseball hat.
While talking to PEOPLE, Johnson shared that the fine in Washington for getting caught misusing the HOV lane is $186 — but that number can go up significantly if the driver intentionally attempts to deceive law enforcement with tactics like dummies or mannequins.
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Johnson additionally said that authorities are now required to report carpool lane violations to auto insurance companies, per Washington state law.
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And while Johnson tells PEOPLE that he “wouldn’t say” catching people with dummies in the carpool lane is a “frequent” occurrence, he did note that “one right after the other is kind of unusual.”
“Halloween time, it’s usually skeletons,” he added.
Read the full article here