You’re running late for work. The clock is screaming and you are
stuck going slower than the posted speed limit.
Meanwhile, vehicles in the carpool lane to your left are flying
by. In fact, you can actually see other single passenger cars in
the High Occupancy Vehicle lane – some have tinted windows, others
have empty carseats strapped in the back.
You’re running late for work. The clock is screaming and you are stuck going slower than the posted speed limit.
Meanwhile, vehicles in the carpool lane to your left are flying by. In fact, you can actually see other single passenger cars in the High Occupancy Vehicle lane – some have tinted windows, others have empty carseats strapped in the back.
Upon closer examination, the guy in the passenger seat of the car passing you isn’t even human – it’s a blowup doll with hair. There’s not a police officer in sight. Do you risk the $271 fine for driving solo? Not if you want to risk paying that hefty fine.
“You cannot go into the lane period. You can’t use it to pass. You can’t use it to say there was an emergency. That does not hold up in court. If you have to swerve into the (HOV) lane you were probably tailgating and that’s breaking the law,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Erica Elias. “There’s no exception. Kids count. When a woman’s pregnant that doesn’t count – I’ve heard that excuse a lot.”
The HOV lane on the stretch of U.S. 101 that many San Benito County commuters use opened in 2003 when two lanes were added to the freeway on the way to San Jose. Carpool lanes were created in the state three decades ago to reduce gas usage and emissions. Requirements to use the HOV lane and hours of operation vary across the state, but in southern Santa Clara County, only one additional passenger is needed and the hours are from 5 to 9am and 3 to 7pm.
The only solo riders allowed to use the carpool lane during those hours are motorcyclists and drivers of certain hybrid models.
“We are having a little bit of a problem where people are just buying the hybrids and jumping into the HOV lane,” said CHP Officer Kevin Alexander while he patrolled the HOV lane Friday morning.
Not all hybrids qualify and those that do must be registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles and get four special decals to place on the vehicle’s bumpers indicating that the hybrid passed emissions standards.
CHP officers are allotted overtime hours before and after work to enforce the HOV law through various grants. Any money generated from citations goes either to the county or the city depending upon where the violation occurred.
“It’s a fairly high priority and you have to enforce it – otherwise it would be totally useless,” Alexander said.
Some officers have a knack for busting violators. One CHP officer writes about 200 HOV tickets a month.
“I haven’t seen dummies in the front seat but a lot of people will do it – a lot of people put in a carseat. They get creative,” Alexander said.
Some individuals recline the passengers seat and buckle the seatbelt to make it appear as though another body is present in the vehicle.
During a two-hour shift to patrol the carpool lane, there was no shortage of HOV lane violators. Each time Alexander got into position to spot violators near the overpass between U.S. 101 and Interstate 85, he didn’t have to wait more than one minute to find someone driving solo.
The first car he stops on U.S. 101 northbound is a Toyota Carolla. He can’t see another body present and turns on his lights.
“This may be one situation where there’s a carseat,” he warned.
It is. But he makes some adjustments to the carseat before getting back in the cruiser.
“It was a really good stop,” he said. “The childseat was installed completely wrong. She had it so loose that the baby would have come right out during an accident. Now, if she does get in an accident, the baby would have a chance – so that makes you feel good.”
It turns out that about 80 percent of the people Alexander pulls over have carseats installed incorrectly.
He writes three HOV citations in an hour, despite getting sidetracked to chase down a reckless driver and fix the carseat.
The driver of the first vehicle actually pulled himself over after he spotted Alexander’s car parked at the overpass. During the time he spends talking with the driver, a handful of single-passenger vehicles drive by in the carpool lane.
“He just said he was late for work and didn’t want to get fired,” Alexander explained.
“Late for work,” is the most common excuse individuals give for driving in the HOV lane, he said.
Alexander pulls over 21-year-old David Seifert of Gilroy for driving solo in the carpool lane.
“That was one of the more interesting ones,” he said, as he wrote in his notepad about the incident. “He’s afraid of the (metering light) back there so he doesn’t take the normal onramp. He says his mother got in an accident there. That’s one I haven’t heard before.”
Alexander issues his final citation to an 18-year-old female from Morgan Hill with a track record of violating the HOV law. As he pulled over her black Mercedes, a silver Prius drove by in the carpool lane with four yellow stickers on the back.
“That’s an example of a hybrid allowed to be in the HOV lane,” he noted.
While most individuals offer some kind of excuse when pulled over for driving solo in the HOV lane, others – like Alexander’s own father – take the opportunity to tell CHP officers how they feel about the law.
“He thinks that because he pays taxes he should be able to use that lane,” Alexander explained.
His father has received four tickets for illegally driving in the carpool lane during rush hour and complains to his son each time.
“It’s against the law,” Alexander responds.
