Another dummy: Carpool cheater’s ‘passenger’ doesn’t fool trooper on I-5

SHORELINE, Wash. — Washington State Patrol troopers see all kinds of things on the road while on patrol.

Some incidents are reckless, others are tragic, but luckily, some make them laugh, at least inside.

On southbound Interstate 5 near 145th Street in Shoreline Friday morning, a trooper spotted a vehicle in the HOV lane whose female passenger seemed a little stiff.

When the trooper pulled the car over, it was obvious that the “passenger” was a mannequin – and only the top half.

In a social media post, Trooper Rick Johnson joked, “#HalfaManequin still doesn’t count in the HOV lane!”

Troopers have shared other stories of drivers getting creative to try to cheat the system.

In July, Trooper Johnson pulled over a driver on I-5 in Federal Way. The car was going 80 mph in a 60 mph HOV lane.

When Johnson approached the driver, he discovered her “passenger” in the back seat: what appeared to be a female mannequin head — with a luxurious head of hair — placed on a stuffed coat on top of a cooler.

“The driver said this is her training aid and the reason it was positioned this way was to properly dry the hair,” Johnson said in an X post.

In May, another carpool lane cheater was busted on I-5 near Shoreline for trying to pass off a CPR dummy as a passenger.

Even though troopers have repeatedly warned solo drivers not to drive in the HOV lane, people continue to take shortcuts.

Last September, a trooper stopped a driver in the carpool lane who used a duffel bag, blankets, and a hat to simulate a passenger.

Last October, Halloween spirit was in full swing when a trooper pulled over an HOV lane driver in Renton with a terrifying clown grinning in the passenger seat.

The fine for the first HOV lane violation is $186. After that, other violations within two years increase to $336.

But if a doll or dummy is in the car, an extra $200 will be added to the fine.

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