‘Unqualified passenger’ in the carpool lane gets driver pulled over

BELLEVUE, Wash. — A man was ticketed for driving in the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane with a dummy as a passenger.

On Wednesday, a Washington State Patrol (WSP) District 2 motorcycle trooper pulled a man over for placing a dummy in the passenger seat of his car to use the HOV lane.

It wasn’t long before troopers spotted the Acura violating the law.

According to WSP Trooper Rick Johnson, the stop happened on southbound Interstate 405 near Interstate 90.

When questioned, the driver said he had been using the dummy for a long time “due to carpooling being so screwed up,” Trooper Johnson wrote.

The image posted on X, showed half a dummy, with glasses, a goatee, dressed from the waist up, and wearing a seatbelt while riding shotgun.

The fine for a first HOV lane violation is $186. But if a doll or dummy is in the car, an extra $200 is added to the fine.

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