When it comes to carpool lane cheating in California, drivers can get creative.
There was the security dummy that was misappropriated by impatient travelers. The mannequin with a baseball cap in Glendora and another with a mustache drawn on in the Bay Area.
So by those standards, what the California Highway Patrol recently discovered when it pulled over a driver in the shared lane in West Covina would be half-hearted.
According to a social media post from the CHP's Baldwin Park office on Thursday, officers stopped a driver in the high-occupancy vehicle lane of the 10 Freeway and found a jacket wrapped around the headrest of the passenger seat.
“Nice try, but jackets do not count toward Carpool Lane requirements,” the CHP said in its post.
The incident unfolded when an officer on motorcycle patrol noticed the vehicle traveling in the HOV lane and initially passed it, authorities said.
“The officer was on motor patrol and saw the vehicle in the HOV lane and passed the driver,” said Marissa McIntire of the CHP Southern Division.
McIntire said the officer became suspicious after taking a second look at the vehicle.
“The officer looked at the vehicle again and thought he was suspicious,” he said.
The officer stopped the driver for a closer look. Walking toward the vehicle, the officer saw that the “passenger” was a jacket wrapped around the front seat with a seat belt fastened to resemble a person.
The driver was cited for violating the carpool lane, which could result in a fine of more than $400.
CHP officers regularly conduct enforcement operations targeting misuse of carpool lanes, including drivers attempting to evade the rules by using mannequins or other objects to imitate passengers.
“Fictional friends and mannequin co-pilots are not enough,” CHP officials said.
Authorities did not reveal the identity of the driver.
