- A California driver used a jacket to fake a carpool passenger.
- CHP officer quickly caught the decoy during enforcement on I-10.
- Carpool lane violation fines in California can start near $500.
The carpool lane is tempting because it offers the potential for a much quicker commute. That said, it’s off-limits for those without passengers in the vehicle. That doesn’t stop some from trying to use it anyway. One driver in California went a step further, though. He didn’t just travel in the HOV lane; he set up a decoy to slide through as though he had a passenger.
According to the California Highway Patrol, a driver in Los Angeles County was pulled over after an officer noticed something unusual about the supposed passenger riding shotgun. At first glance, the vehicle appeared to meet carpool requirements, but a closer look revealed the truth. The “person” in the front seat was actually just a jacket wrapped up and strapped in with a seatbelt.
The stop happened on Interstate 10 near West Covina during peak traffic hours, when HOV lane rules are actively enforced. Officers assigned to carpool enforcement are trained to look for violations, but even they admitted this one showed some next-level imagination. “Nice try — but jackets don’t count toward carpool lane requirements,” CHP said in a social media post…