A driver was caught speeding in a carpool lane on a Washington state highway while picking up a fake passenger, authorities said.
When officers pulled her over, they saw a long-haired mannequin in the back seat of her car, authorities said.
Officer Rick Johnson of the Washington State Police posted on Twitter (formerly Twitter X) on July 14 that the driver was traveling 80 mph in a 60 mph speed zone on Interstate 5 in Kent.
this #passenger She was in a car, HOV going 80 mph on a road with a 60 mph speed limit. The driver said this was her workout equipment and that it was positioned like this so she could properly dry her hair. She received a speeding ticket in the HOV. This was on SB 5 near S. 272nd. pic.twitter.com/xlo9SeIGO7
— Officer Rick Johnson (@wspd2pio) July 14, 2024
When officers stopped her, they found a doll’s head with long hair in the back seat, Johnson said, and photos showed the doll propped up against a cooler with a jacket over it.
She told officers it was a “training tool.”
“The reason it’s positioned like that is to allow your hair to dry properly,” Johnson says.
The driver was fined for speeding in the carpool lane.
“An expensive way to try to get five minutes,” one person wrote to X.
Kent is about 20 miles southeast of Seattle.
Other drivers get caught in the carpool lane
This isn’t the first time officers have pulled someone over for using a fake passenger in the carpool lane.
In June, Johnson shared a photo of a driver with a dummy in the passenger seat on Interstate 405. In the photo, the driver is seen wearing a blue jacket and glasses.
The driver told officers he used the mannequin because “the carpool was a mess.”
Johnson posted on X that in October, another driver used a Halloween clown prop as a “passenger” while driving in the carpool lane.
They were stopped on Interstate 405 and given tickets, he said.
What are carpool lanes?
In Washington state, HOV lanes are “exclusively for carpools, vanpools, buses, and/or other vehicles carrying multiple occupants,” according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Typically, two occupants are required in a vehicle to travel in the lanes, but in some areas three occupants may be required, officials said.
The lane is designed to give vehicles carrying multiple passengers an advantage on the road.
According to traffic officials, if a driver misuses a lane for the first time, they could be fined $186, but if the driver uses a dummy or mannequin as a passenger, the fine could be increased by an additional $200.
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