WSP: Driver caught using impressive dummy to evade fines while using HOV lanes
Jun 20, 2024, 6:43 AM | Updated: Jul 6, 2024, 4:04 pm
A driver used a fake "dummy" passenger so he could drive in the HOV lane on I-405 in June 2024. (Photo courtesy of WSP Trooper Rick Johnson/@wspd2pio on X)
Despite using one of the more convincing dummies seen as of late, Washington State Patrol (WSP) ticketed a man for driving in a High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane with a fake “dummy” passenger — a sight not too uncommon for patrol officers in the state.
On Wednesday, a WSP District 2 motorcycle trooper spotted an Acura on the highway with a dummy in the passenger seat of his car to use the HOV lane, stopping the driver on Interstate 405 (I-405) heading south near Interstate 90 (I-90).
According to WSP Trooper Rick Johnson, the driver said he had been using the dummy for a long time “due to carpooling being so screwed up.”
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SB 405 near I-90 ! The human driver explained he had been using this for a long time due to carpooling being so screwed up. The district 2 motorcycle crew addressed this dummy.
鈥� Trooper Rick Johnson (@wspd2pio)
The dummy can be seen adorned with glasses and a goatee while wearing a Columbia zip-up and appropriately wearing a seatbelt.
Drivers getting creative to use HOV lanes
Some Washington drivers have come up with unique ploys to avoid HOV citations. Last October, WSP pulled a driver over in an HOV lane when troopers discovered the driver鈥檚 passenger turned out to be a “creepy clown dummy.”
“Love the Halloween vibe, but still doesn鈥檛 count,” Johnson .
The stunt, while humorous to Johnson and other WSP troopers, added an extra fine to the infraction for improper use of the HOV lanes.
A month earlier, a driver was busted by WSP for dressing his passenger seat as a person. The seat was dressed up with a purple vest wrapped around the back, a red scarf and a white Halloween mask with blood splatter on it.
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Dummy stunt results in higher fines
The fine for a first HOV lane violation is $186. But if a doll or dummy is in the car, according to , an extra $200 is added to the fine.
Contributing: 成人X站 7
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories聽here聽and you can email him聽here.
