At the very least, we've all had the thought of using the carpool lane when we're not technically allowed to. But all it takes is one cop who spots you with no one else in the car and all of a sudden you've got a hefty fine on your hands. Believe it or not, some people go to extremes to try not to get caught while enjoying the benefits of the less-congested carpool lane. These people who built their own homemade passenger dummy all get an A for creativity and effort. They may have failed to fool the cops, but they've succeeded in making us laugh.
![http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2008/01/09/single-in-the-hov-lane-what-a-dummy/ Jan 8, 2008 About 6:30 a.m., a Washington State Patrol trooper stopped a man in a Mazda for traveling alone in the carpool lane along state Route 167 near Kent, only to find the motorist was transporting an elaborately dressed mannequin in an apparent effort to fool the trooper. �This guy, he went to great extremes,� Trooper Jeff Merrill said. The dummy sported a denim jacket, hooded sweatshirt and glasses. The driver had also painted on bright blue eyes and a heavy black beard. The trooper found the mannequin in the rear passenger seat. But the dummy was not seat belted in, so had slumped forward which was why the trooper didn�t see it until he stopped the car. The driver, a 41-year-old Puyallup man, was unrepentant and told the trooper that next time, he�ll let the mannequin ride shotgun and use the seatbelt. He was cited for an HOV violation, which carries a $124 fine. The traffic stop, and the mannequin, drew gawkers, which led to a two-car fender bender. No one was hurt in that crash.]()
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![To be clear, State Patrol troopers say, kids do count for the carpool lane tally. Just not fake ones. On Thursday, the State Patrol detailed a stop in which a man late for work put his daughter�s doll in the front passenger seat and tried to slide by in the carpool lane. The doll was Diego, cousin of Dora the Explorer. Diego got his own show, a spinoff of the Nickelodeon pre-school-age series, in 2005: �Go Diego, Go.� Fortunately for him, fake kids don�t get tickets from troopers. The incident happened Nov. 29 on the northbound state Route 167 ramp to northbound Interstate 405. The driver was one of 21 people stopped for carpool lane violations that morning. �As cars moved past in the HOV lane the trooper observed a vehicle whose passenger had huge unblinking eyes,� Trooper Julie Startup said in a statement. �Realizing it was a doll in the front seat the vehicle was stopped.� Dec 9, 2010 But at least the driver was conscientious with his daughter�s doll. Diego was wearing his seatbelt.]()
![Another HOV violator was caught Wednesday with a doll in the front seat. 2011]()
![http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/2009/03/12/another-commute-another-carpool-dummy/]()
![At 7:55 a.m. on Nov. 22, a trooper watching traffic on northbound I-5 at SR 516 saw a Scion zip by in the HOV lane with a passenger that looked a little � plastic. Turns out, he was.When the trooper contacted the driver to inquire about the welfare of the passenger he quickly observed that the passenger had much bigger problems,� reads the press release from the Washington State Patrol. Located in the passenger seat was the pale head of a mannequin stuffed in a sweat shirt and wearing a hat. The usually white, styrofoam head had been painted beige to give it a more life-like appearance. On the head was a baseball hat tilted toward the driver. The human dummy was held in place by the seatbelt, obviously for its safety. The Olalla, Washington, driver was given a citation after he was �re-educated in the definition of 2 or more occupants,� the release said.]()
![http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Driver-used-skeleton-to-be-in-carpool-lane-2443733.php January 5, 2012 A man stopped for aggressive driving in a carpool lane last month had an unusual passenger: A seat-belted, plastic skeleton. A Washington State Patrol trooper had stopped the man on Interstate 5 at South 272nd Street near Dec. 20. The trooper had clocked the driver going 82 miles per hour and watched him make some dangerous lane changes. The driver, in a silver Mazda, had also been driving in the carpool lane. At first, the trooper thought he had a passenger. Then he realized it was a propped-up, plastic skeleton, draped in a white hoodie, with some kind of metal cookie tin between its thighs.]()
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(H/T 22 Words)
(H/T 22 Words)
