Man Busted by WSP in HOV Lane with Seat Dressed Like a Passenger

Like the Washington State Trooper says, "Scary, but it doesn't count!"

Get our free mobile app

HOV Driver Dresses Up Seat as Passenger, Then Busted by Police

A creative HOV driver was busted by the Washington State Patrol after being spotted with a fake passenger. The driver was spotted traveling northbound on WA-167 near Auburn with the creative passenger seat decoration and was pulled over and written up for an HOV violation. 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. The Washington State Trooper made fun of the attempt in the post saying, "#Scary but still doesn’t count!!"

Washington State HOV Law

If you live in a smaller city in Washington State, you might not even know what an HOV lane is. HOV lanes, or High occupancy vehicle lanes, also known as carpool or diamond lanes, are "special-use highway lanes reserved for carpools, vanpools, buses, and motorcycles" according to WSDOT. You can identify HOV lanes by the diamond symbol on signs along the highway or painted on the pavement and they are separated from the other lanes on the highway by a large solid white line. The lanes are an incentive to get people to carpool and reduce traffic congestion. In order to drive in an HOV lane, any vehicle "must meet the occupancy requirements listed on the signs when HOV rules are in force", and all other single-passenger cars must stay in regular lanes. In Washington State, there are HOV lanes on Interstate 5, Interstate 90, Interstate 405, State Route 16, State Route 520, and State Route 167. Depending on the time of day, the limit is +2 or +3 people depending on the time of day and the highway it is located on. If you are caught with an HOV lane violation, the first violation is $186, with all following violations within a two-year period increasing to $336.

https://x.com/wspd2pio/status/1706463935959069167?s=20