Dummy driver takes mannequin for a spin to beat carpool rules
We all hate being stuck in rush-hour traffic, crawling along behind a seemingly endless line of cars.
But two drivers in America went to extreme lengths to avoid it, by carrying some very strange passengers – just so they could use the carpool lane.
The lane can only be used by cars carrying more than one person and are common in the US, though they are used on some stretches of road on this side of the pond too, where they’re known as 2+ lanes.
What a dummy
A Californian man was stopped by police after he put a mannequin in the passenger seat so he could use a carpool lane.
His plan was going pretty well until he veered sharply out of the lane. The sudden move caught the attention of an officer, who pulled him over.
It was only then that they noticed his passenger wasn’t real and was in fact a dummy.
In a Facebook post, the Brea Police Department called the incident an “interesting carpool lane violation” and explained the driver admitted to “having done this for quite some time”.
A spokesman said: “The officer rode up alongside the driver’s side open window, with the intention of warning him to be more careful when changing lanes.
“He was surprised to see that the passenger in the vehicle was actually a mannequin.”
They added that the man, who hasn’t been named, was given a ticket for driving alone in the carpool lane and would “now just accept the fact he needed to sit in traffic like everyone else”.
And apparently he’s not the only one going the extra mile to use the carpool lane.
Taking Trump for a ride
A driver in Washington was ticketed after a state trooper spotted him riding in the carpool lane with none other than presidential hopeful Donald Trump.
OK, so it wasn’t actually Trump. It was just a cardboard cut-out of the politician’s shouting face secured to the headrest that the driver was attempting to pass off as his second passenger.
A motorcycle trooper spotted it and pulled the car over, then snapped a photo and posted on Twitter.
The driver was fined $136 but apparently took his ticket with good humour after the trooper who pulled him over told him the yelling likeness of Trump was “awesome”.
