Driver caught using dummy as fake passenger to drive in carpool lane

A driver was caught using a mannequin as a fake passenger to drive in the carpool lane on Loop 202 in Phoenix on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Arizona Dept. of Public Safety/Twitter)

A driver was caught using a mannequin as a fake passenger to drive in the carpool lane on Loop 202 in Phoenix on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Arizona Dept. of Public Safety/Twitter)

PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Transportation cited a man driving with a mannequin in the HOV lane on Loop 202 Tuesday.

ADOT tweeted two photos showing the driver and the dummy after he was pulled over by a trooper on State Route 202 at Alma School Road.

Trooper Doug Keenan said he noticed something wasn't right when the person in the passenger seat would not move.

“When I contacted the driver, he almost acted as if I wouldn’t notice it,” Keenan said.

What the trooper discovered was a mannequin dressed in a red cap, sunglasses and a blue hoodie sweatshirt.

Under Arizona law, there must be at least two (real live) people in a vehicle to use the HOV lanes Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Drivers caught violating HOV rules are subject to a $400 fine.

Vehicles with Blue Sky Arizona license plates, motorcycles and buses are allowed in the HOV lanes during the restricted times.

In September, DPS troopers stopped two other drivers using fake passengers. One used a similar mannequin and the other set up a baby doll in a car seat.

by Dept. Public Safety

Other Recent Fake Passenger Attempts

Sept. 7, 2018

by Dept. Public Safety

Sept. 11, 2018

by Dept. Public Safety


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