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Reading https://ktla.com/news/local-news/carpool-violator-busted-in-southern-california-despite-next-level-dummy/amp/ (mirror) made me wonder: is it illegal to have a fake passenger (e.g., a mannequin) to try to avoid HOV violation detection?

Clearly, there would be a citation for HOV violation due to the lack of passengers, but I wonder if the fact of having the fake passenger is another independent offense in itself.

I'm mostly interested in the USA, and especially Washington State and California, but I'm curious about other locations as well.

Example from the article:

enter image description here

Jen
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Franck Dernoncourt
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2 Answers2

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Washington RCW 46.61.165 4(b) imposes an additional fine for using a dummy or doll in an attempt to fake the requirements of HOV lane usage:

(b) Any time a person commits a traffic infraction under this section and is using a dummy, doll, or other human facsimile to make it appear that an additional person is in the vehicle, the person must be assessed a $200 penalty, which is in addition to the penalties in (a) of this subsection.

And while other states may not have an explicit law against it, judicial discretion can lead to a higher than normal penalty for premeditation, if you are unwise enough to try to fight the ticket.

Eike Pierstorff
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cde
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I think you have answered your own question.

Since you know that it is a HOV violation, you know you are breaking the law. If you commit an HOV violation with the mannequin, you are just doing it with a mannequin. There is no substantial difference there. There is no reason for a jurisdiction to make a new offense if it is a HOV violation either way. You would get the same ticket no matter how you violated the statute, so there is no need for a new law.

As shown in the other answer here, some jurisdictions may impose a different penalty for using the mannequin, but it would be a subsection of the same law, with different penalties. This prevents numerous laws that are essentially the same with minor differences from being on the books.

Other countries may have different rules though.

Mimedfp
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