4 ms·

Why bother! In 10 years in California I have never seen anyone get pulled over for carpool lane violations, but pretty much every time I'm on the road, I witnes

by ridaj 5y ago

Why bother! In 10 years in California I have never seen anyone get pulled over for carpool lane violations, but pretty much every time I'm on the road, I witness one.

willidiots 5y ago
Exactly. The whole system seems hilariously naïve if you have any real-world driving experience in the bay area. I drove 205/580->680->880->237 daily for years, one of the first express corridors. People constantly crossing over the double-white line, intentionally exiting the lane at each transponder to skip tolls, driving on the shoulder, driving past a huge line of cars so they can bully their way in at the last moment. CHP seems to let most of that slide - they're busy with the massive accidents that constantly result. I highly doubt they're going to care about 1 vs 2 vs 3, and I feel for them if they're expected to.
- ryandrake 5y ago
  The last two years have shown us that people will routinely and casually break the rules merely to avoid mild discomfort, even while lives are on the line and people are dying. I don’t see how these voluntary transponders are even remotely effective.
BurningFrog 5y ago
How can you tell what cars get pulled over for?
- rconti 5y ago
  You've really gotta try to get pulled over here. I just broke my streak, been in the Bay Area for 20 years but finally got pulled over last year. First time ever interacting with police at the side of the road in California. 20 years. Lest you think I'm a saint, I got 4 tickets the year I moved away from Seattle alone.
- mywittyname 5y ago
  Presumably, OP rarely sees anyone pulled over. So cause is irrelevant.
  - zachberger 5y ago
    This, I have lived in the Bay Area for ~5 years now and I've seen <5 cars pulled over on a highway since being here.
fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago
I think this system should improve enforcement. Now, the state will bill you for driving on the lane with an automated system. They can bill every single person in the lane. It doesn’t depend on the police prioritizing the issue anymore.
- gkop 5y ago
  No. If you choose 3 you don’t get billed. This is a scenario clearly described in the article .
  - fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago
    The express lane has cameras and they take photos of cars without a fastrak so they can send you a bill. Might they also use those cameras to check how many people are in the car? If you break the rules, you’re generating evidence and making it easy for the state to collect more revenue.
    - pertymcpert 5y ago
      You can just have a car seat with a shade on the back. Babies count.
themodelplumber 5y ago
I've seen at least a 4-5 cars pulled over for carpool violations in norcal, usually in considerable traffic. Cathartic event really. One time there was a lot of cheers from other cars and horns honking. On a normal day it can be tough to tell why people are getting pulled over though. You'd have to be able to observe the conditions and watch them get pulled over which is a pretty short window given the attention & timing factors.
- genocidicbunny 5y ago
  Anecdotally, I've heard from many people that in pre-pandemic traffic on the peninsula, the occasional carpool ticket was worth it for the time savings they got from taking the carpool lane. Carpool lane violations don't accrue points, so there's no insurance hikes or potential to lose your license. Especially with things like Waze being available, in slow-moving traffic cops didn't change their positions often and so you could fairly reliably avoid being in violation when you were in sight of them.
- kelnos 5y ago
  This just tells me that I think all our anecdotes here are useless. I haven't done the peninsula commute thing for a while (10+ years), but for the 6 years when I did, I cannot remember even one instance of seeing someone obviously pulled over for a carpool violation. (Granted, it can be hard to tell, as you say.) I wonder if there are public stats on this. How many people are cited? Can we estimate the total number of violations somehow to get a rough percentage of people who actually get caught?
dekhn 5y ago
I was pulled over for a carpool violation (101S, driving in the HOV lane with a single passenger). It does happen.
- gscott 5y ago
  This guy went to extreme lengths and was pulled over. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-26/driver-used-realistic-mannequin-to-sneak-into-carpool-lane-chp-says https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-26/driver-u...
  - mwint 5y ago
    Man, how’d they notice that? Must have been a different violation, and then they noticed the dummy.
    - ridaj 5y ago
      Or, an off duty cop was gasing up at the same spot as this "smart" driver and thought of writing down the plate number
bduerst 5y ago
As someone who used to drive electric in the HOV lane through Emeryville CA, I've seen many people get busted. Conversely, driving the same through the peninsula I never saw any. It seems to be up to the discretion of the county/local cops to enforce, which isn't a conviction of the rule itself but really the enforcing authority.

by ridaj 5y ago

Why bother! In 10 years in California I have never seen anyone get pulled over for carpool lane violations, but pretty much every time I'm on the road, I witness one.

willidiots 5y ago

Exactly. The whole system seems hilariously naïve if you have any real-world driving experience in the bay area. I drove 205/580->680->880->237 daily for years, one of the first express corridors. People constantly crossing over the double-white line, intentionally exiting the lane at each transponder to skip tolls, driving on the shoulder, driving past a huge line of cars so they can bully their way in at the last moment. CHP seems to let most of that slide - they're busy with the massive accidents that constantly result. I highly doubt they're going to care about 1 vs 2 vs 3, and I feel for them if they're expected to.

ryandrake 5y ago
The last two years have shown us that people will routinely and casually break the rules merely to avoid mild discomfort, even while lives are on the line and people are dying. I don’t see how these voluntary transponders are even remotely effective.

BurningFrog 5y ago

How can you tell what cars get pulled over for?

rconti 5y ago
You've really gotta try to get pulled over here. I just broke my streak, been in the Bay Area for 20 years but finally got pulled over last year. First time ever interacting with police at the side of the road in California. 20 years. Lest you think I'm a saint, I got 4 tickets the year I moved away from Seattle alone.
mywittyname 5y ago
Presumably, OP rarely sees anyone pulled over. So cause is irrelevant.
- zachberger 5y ago
  This, I have lived in the Bay Area for ~5 years now and I've seen <5 cars pulled over on a highway since being here.

fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago

I think this system should improve enforcement. Now, the state will bill you for driving on the lane with an automated system. They can bill every single person in the lane. It doesn’t depend on the police prioritizing the issue anymore.

gkop 5y ago
No. If you choose 3 you don’t get billed. This is a scenario clearly described in the article .
- fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago
  The express lane has cameras and they take photos of cars without a fastrak so they can send you a bill. Might they also use those cameras to check how many people are in the car? If you break the rules, you’re generating evidence and making it easy for the state to collect more revenue.
  - pertymcpert 5y ago
    You can just have a car seat with a shade on the back. Babies count.

themodelplumber 5y ago

I've seen at least a 4-5 cars pulled over for carpool violations in norcal, usually in considerable traffic. Cathartic event really. One time there was a lot of cheers from other cars and horns honking. On a normal day it can be tough to tell why people are getting pulled over though. You'd have to be able to observe the conditions and watch them get pulled over which is a pretty short window given the attention & timing factors.

genocidicbunny 5y ago
Anecdotally, I've heard from many people that in pre-pandemic traffic on the peninsula, the occasional carpool ticket was worth it for the time savings they got from taking the carpool lane. Carpool lane violations don't accrue points, so there's no insurance hikes or potential to lose your license. Especially with things like Waze being available, in slow-moving traffic cops didn't change their positions often and so you could fairly reliably avoid being in violation when you were in sight of them.
kelnos 5y ago
This just tells me that I think all our anecdotes here are useless. I haven't done the peninsula commute thing for a while (10+ years), but for the 6 years when I did, I cannot remember even one instance of seeing someone obviously pulled over for a carpool violation. (Granted, it can be hard to tell, as you say.) I wonder if there are public stats on this. How many people are cited? Can we estimate the total number of violations somehow to get a rough percentage of people who actually get caught?

dekhn 5y ago

I was pulled over for a carpool violation (101S, driving in the HOV lane with a single passenger). It does happen.

gscott 5y ago
This guy went to extreme lengths and was pulled over. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-26/driver-used-realistic-mannequin-to-sneak-into-carpool-lane-chp-says https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-26/driver-u...
- mwint 5y ago
  Man, how’d they notice that? Must have been a different violation, and then they noticed the dummy.
  - ridaj 5y ago
    Or, an off duty cop was gasing up at the same spot as this "smart" driver and thought of writing down the plate number

bduerst 5y ago

As someone who used to drive electric in the HOV lane through Emeryville CA, I've seen many people get busted. Conversely, driving the same through the peninsula I never saw any. It seems to be up to the discretion of the county/local cops to enforce, which isn't a conviction of the rule itself but really the enforcing authority.