onlyjaymoo
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2010
- Messages
- 53
I had the most frustrating brief discussion with a motorcycle officer while in the carpool lane today... (he didn't seem to be a CHP, the markings on his uniform seemed to indicate a Sheriff motorcycle officer).
I was driving merrily along the 10 fwy carpool between the 605 and 710 this morning -- it is the section which I think is called the El Monte busway which has a minimum 3 occupancy requirement during "rush hour" traffic. I see in my rear-view a motorcycle officer who was instructing the white pickup truck with the single rider behind me to get out of the carpool lane. Awesome, I think to myself -- they're patrolling the lane as they're supposed to...
A few minutes later, he pulls up alongside me (on my right) and makes a motion for me to get out of the carpool lane as well, and says on his mounted bullhorn, "minimum three for the carpool lane, exit the lane now."
I'm flabbergasted and my adrenaline starts to pump! Can't he see my white stickers? I comply and move to the left-most lane of the regular lanes but also start rolling down my left window. The officer pulls up alongside my left window and I yell out, "but this is an all electric car!"
He reiterates, "minimum three occupants for carpool." I yell, "But I have the white sticker!"
"It doesn't matter. You need a minimum of three occupants in your electric car," he says with quite a bitter tone, "that's the law."
He then continues down the lane, and leaves me behind traffic in the regular lanes.
As I thought about it, I wished he had pulled me over to give me a citation, as then we could have debated the merits of the white sticker, but as it was, I simply re-entered the lane a few minutes later, and I never saw him again.
Has this happened to anyone? Having to explain the white sticker to law enforcement? I now have the section of the CA vehicle code (21655.9 HOV LANES USE BY ULTRA LOW EMISSION VEHICLES) printed out with the "regardless of vehicle occupancy" text highlighted. I intend to keep this in my car in case it happens to me again and I actually get pulled over.
Argh!
I was driving merrily along the 10 fwy carpool between the 605 and 710 this morning -- it is the section which I think is called the El Monte busway which has a minimum 3 occupancy requirement during "rush hour" traffic. I see in my rear-view a motorcycle officer who was instructing the white pickup truck with the single rider behind me to get out of the carpool lane. Awesome, I think to myself -- they're patrolling the lane as they're supposed to...
A few minutes later, he pulls up alongside me (on my right) and makes a motion for me to get out of the carpool lane as well, and says on his mounted bullhorn, "minimum three for the carpool lane, exit the lane now."
I'm flabbergasted and my adrenaline starts to pump! Can't he see my white stickers? I comply and move to the left-most lane of the regular lanes but also start rolling down my left window. The officer pulls up alongside my left window and I yell out, "but this is an all electric car!"
He reiterates, "minimum three occupants for carpool." I yell, "But I have the white sticker!"
"It doesn't matter. You need a minimum of three occupants in your electric car," he says with quite a bitter tone, "that's the law."
He then continues down the lane, and leaves me behind traffic in the regular lanes.
As I thought about it, I wished he had pulled me over to give me a citation, as then we could have debated the merits of the white sticker, but as it was, I simply re-entered the lane a few minutes later, and I never saw him again.
Has this happened to anyone? Having to explain the white sticker to law enforcement? I now have the section of the CA vehicle code (21655.9 HOV LANES USE BY ULTRA LOW EMISSION VEHICLES) printed out with the "regardless of vehicle occupancy" text highlighted. I intend to keep this in my car in case it happens to me again and I actually get pulled over.
Argh!